The road to Die Hel
Try to leave Willowmore no later than 10:00, because the 300 km we’re doing today will require seven to eight hours. Drive 24 km on the N9 highway, over the Buyspoort and Ghwarriepoort passes, to the road sign for Warmbad, and turn right here on the P1846 gravel road (S33.41914 E23.30741). Follow the road towards the Great Swartberg, past the farm Warmbad, to the station at Toorwater that we mentioned earlier. The station – actually just a whistle stop – is named after natural gas that occasionally bubbles up from a nearby fountain and spontaneously combusts under very specific conditions. Apparently, many a nocturnal traveller was scared half to death by the flaming apparitions.
The back road joins the R341 regional road 29 km after you leave the N9. Follow this tarred road for 21 km to the road sign for Snyberg and turn right onto another back road (S33.53493 E22.90102).
The reason we take these back roads is so that we can drive close to the Great Swartberg but also because the back roads are much more spectacular than the main routes – especially in July when the aloes are in bloom. The Snyberg road rejoins the R341 regional road 29 km later on, and this is a good opportunity to pull over for lunch at De Rust. Die Rooi Donkie in particular is a fun restaurant, and their Spekbos burger (R85) with onion rings and chips is the bomb!
The village was established in 1900 on a farm of the same name. The farmer, Petrus Meiring, built a road through a nearby gorge – and this, today’s Meiringspoort, was the only connection between the Little and the Great Karoo for many years.
Follow the N12 northward from De Rust through Meiringspoort– the first of 17 passes in the Swartberg. The tar road weaves through dozens of turns under sky-high cliffs and crosses the Groot River 26 times (see opposite page).
Before you’ve completed Meiringspoort, barely 1 km after the Pereboom drift, look out for the Middelwater road sign (S33.36121 E22.54236). Turn left off the N9 here and follow a dirt road that hugs the Great Swartberg, this time on the mountain’s northern slopes. The dirt road joins the R407 regional road 19 km farther
The twin-track that winds its way up Aasvoëlberg received a concrete slab a few years ago, and you no longer need four-wheel drive to get to the top
1 Spook Drift In the past, a glowing orb had apparently been seen floating here. 2 Skans Drift Road workers built berms along the river to divert flooding. 3 Dam Drift A large waterhole where ox carts – and later motorised vehicles – often got stuck. 4 Boesmans Drift According to tradition, Bushmen lived here in crevices. 5 Skelmkloof Drift According to Petrus Meiring, cattle thieves sometimes hid in a ravine here. 6 Aalwyn Drift Named after the beautiful mountain aloes that grow on the slopes. 7 Nooiensboom Drift Two large kiepersol trees (also known as a nooiensboom in Afrikaans), once stood on either side of the road. 8 Dubbele Drift Two drifts were replaced with one longer raised section during the construction of the new road. 9 Perskeboom Drift There used to be a number of peach trees here, more than likely from discarded kernels that travellers threw away. 10 Sand Drift There were sandbanks that often caused obstructions in the river. The first low-water bridge was built here in 1948. 11 Herrie’s Drift Writer CJ Langenhoven carved the name of his imaginary elephant into a rock here in July 1929. 12 Witperde Drift A rabbi was washed away here along with his cart and horses. 13 Ou Tol Drift There used to be a ruin of an old toll house here, but it was paved under by the new road. 14 Wa Drift Ox wagons regularly washed away here. 15 Witfontein Drift A perennial stream originates near this drift. 16 Uitspan Drift There was a spot here where you could unyoke a team of oxen. 17 Waterval Drift There’s a waterfall nearby, and Meiringskloof’s information centre is also here. 18 Ontploffings Drift A wagon carrying dynamite drove so fast over the bumpy road that the explosives spontaneously ignited. The driver was thrown clear and sustained only minor injuries − the donkeys were not as fortunate. 19 Derde Tol Drift The ruins of a toll house are still visible here. The tolls collected over the years could not cover the road’s maintenance. 20 Gerolms Drift The drift was named after Gerolm Marincowitz, who ran an iron smithy here 21 Rooiuitspannings Drift Named after the red colour of the soil, and it was a good place to unyoke a team of oxen. 22 Pereboom Drift A huge saffron pear tree used to stand here. Two women lived in a house next to the tree. When one died, the other buried her in the dining room, after which the surviving woman disappeared without a trace. 23 Bloupunt Drift Named after the neighbouring farm Bloupunt – the turnoff is just before the drift. 24 Wasgat Drift Here are pools where migrant farmers could wash off the dust of the Great Karoo. 25 Opmetings Drift In 1912 this narrow part of the kloof was surveyed with the aim to construct a dam wall. Nothing came of it, though. 26 Eerste or Laaste Drift Its name depends on which side you enter the poort from.
The road winds up the Great Swartberg with many hairpin bends, and it’s obvious that a caravan would create problems
on, and you now drive over the Kredouw Pass and through the Witkranspoort to Prince Albert. This Karoo village has many art and photo galleries, eateries, weekend markets, and various cultural activities. By rights, you should set aside a few days for Prince Albert, but you’re excused this time for only popping into the supermarket to get provisions for tonight’s braai. Drive back through Witkranspoort and follow the road sign for the Swartberg Pass. A large sign warns you that you may not tow a caravan over the pass… and you’ll soon see why. If there’s been recent snow, the authorities will put a barrel in the road with a warning sign that the road is closed. Although we can’t condone it, people do ignore the sign. You’d do well to obey it if you’re not in a 4x4 vehicle or aren’t experienced in snow-driving. Remember: the Swartberg Pass can be perilous in these circumstances! The road winds up the Great Swartberg with many hairpin bends, and it’s obvious that a caravan would create problems. And even if you did manage to get it through the turns, you’ll obstruct oncoming traffic. At the top of the pass, a road sign directs you to the right to the Gamkaskloof, also known as “Die Hel” (S33.33894 E22.03823). The sign warns you it will take two hours to drive the next 50 km, even though it’s actually 34 km to Die Hell. If you don’t stop for pics, you can race through in about an hour, but why would you want to? After 30 km, you’ll reach the upper rim of this mysterious kloof. All that remains is 4 km down the Eland’s Pass to the floor of the Gamkaskloof – by the way; “Gamka”
is the Khoisan word for lion. The Eland’s Pass was completed in 1962 and ended 130 years of isolation. The “Klowers” previously had to travel on foot or with donkeys from the Bosluiskloof side (more on this later) via a narrow trail called “the ladder” to get in and out of the kloof, but few Klowers wanted to deal with the evils of the outside world. In 1958, four students carried a Morris 8, piece by piece, into the kloof to show people what a car looked like. The Klowers were so impressed they finally asked the government to build a proper road to their community. With the opening of the Eland’s Pass in 1962, the kloof’s young people started leaving in droves – and the older generation eventually followed – until the last farmer relinquished his land to Cape Nature in 1991. The three accommodation options in Gamkaskloof are in the Swartberg Nature Reserve at the foot of the Eland’s Pass; Fontein Guest Farm in the middle of the Gamkaskloof; and Boplaas, at the farthest point where you can walk the original footpath out of the kloof. And where does the name come from? The story goes that a livestock inspector, a Mr Botha, said it was “hellishly” difficult to enter the kloof…