Normally all are in hurry and do not spend a lot of time intown apart from filling up on fuel, visit the loo and get something cold for the road.  With the sharp hike in the fuel prices, we started to explore closer to home.  The road took as to Laingsburg and Matjiesfontein.The most famous happening that put the town on the map and earned a place in history was probably the disastrous flood on 25 January 1981. With an annual rainfall of only 175 mm per year a flood was for sure not on the minds of this Karoo town when it started raining on 24 January 1981.  The Buffalo River burst its bank and with the confluence of the Wilgehout, Baviaans and Buffalo Rivers near the railway bridge disaster struck and 184 residents lost their lives and 184 houses were destroyed.  10 survivors from this flood were found in the Floriskraal Dam about 21  km form town.  You can visit the small Vloed Museum in town that tells the sad story of that day.  Note that most of the exhibit is in Afrikaans.

Tucked away behind the Shell garage is a stone church with an interesting steeple – to me it looks like icing on a cake. It dates back to 1905 and stood the test of the flood waters of 1981. Amazingly the sermon Ds Jacobs delivered that same Sunday morning of the flood remained preserved in his notebook in his flooded study. He, however, lost his life.

When you enter the town from Ladismith’s side you will pass under the railway bridge which are now dressed with rainbow colours.  If you are looking for a photo opportunity this spot makes a nice backdrop for pictures.

As you leave town driving northwards to Beaufort West you will see a blockhouse that dates back to 1900 and the Anglo Boer War.  Blockhouses were normally strategically placed alongside the railway line which was of major importance during the war.  You cannot enter the blockhouse but stop in the parking bay and admire the skill with which it was built (33°10’32.41″ S 20°59’08.06″ E)

The area is also known to produce some of the finest garlic in the country.  These products are stocked at Hakkiesdraad coffee shop in front of the museum.  I fell in love with the pepper garlic!

If you are interested in South African history and the Anglo Boer War follow the link below to read more on our visit to Matjiesfontein.

travelbucket.co.za/a-step-back-in-time-matjiesfontein

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The Great Karoo with its vast openness and many tumbleweeds, offers beautiful gems in between the hard rocks and dry veld.  Prince Albert is certainly one of these diamonds in the making.  Prince Albert was established in 1842 with town layout on the De Queekvaleij farm.  The farm was granted to Zacharias de Beer as a loan farm and the town was initially called Albertsbrug. It was renamed in 1845 to its current name of prince Albert, after the husband of Queen Victoria.

Spending a weekend in the town at the foot of the Heritage Site, which is the Swartberg Mountains, recharges the soul.  The many accommodation options, such as Skrywerskop, offer a country feel stay and the opportunity to stroll through the town from wherever you lay your head down at night.  Nothing is too far from the main road in this little town.  Referring to a little town will probably not stick for much longer.  The town is growing, that is for sure.  With the Zoom town concept taking flight with people streaming in from elsewhere to put down their roots and work remotely, this gem is not exclusive to non-South Africans anymore.  Where you used to mostly hear French, German, Italian and British accents to name a few, you will now hear more Cape Townian, Gauteng, Free State and Natal accents (if you can distinguish between them) while sitting at one of the eateries.  We replenished our hungry souls at African Relish for the night and while the venue seems like it was fully booked with reserved tables everywhere, we still had some of the best pizzas that I have had in a while.  Not your ordinary fast food restaurant pizzas, but flavours so unique to the Karoo.  This Cooking School is going the extra mile when it comes to quality.

Saturday morning is the perfect time to take a walk through the open Karoo plains.  While the breeze is still cool and the sun is starting to show its rays, the area around Gordon’s Koppie with its multiple zigzag trails is bound to get the blood flowing while pure air is filtering through your lungs.  Being very fond of anything rocky, we soon found ourselves dwindling off the paths after the most interesting rock formations. The Saturday Market where locals offer anything from good old-fashioned jaffels and pannekoek to artisanal fudge, preserves and fresh produces, makes for a good start to your day.  Nothing is rushed and a day’s planning will soon happen when you sip on your morning coffee while locals greet each other and strike up a conversation or two.

