It does get very cold at high altitudes and so it was when we woke up. With no shortage of firewood we soon got a breakfast fire going and the black kettle in no time provided us with boiling water. We were thinking of doing the Swartberg pass that we had missed on the way up and so we packed up as quickly as possible and got on our way. Reversing out of the kraal was much easier than turning around and there was about 300 mm of clearance. We stopped at the farmhouse to say thank you to the farmer, but there was no one at home except two super friendly dogs. We were relieved that there were dogs on Hondefontein after all!! Just after turning onto the road we stopped at a ruined corbel house. It was a good example of this unique method of construction and I wondered if my old professor Danie Theron had recorded this one. The thirty or so kilometers to Fraserburg took no time at all with the road being excellent. The feeling of space and remoteness was remarkable. We did not stop in Fraserburg, but continued towards Leeu-Gamka. Marianne was as usual looking at routes and discovered that it was in fact shorter to go via Merweville and we were certainly not now going to be put off by a bit more gravel road travel. We stopped in the beautiful Teekloof pass for morning coffee. Just beyond the pass we turned west towards Merweville and were pleasantly surprised by quality of the gravel road, being able to cruise easily at 80+. Merweville was another pleasant surprise, with most of the buildings in good condition, freshly painted and many restored. We stopped at the very big church, unfortunately locked as is the norm nowadays, and then explored the other side of the river where we founds Miems's coffee shop that we had to support. Chatting to her we found that the town had started to reinvent itself about seven years ago when a number of outsiders bought property in the town and started restoration. This inspired locals to do the same. A number of tourist developments have started. We had noticed the number of guest houses and B&Bs. Miems, from Pretoria, had invested heavily in her property, just getting it ready before the lockdown. She was optimistic that there would now be a rapid upturn in the town's economy. We enjoyed our coffee and were happy to hear that the road to Prince Albert Road was now tarred. This was done about five years ago. We could not find the British soldier's grave and did not have time to really search for it. The new tarred road was quick, but pretty boring. We stopped at the Prince Albert Road station for lunch. Probably the least salubrious of the lunch stops on our trip, it was none the less interesting in a very different way. I could really see why Marianne's tourists had not believed that they had to leave the train at this Godforsaken place. Then it was a short drive the Prince Albert, which we drove straight through before turning onto the Swartberg pass road. Almost immediately there were "road closed" signs, but nothing stating the road was closed. There was also a gap in the barrier and we got the feeling that it was more to reduce traffic than to stop it. So we carried on and it was not long before we got to roadworks. Chatting to one of the supervisors we discovered that the pass was fully open. The entrance to the pass from the north is really very impressive. One drives through a narrow gorge with steep red cliffs. The road winds along next to the river and then gradually starts ascending. Vistas start opening up and one is tempted to stop around every corner. Once on the high plateau one can for a short while almost forget one is on top of a mountain. The turnoff to Die Hel (Gamkaskloof) was very tempting, but we simply had to get back home. Then the famous switchbacks start. We stopped at the old work station where once the jail where the convicts were housed and at one stage it also was the toll station. The Swartberg hiking trails start from here. Beyond the switchbacks one reaches the top and suddenly one has an amazing view over the Little Karoo and the world of ostriches. After some more photographs we started the steep descent. Marianne has lots of memories coming up to this point with her tourists, who then go down the pass on mountain bikes. We decided to take the Old Muratie road. Marianne had seen the sign from both this and the De Rust side and it could be worth exploring. This winding up and down gravel road takes one past the Raubenheimer Dam which supplies Oudtshoorn with water. The campsite and waterfall which are advertised at the start of the road were closed. A huge troop of baboons seemed to have settled in at the campsite! The beautiful road takes one very close to the Swartberg. One passes many farms and we were surprised that there is so much agricultural activity. We passed close to some farm workers houses where Marianne saw a few kids playing. We still had some clothes is our "surprise box" from Holland and quickly stopped. The pink little jersey and little top was perfect for the little girl. The mother was a bit taken aback by this sudden windfall and the kiddie did not know what to make of this strange "tannie"! Towards the end of the road, we passed an enormous olive farm. We had no idea that so many olives were produced in this hidden valley! We eventually emerged close to De Rust. It was a beautiful and interesting road and considerably shorter that going through Oudtshoorn, but it is certainly not faster. We had spoken to the owner of The Travelling Tortoise on the way up, but had then opted for the Meyer's Rest campsite in Meiringpoort. We decided to now try this eco campsite, but we could not reach the owner. We decided to go there anyway. We used the directions from IOverlander, our camping app. The shortest route turns off at the last side road on the way out of town. We started on this narrow agricultural gravel road, when a farmer stopped us and warned us that there is no through road to The Travelling Tortoise. The gate was locked (again!!). So we took the alternative turnoff which is just beyond the village at the Die Gat turnoff. Marianne knew this road. The owner from the campsite phoned back and fortunately we were most welcome. We would have the whole place to ourselves. It is a very attractive off grid campsite with some log cabins against the hill and each campsite has a little shelter. One is surrounded by the wonderful Little Karoo vegetation. Since there were no other guests we opted to stand right next to the ablutions and pool. Everything is very neat and well thought out. The owner seemed to run this place all by himself. We were welcome to use some of his wood. It seemed a good deal for R200 for the site. We soon had a fire going. This would be our last night out after a once again wonderful adventure. So we felt quite sad, but this was an extra night anyway, since we were supposed to be back, because we had told David to come on the 27th - and it was 26 August. We had spoken to Penny and we were hoping that David would walk across to her. The closed gates on the Rantepad had certainly thrown a spoke into our plans, but it had also given us an extra day and the wonderful experience in our "kraal" at Hondefontein! The solar system worked and we both had a good hot shower and then it was off to bed. Once again there was absolute silence and a starry sky even though the moon was now bright and the Milky Way not so prominent.

Geschreven door Leartravels