Before the rock fall in the pass commuting Oudtshoornites travelled to and from George via Heimersrivier (when the drifts are not flooded) or over Robinson Pass, roads far less travelled in the past. To many people the Heimersrivier route is a new experience, for this road is usually used by local farmers only.
It's the old story: locals travel overseas and see the world, but have never been on the back roads, seen the Cango Caves or have taken a leisurely drive along the breath-taking routes of Kruisrivier, Oudemuragie or Vergelegen.
The author suffered from this idiosyncrasy too, until an aging American asked me about a hill less than one kilometre behind our office in Etosha National Park in Namibia back in the 80s. When I told him that I had not yet climbed the koppie, I realised that we had been in Etosha for all of three years, and made a point of exploring that hill the same afternoon.
While travelling along the 200+ km gravel road between Calvinia and Ceres a few years ago, I stopped and got out to take photographs of this great arid, desolate landscape so typical of the Tanqua Karoo. About half an hour later a bakkie came speeding along and stopped.
"Are you okay?" the farmer asked. "Do you have engine trouble or a flat tyre? Everyone travelling through gets a flat tyre sooner or later on this horrific road."
"This is the third or fourth time we've travelled this road, and we're fine," said I, crossing my fingers firmly behind my back.
Suspiciously eyeballing our little South Korean sedan next to the road and the overpriced Japanese camera hanging from my neck, he slowly shook his head and said, "Do you know there are some eccentric people out there who drive this forgotten, forsaken dust bowl of a road for their pleasure? You're not one of them, are you?"
Getting back to the off-the-beaten tracks near Oudtshoorn - the Heimersrivier road takes one past some old family farms with historic buildings and stone kraals built in the 1800s and early 1900s. If you continue towards Herold, the road starts snaking through the foothills towards the Outeniqua Mountains via the Paardeberg Pass. The retaining walls are clearly visible along the pass and are similar to the stone wall constructions along the Swartberg Pass built by Thomas Bain.
Some say Paardeberg Pass is haunted, and there are unconfirmed rumours of diamond smugglers using this route back in the 1800s, one of them an undertaker who used a wagon loaded with coffins to transport his illegal trade. Driving through Paardeberg Pass at dusk or in the night can certainly conjure up imagery for the more ima-ginative among us - of crafty coachmen, diamond smugglers on horseback and devious renegades operating clandestinely under the cloak of darkness.
Beware of this road after rain as it can become extremely slippery and dangerous.
Take any of the roads leading out of Oudtshoorn and turn off onto one of the gravel roads leading to the wayside. On occasion you might end in a cul-de-sac, like the road to Matjiesvlei near Calitzdorp, but the natural beauty is of such a nature that we have been back there again and again. Pack the ice box with some cold ones and meat, take wood and enjoy a braai under the rock massifs of Seweweekspoort, along the banks of Gamkapoort Dam or under a huge Outeniqua yellowwood along Prince Alfred's Pass. It makes one realise how infinitely small we are in the grand scheme of time and nature, and is both humbling and soul cleansing, worlds away from the rat race of the 21st century.
Whatever you do - don't drink and drive!
Road conditions vary from season to season and according to the available budget of the Roads Department for maintenance, but most, if not all, are negotiable with a sedan car.
See you there...
Grab your binoculars and head for the hills.
ARTICLE: LEON NELL