A good place to start is the Fransie Pienaar Museum.  Here you need a clear mind as there are so much information to process.  The ladies at the museum are so knowledgeable and will take you back all the way from where the town originated, and how the museum came into existence, up until the goldmining stint (yes, it seems like goldminers where everywhere) and the local rugby team.  We even found some articles in the museum that we still have in the house and some familiar surnames popped up of the role-players in the area.  The most interesting pieces for us, was some of the weaponry display behind bars in one of the rooms.  We could just imagine carry some of those rifles on horseback, it must’ve been challenging.  Right next door is the Prince Albert Tourism Info Centre and, which houses some leaflets of the activities and venues in the area.

A lot of time needs to be spent walking through town, admiring the different styles of gables.  Before doing this though, we would recommend you pay your R20 entrance fee to the Museum and get some more information on how the gables came about and which style suits which architect.  Suddenly, the Prince Albert Town has new meaning, and the old buildings are not only the restaurant that serves the nicest coffee or the one with the best ice-cream.  It gives another dimension to the history of the town. 

A weekend is just a little to short to do everything in town.  You would think that a small gem like this can be covered in two days, but you will only be scratching the surface.  Although we did pop in at Kevin de Klerk’s studio and were treated by a personal tour from him through town, we left the Gallery visits for next time.  The amazing bin project that Kevin is doing needed our attention and the level of art that he’s doing for worthy causes in town is incredible.  These bins are just bringing colour to the town and uplifting the community through awareness.  The Showroom theatre is another must-do.  If you are ever lucky enough to schedule your visit around a show in this little theatre, you will be treated to an intimate, small theatre vibe.  Here you can dress-up or dress-down and sit back while sipping on a glass of wine and be entertained by a local top-class act.

The Swartberg Mountains are the perfect opportunity for an early breakfast while the sun finds it’s way through the mountains onto the snaky road.  It was time to head home, but not without the last stop at the top of the Heritage Site.  It was a freezing 7 degrees with a chilly wind that almost blew the Jimny over.  We came to recharge in the royal Karoo Town, but left feeling that we have only seen the tip of the iceberg.  Our advice is to not rush your visit.  This is a place where you need to return to, multiple times.  Don’t try and fit too much in at once, you will be overwhelmed.   The tumbleweed in the Great Karoo that is Prince Albert, is not blowing anywhere.  It is growing and it is waiting for you!

-oOo-

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The town came about between 1800 and 1900 when there were a war and a worldwide depression.  People of the area were bitterly poor due to rinderpest and drought and came to the church for help to survive.  In exchange for care the local people, under supervision of Japie Lutz, dug and built a canal system by hand.  This system is still in operation even today.  The system includes two tunnels of 97m and 175m respectively, turning the area to a greenery.

Augrabies Falls surely is the  most visited place in Kakamas, but there are some other interesting features that can also be enjoyed.  Close to town there is some waterwheels that nearly ended up in a bitter court case.  We were not lucky to see them in operation during our visit, but who knows, maybe next time. 

With the help of some local directions, we headed to Die Mas van Kakamas for dinner during loadshedding.  When we parked under the grape pergola  my jaw just dropped at the size of the grape bunches.  Sipping on award winning gin from Die Mas and munching on perfect pizzas, it was a perfect end to a long day on the road with some niggles of its own.   

On the road to Augrabies falls I could tick another box.  I have never before seen Quiver trees or Kokerbome in Afrikaans.  They almost look like a very big aloe but are fascinating creatures if you start reading up on it.  Here you will also find the Quiver Tree Route.

We popped in at Oranje Rivier Cellars just outside of Kakamas to taste some of the local wines in an air-conditioned tasting room.  Nothing lavish and flashy but were still treated with the same great hospitality and enthusiasm from the staff.  Some we liked (bought a box from the Hedgehog range) and some we did not like.  The area produces some fine wines exclusively for the export market.

Time to conclude our visit to Kakamas and return home.  We stopped at several farmstalls along the route as the temperature was starting to climb around 11 o’clock. The most visible one is surely the Pink Padstal which was packed to the rafters so it was quick in and out to buy some local raisins before we hit the road. 

We will return to the area to explore the region further as we felt more than  welcome on our first visit to area.  Thank you, Kakamas, you made an impression on us.

oOo

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Blesfontein is a working guest farm about 28 km south west of Sutherland on the Bo-Visrivier road.  It is more or less a 40-minute drive from Sutherland to the farm and with the little Jimny it even took us a bit longer as we spotted some game and flowers along the road.  You do not need a 4×4 to reach the farm, but we will recommend a vehicle with a good ground clearance as it is gravel all to the way.

