Drive the Swartberg Pass in the Karoo

By Roxanne Reid
‘Show him an easy place to make a road and he shakes his head and says no. But show him a place where a monkey can’t get out and he’ll jump at it like a cat.’ So someone said of engineer and road builder Thomas Bain at the opening ceremony of the Swartberg Pass in the Karoo. Today, nearly 130 years later, the gravel pass that Bain built is still one of South Africa’s finest.

---

On a road trip to the Karoo in May we drove north over the Swartberg Pass to Prince Albert, looking down on fields and hills so green it could have been Ireland instead of the Karoo. Recent good rains had brought the veld to life with fynbos like restios, yellow ericas and pink pincushions. Just as we started the climb to the top we passed a bakkie returning to George and he hooted a greeting; that’s how you roll on the Swartberg Pass.

There’s a magnetism to this old mountain pass, the last that Thomas Bain built and now a national monument. At nearly 30km long, it’s one of the world’s most spectacular. The gravel road climbs up to 1585m in a series of tight zigs and zags – the sort of place you’d like to stop and marvel every few metres. Resist that urge and stop only at the designated points if you want to stay safe. Also remember to take a windbreaker with you for your stops – the wind can be icy. 

The view over the Little Karoo from Skelmdraai

The first traffic to drive over the pass in 1886 were carts and wagons. Spare a thought for Dr Russel, the first person to make the journey in a motor car some 100 years ago. His little tjorrie probably had at most double-digit horse power; certainly it wasn’t a three-litre turbo-boosted, fuel-injected four-wheel-drive beast like those that drive the pass today.

Marvel at the ingenuity of the drystone retaining walls supporting the road, up to 13m high and 2.5m long in places. The whole project was completed back around the time that gold was discovered on the Witwatersrand and Paul Kruger became president of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek. The muscles and sweat of some 200-odd convicts wielding spades and pickaxes were what made it possible, with the odd bit of gunpowder thrown in for good measure. Large rocks were cracked open by heating them with fire and then splashing them with cold water. Ssssss – crack! The bits were broken up into smaller rocks by men with sledgehammers.

Stop now and again to appreciate the ingenuity of the man who designed the Swartberg Pass back in the 1880s

Some 16 stopping points are signposted along the Swartberg Pass. Some of the more interesting include:

• Stalletjie where the mail-coach horses were fed, watered and changed for fresh ones (read about a ghost who haunts the area and how he died)
  
• Hotelletjie – you can still see the ruins of the small hotel where people used to stay overnight 
  
• Fonteintjie – a perennial stream flows from the high peaks and travellers from Prince Albert used to leave a watermelon in the stream to enjoy on their way home from Oudtshoorn

The steep gradients are dealt with in a series of switchbacks

• Skelmdraai – so-called because when you approach from the north, the road seems to come to an end but it makes a sudden left turn
  
• Die Top – 1585m above sea level
• Ou Tolhuis – you can still see the foundations of the tollhouse; a toll was introduced in 1888 and the toll collector earned the princely sum of £45 a year 

Don't take the turn-off on to the winding, narrow and steep pass into the Gamkaskloof unless you have a sturdy 4x4

• Gamkaskloof – in 1962 this road was opened to ‘the Hell’ where a small farming community had previously lived in isolation, the only access being by a steep footpath. Book ahead with CapeNature to stay in one of the renovated old cottages. Definitely a route only for 4x4s and people with a strong head for heights on narrow roads; 38km of winding road to the valley floor will take you two hours.
• Blikstasie – remains of an old gaol where the convicts who built the pass were locked up at night
• Tweedewater – in the old days, before a low-water bridge was built, people had to wait for the water level to drop before they could cross
• Eerstewater – donkeys and oxen could be outspanned and watered here before starting the climb; it’s also where Bain had his first convict camp

Motorbikes are a popular way to ride the Swartberg Pass, for both locals and visitors from other countries

At Tweede Water we saw four Belgians on motorbikes and stopped to chat. ‘Aren’t you cold?’ we asked, our noses frozen and our fingers numb. ‘No,’ answered one of the women, presumably the most fluent in English, ‘I’m Belgian.’ We weren’t sure if something had been lost in translation or whether Belgians are even tougher than macho South Africans.

The rock formations make great photos; look out for various types of lichen in this pollution-free environment

Other things to look out for along the road are a wide variety of bird species like Verreaux and martial eagles, and Cape sugarbird. You might also spot mammals like klipspringer, grey rhebok, kudu, springbok, baboon and dassie. Although leopards still live in the Swartberg mountains, they’re generally clever enough to stay away from humans so you’re unlikely to see them.

For more information about the Swartberg Nature Reserve and the activities you can do there, like hiking, mountain biking and a 4x4 route, see its website here. 

Like it? Pin this image!

You may also enjoy
15 things to do in Prince Albert
Gamkaskloof: a hidden heaven called Hell
17 things to do in the Karoo National Park
​
Copyright © Roxanne Reid - No words or photographs on this site may be used without permission from roxannereid.co.za