Today we are going to do a route we have never tried before. But we first have to get to it and, although we did this part just yesterday, it is beautiful and there is also something interesting we want to go and see.
We depart just before noon from Red Stone Hills, this time again on the Kruis River road but stopping at the Kruis River Gallery at the T-junction before we have to turn right towards the Swartberg Pass. The photographer Roger Young exhibits his beautiful pictures here. They are all taken in this picturesque area and are in black and white, depicting all phases of life – young beauty, weddings, old age, funerals and so on. In fact, there was even a picture taken at a wedding on Kobus Lategan’s farm (the owner of Kobus se Gat). It takes us quite a while to enjoy all the beautiful pictures. Some are also for sale.
We drive from the gallery towards Kobus se Gat restaurant at the foot of the Swartberg Pass where we were also yesterday. Our travel partners want to cross the Swartberg Pass but it is officially closed due to recent snow falls. We convince them to join us on a not tried before route along the foot of the Swartberg mountain to De Rust. From Kobus se Gat we take the tarred R328 past the Cango Caves turn-off until we find our road turning off to the left. It is a gravel road in good condition. It does not take long for us to reach the Koos Raubenheimer Dam. This dam supplies Oudshoorn with drinking water. We take a couple of minutes to enjoy the scenery.
We continue with the road and pass quite a number of olive orchards and farms which all seem to belong to the same company. The road is quiet but at some point starts to wind with some sharp turns with shrubs preventing you from seeing any approaching traffic. As we approach one of these turns a motorcycle suddenly appears around the corner at quite some speed, driving on the wrong side to make things easier for him. We notice each other at the same time – I, aiming for the left in an attempt to avoid a collision, he, trying to pull the bike back left out of my way and in the process losing control on the gravel and skidding on his side towards us. We have little room on the left to hide given a trench and then the mountain side. He comes skidding towards us in a cloud of dust and we expect him to hit us on the side at the back or, even worse, to get under our rear wheel. Nothing happens and we stop. The dust cloud is still in the air as we hear a vehicle approaching from the front. We succeed in flagging them down in time and warning the driver of a possible casualty just a couple of meters further on. With the dust now settled, we start walking back to find the wreck of the motorcycle in the middle of the road with parts laying about. To our surprise and relief the rider, a young man, was standing next to it, somewhat bewildered with some minor scratches and torn trousers! There is no cellphone reception, but although shocked, he can still remember the telephone number of a colleague that works with him on a nearby farm. We notice an old lady sitting in a rocking chair on the patio of a newly renovated farm house next to the road. She must have witnessed everything. I walk up to her to ask for a landline but she just points further down the road saying we should find reception about 300 meters further on. Our young friend looks more collected now and we ask if we can leave him alone to make a call given that our car is fully packed with no room for any passengers. He is just happy that we can help (as well as, probably, that we are not angry with him being so irresponsible!). As predicted by the old lady, we find reception not too far away. The person answering the number sighs deeply when hearing of his friend’s mishap – he was probably expecting something to happen sooner or later. He says he is close by and we do not have to return to the scene.
When we arrive at De Rust about 15 minutes later, Danny and his family were already waiting for us at Ray’s Coffee Shop unaware of our experience.
We have lost some time and move on towards Klaarstroom as soon as our coffee and burgers are done. We want to be at Klaarstroom before dark and we still want to experience the beauty of Meiringspoort. Unfortunately, the waterfall at Meiringspoort is already closed for the day and we drive straight to Klaarstroom, a small little town just as you exit Meiringspoort on the Great Karoo side. There isn’t much happening in Klaarstroom (or so it looks) but Anette and I know better and this is precisely the reason why we are taking Danny and Garitha with us so that they can experience it as well. And Klaarstroom will not disappoint us…
We book in at the hotel and Byron, the youthful and resourceful hotel manager who Anette and I know quite well by now, helps us to move into our rooms. If you need something – he is the person to talk to. He manages the hotel, runs the bar, makes pizzas, braai and even keeps you company whenever he finds spare time. Frans, the owner, has an exceptional employee in Byron.
We sleep late the next morning and then have a hearty breakfast outside under the veranda. Danny wants to go and see Prince Albert, a town about half an hour away. Frans invites me to join him up the hill in his 4×4 – he wants to show me the new road he is making across part of his farm (the town is situated on his farm, De Klarestroom, and to a great extent the town also belongs to him). He had quite a scare a couple of days ago when he tried the new road just after the bulldozer made its way up the steep hill. The road surface was not settled yet and gave way under his Land Cruiser. Fortunately he made it.
As the two of us make it up the hill we get to the point where he had the bad experience. He has to pick up some speed to make it up the slope and I cannot help but to consider the odds of surviving this. But the road is much more settled now and we reach the summit without incident. We get out and I am blown away by the beauty of the view. Below us you can see the Klaarstroom to Willowmore road with the Swartberg mountain range in the back and the Meiringspoort that provides access between the Great Karoo and the Little Karoo. When you drive through Meiringspoort, crossing the small river 25 times in 25 kilometers, you realise that a lot of water must have passed a long time ago from the Great Karoo towards the Little Karoo through this gap. During the rainy season this small river becomes a torrent and floods all the low water bridges and no-one can pass.
Frans and I drive to a couple of boreholes with solar driven pumps he has to inspect, and from there on to a bush lodge he erected some time ago. The place is not luxurious and is ideal for parents who want to expose their children to the great outdoors in the Great Karoo. Frans also tells me of his plans to lay out a bicycle track across this part of the farm. There is no end to all his ideas! Frans and his wife, Salomie, are the heart and sole of Klaarstroom.
Back at the hotel Frans and Byron braai Kudu steaks and famous Karoo mutton chops for dinner. Delicious! The 6 of us from the Cape and Frans and Salomie are joined by two locals, Koos and Eunice Roets, as well as a handsome young man touring the Karoo on his Harley Davidson. After dinner, it doesn’t take Danny and Koos long to discover their mutual interest in flying small planes.
The next day the planned part of our journey ends. Originally, the plan was to return to the Cape from here. Danny and his family will still do so to attend a wedding, but Anette and I decide to stay another day because we saw on our weather app that there is a high probability of snow during the night. We do not want to miss this. We spend the whole day talking to our fellow guest with the motorcycle. He is both a professional model and an engineering student at Stellenbosch.
The next morning does not disappoint us – the entire Swartberg Mountain as far as you can see is covered in snow! It does not reach down to ground level here but it is cold. The snow will definitely do something to help break the drought in this area. After breakfast, we are ready to depart on yet another route we have never tried before – unaware that the snow could be threatening our plans…