At Blesfontein you experience the Karoo lifestyle and rhythm.  This is the ideal place to get unplugged from all modern technology and realize once again that there are a gazillion stars out there in the night sky.  And this is precisely what we came to experience in Sutherland – starry Karoo nights, fresh air, and perfect sunsets to compliment the slow life on the farm!  Remember this is an extremely low rainfall area with regular droughts so please take care of the vegetation when walking in the veld and use water wisely.

The farm lies on the escarpment of the Tankwa Karoo where the temperatures from June to October plunges considerably and it gets to cold and wet for the livestock.  This is the time of the year that the livestock are moved to De Hoop (a farm below the escarpment in the Tankwa) where temperatures are at least 10° C warmer and the stock can survive.  A visit to the escarpment is an absolutely must do activity in the late afternoon.  We packed our Stanley flask, scarves and beanies and drove the 5 km down to the viewpoint, where we were rewarded with one of the most beautiful sunsets I have ever seen.  After dark, after all the other guests already left, we attempted our first star trail picture and, man, were we impressed with the outcome! 

Of course being children of Africa, we did some animal spotting on our way back to the chalet and spotted many bat eared foxes, steenbokkies, zebra, rabbits and many more eyes blinking in the headlights of the Jimny that we could not recognize immediately.

For the kids there are horseback and pony rides – weather permitting of course – feeding the koi fish in the cement dam, interact with the alpacas and just ride their bicycles (bring your own) on the wide open spaces of the farm until they are tired and hungry.   To sum it up – they can just enjoy farm life!

When staying on the farm there is no need to drive to town for some star gazing at the planetarium as the farm has its own private amateur observatory where Nicol shares his knowledgeable and passion.  This is a free service provided to farm guests, but to enable him to keep his telescope serviced donations are accepted as a gesture of appreciation.  Again, put on your beanie, take a mug of coffee and a jacket as it can get chilly at the planetarium boma.  This is a must do when on Blesfontein!

On our first night we arrived a bit late (and rattled to the bone) so we ordered a delicious lamb curry from Marina, which was delivered with her broad smile at our unit.   lamb chops and chips are also available on the menu

Our mission for 2021 is when we are travelling and exploring, to support local farmers as much as possible as they are hard hit by the ongoing drought, and has to make ends meet in other ways.    

oOo

NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:

Where:  32°28’04.2 S and 20°6’10.8 E (Sutherland, Northern Cape)

Tourism Grading Council:  2 stars

Firewood:  available on site

Mobile phone reception:  no Vodacom and Cell C, MTN only at the private farmhouse

Meals:  bring your own – there is not a supermarket on the farm

Shopping:  only a curio shop selling alpaca products like scarves, socks, beanies, etcetera

The best view:  unit 6 – The Hay Stable

Internet:  https://www.blesfontein.co.za/

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This is also an area rich in flora. Not only aloes are noticeable on the slopes and along the road, but you will also find some rare indigenous plant species like the Aristata protea.  Go prepared with binocular and camera and something warm in winter as you might encounter snow covered mountain tops which creates a bit of a chill factor.

The original construction of the road started in 1859 with convict labour and lasted for three years. On final completion in 1862 it was also accessible for wagon traffic with a toll house strategically placed enroute. (Yes, a toll road). Construction on this road only started after Meiringspoort, cutting through the Swartberg Mountains near De Rust, was completed in 1858.  Today the Seweweekspoort road still more or less still follows the same route as it was originally constructed more than 150 years ago. This is quite a remarkable accomplishment in today’s times where everything is a quick fix and do not last. I hope that it will never change significantly as it will then lose some of its charm.

From my point of view this 18 km stretch of gravel road that links Zoar with Laingsburg rates as one of the most spectacular gravel roads in South Africa.  It is an easy drive with no steep gradients and mind-blowing rock formations around every corner and numerous low water bridges.  Do not be in a hurry when you are here.  Stop and take a lot of pictures.  There are lots and lots and lots of opportunities and the other road users that you encounter are patient with you on the road as they are mostly there for the same reason – to admire the beauty around every bend.  You surely will not regret all the pictures when you get home.

Where did the name originate?

