When Men and Mountains meet

By Leon Nell

“Great things are done when men and mountains meet;
This is not done by jostling in the street.” William Blake (1757-1827)
     So you have been to Oudtshoorn, explored the CP Nel Museum and CJ Langenhoven’s home, crawled through the labyrinth of the Cango Caves, visited an ostrich farm, even had too much local wine and ostrich steak at the umpteenth KKNK – been there, done that, have had the T-shirt for many years.

Or have you? 

Besides going into the Swartberg at the Cango Caves, why not go over the mountain via the Swartberg Pass to Prince Albert, and come back through the mountain via Meiringspoort and De Rust for a pleasant full-day excursion? This route will not just take you past breathtaking vistas and quaint little towns, but it offers parts of the Little and Great Karoo, both so similar yet so vastly different.
     The road to the Cango Caves is pleasant enough with its rural scenes, ostrich farms and little labourer’s cottages renovated to offer farm accommodation. Just before the caves and near the turn-off to Prince Albert, there is a family farm/restaurant/shop which also has ablution facilities, the last opportunity before reaching Prince Albert.      Built between 1881 and 1887 by the ingenious Thomas Bain, one of South Africa’s most prolific road engineers, and 240 convicts (including a white lawyer), the Swartberg Pass is among the country’s greatest, gradually snaking up the mountain and providing overwhelming views of the fertile Cango valley far below. There are a number of viewing points where vehicles can stop. From the 1 585 m-high summit, you can observe two distinctive landmarks; to the south, nestled between the Swartberg and the Outeniqua Mountains lies the Little Karoo, to the north the Great Karoo. On a good day you can see the Nuweveld Mountains about 120 km away on the horizon.      Prince Albert is a welcome stopover after the Swartberg and has long been regarded as a favoured retirement village for those who are sick and tired of the rat race and crime in the cities. It has a number of restaurants and curio shops where you can while away the time. For culture vultures, you cannot beat the Fransie Pienaar Museum with its vast array of antiques and information about the Karoo folk who first came to settle here in the 1700s. The town has a superb old hotel which has a colonial feel about it.      The road to Klaarstroom takes you through the rich and picturesque Prince Albert valley with its neat vineyards. These belong to a Dutch syndicate that now produces outstanding Bergwater wines that are sold locally and are also served in business class on KLM, the Netherlands’ national airline.      Although not much happens in Klaarstroom, it is worth popping in just for the old-fashioned atmosphere and what it feels like in a town where, well, nothing really happens. It has two small churches and about a dozen other buildings. Behind the Anglican Church are two graves of British soldiers killed in action – when there was still action in Klaarstroom.      Meiringspoort was cut through the Swartberg by the Groot River for millions of years, ……..

Read the complete story in Volume 31 of ToGOTo Magazine - Visit our website at http://www.togoto.co.za/