There is many tales about on its name originated, but on Mountain Passes South Africa’s webpage https://www.mountainpassessouthafrica.co.za/ one of the explanation is:

“There is an array of stories as to where the poort got it’s name from, most of which are folklore. The most likely version is that it is named after the Seven Weeks Fern (Polystichum Andiantiforum), which in Afrikaans is called the Seweweeksvaring, which grows all over the poort in moist places and crevices. This is the officially accepted version.”

How do you find Seweweekspoort?

Approaching from the south you will be travelling on the famous R62 between Calitzdorp and Ladismith.  At more or less S33.28.50 E21.27.34 you will find a gravel road, the R323, that is heading in a Northerly direction and will link up with the N1 eventually.

Apart from being a World Heritage the area also falls under Cape Nature thus adhere to their rules and regulations – no flower picking, etc, etc.  Enjoy the silence and the beauty of the Klein-Karoo.  

—-000—-

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This no frills-no-fuss fish and chips take away is located on the water’s edge in Mossel Bay Harbour.  Things work simple here – decide what you want from the minimalistic menu, place your order, pay at the window, get your order slip and go on the top deck until your food is served in a white Styrofoam dish.  That’s it.

With the smell of sea and fresh fish in your nostrils you have a fantastic view over the glistening water of the bay  towards the Outeniqua Mountains, which also forms the back drop to George.  Looking towards the front side of the bus you can observe the operations in the small working fishing harbour.

Well, what can I say?  I just LOVE the Garden Route with all its unexpected gems.  Come and enjoy my world!

“Whatever you are thinking; think bigger!’

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St Francis dune vegetation

Despite some problems with invasive Australian Acacias the vegetation is in very good condition.  The trail meanders through the reserve, providing opportunities for observing the exciting fauna and flora of the area.

A giant snail on the trail

Do take time to visit the reserve on different times of the year to experience the whole spectrum of the flora and fauna.

Flora

 There are two trail options that can be walked, a 3.2 km or a 2.5 km loop. Both trails cover relatively flat terrain and are suitable for moderately fit people and no bundu bashing is required.  There are also a couple of geocaches (www.geocaching.com) that can be logged on the various trails.

 The tranquility of the bird hide, located near the entrance of the trail, can be utilized to observe some of the birds at a water pan.  So bring your binoculars!    If you are lucky you will spot the proud Springbuck or a plains zebra grazing in the fynbos.     Also look closer for some very interesting creatures that roam in this reserve.

A scary looking hairy worm

On the morning of our walk we did not encounter any of the various buck, but we found a lot of caracal spoor on the trail.  Don’t worry about the caracal (not the same as a lynx) as they are very shy and the possibility that you will encounter one of them is very rare.  You will be very privileged if you spot one!

Caracal spoor

Do remember that this is a nature reserve so there is always the odd possibility of snakes, especially during summer time.  Good advice is to take a walking stick when walking in the veld as well as some sunscreen and a hat for the relentless African sun.

NMMU also offers game drives, in what is probably a South African first for a university, through its private nature reserve.

 Please note that for safety purposes you need to report at the security boom when entering campus – just state that you are going to walk the Grysbok Trail and they do not have a problem.  Also sign the Visitors’ Book at the fence stile at the start of the trail to avoid any unwanted trouble as they do spot checks from time to time.

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The Hogsback Arminel Inn

Plan B included driving the road (indicated on maps as a normal road, but do not be fooled as this has degraded to a 4×4 track) from Hogsback to Seymour, which was on hubby’s to do list,  as well as picking up some caches in the area.  However the weather did not have a sunny outlook so we followed the road less traveled  through the forest to Keiskammehoek

A track leading to Keiskammahoek

Thanks to Geocaching we passed traditional huts and villages, beautiful mountain farms and forgotten small churches in this spectacular area surrounding Hogsback, Seymour, Cathcart and Keiskammahoek.

Road side to Carthcart

A small church perched on a hill

When the sun peaked for a moment through the clouds we took a walk on leave covered paths in the park and saw some magnificent birdlife, huge California redwoods, waterfalls in flood due to the incessant rain, fairy mushrooms and lush plantations.  A photographer’s dream!

Waterfalls dotted all over

Another beautiful, almost fairy-like, place visited  in my own country – a tick and a smiley on my travel bucket list!

A massive Californian redwood

Too quick the exploring of tree filled lanes in the quaint village with green pastures and  good food came to an end and we left with only the memories.

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