We're a ways in from the coast (Indian Ocean), on the other side of a mountain range where the climate and terrain change abruptly from lush and tropical to high desert or karoo. These were truly hardy folk who made their way here and managed to farm, ranch, and build a life for themselves and their families.
These early karoo settlers and entrepreneurs had the enormous challenge of getting raw material from the big city ports over the mountains and then getting finished goods (and, of course ostrich feathers) over these mountain passes to one of the ports at Knysna, Port Elizabeth, or even as far as Cape Town. While it doesn't look terribly far on the map, getting over these mountain passes is a challenge. In fact, the most daunting passage from Oudsthoorn - the Swartberg Pass - has a 17km section that is still unpaved! And that's by design. The entire route starting just outside the charming town of Prince Albert, up and down into Oudsthoorn, has been declared a national monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Easy to understand. This is no longer a commercial conduit; it is a national treasure.
This is not only jaw-dropping scenery, it is mind-bending geology, and truly impressive engineering. Our first stop is at Meeringport Falls. Interestingly, the warning signs at the side of this gorgeous pool say 'No Diving' rather than 'No Swimming'. Legend has it that years ago someone did dive into this pool and was never seen again; their body was never recovered.
Truly gorgeous spot and the promise of what's in store.
This amazing road was built between 1881 and 1888 by a team of 250 convict laborers under the direction of Thomas Bain who, having apprenticed under his father - an equally famous road engineer in South Africa - was certainly the perfect man for the job. In fact, the dry stack reinforcing walls he installed in the late 1800's are still in place today over 130 years later. We were both reminded of the CCC/WPA roads through Glacier National Park which, much like these roads in Swartberg, are still in use today.
Yes, that little ribbon on the lower left is the road! The road snakes through numerous valleys but Bain had no choice but to climb various mountain sides. Removing rock was a most ingenious, albeit somewhat imprecise, process: the workers would boil water, pour it on the rock, and immediately follow it with a dousing of cold water. The rock shattered (hopefully without taking any workers with it) and then they just had to remove all the rock rubble. Sounds a lot easier than it was, no doubt.
At this view from the road side of one of Mr. Bains' remarkable dry stack retaining walls, you can barely make out a couple of cars down below. It was difficult to get very many photos as there were very few places along this narrow dirt track where we could actually pull off. In fact, in a couple of places, it was a good thing we were a fairly small car passing another fairly small car! Campers are expressly forbidden from even starting (or thinking about starting) this transit!
And we thought our 550' cinder block wall around our front yard of the New Mexico house was impressive!
The payoff is this gorgeous view from the crest of the drive . . . would make Renoir swoon!
Views along this astonishing drive include some fascinating flora, notably fields of South Africa's national flower, the protea, or the end of season remains of same.
And we know we're back in Oudsthoorn because we're surrounded by ostriches!
Wow - what a day, what a drive, what a road!!
These early karoo settlers and entrepreneurs had the enormous challenge of getting raw material from the big city ports over the mountains and then getting finished goods (and, of course ostrich feathers) over these mountain passes to one of the ports at Knysna, Port Elizabeth, or even as far as Cape Town. While it doesn't look terribly far on the map, getting over these mountain passes is a challenge. In fact, the most daunting passage from Oudsthoorn - the Swartberg Pass - has a 17km section that is still unpaved! And that's by design. The entire route starting just outside the charming town of Prince Albert, up and down into Oudsthoorn, has been declared a national monument and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Easy to understand. This is no longer a commercial conduit; it is a national treasure.
This is not only jaw-dropping scenery, it is mind-bending geology, and truly impressive engineering. Our first stop is at Meeringport Falls. Interestingly, the warning signs at the side of this gorgeous pool say 'No Diving' rather than 'No Swimming'. Legend has it that years ago someone did dive into this pool and was never seen again; their body was never recovered.
Truly gorgeous spot and the promise of what's in store.
This amazing road was built between 1881 and 1888 by a team of 250 convict laborers under the direction of Thomas Bain who, having apprenticed under his father - an equally famous road engineer in South Africa - was certainly the perfect man for the job. In fact, the dry stack reinforcing walls he installed in the late 1800's are still in place today over 130 years later. We were both reminded of the CCC/WPA roads through Glacier National Park which, much like these roads in Swartberg, are still in use today.
Yes, that little ribbon on the lower left is the road! The road snakes through numerous valleys but Bain had no choice but to climb various mountain sides. Removing rock was a most ingenious, albeit somewhat imprecise, process: the workers would boil water, pour it on the rock, and immediately follow it with a dousing of cold water. The rock shattered (hopefully without taking any workers with it) and then they just had to remove all the rock rubble. Sounds a lot easier than it was, no doubt.
At this view from the road side of one of Mr. Bains' remarkable dry stack retaining walls, you can barely make out a couple of cars down below. It was difficult to get very many photos as there were very few places along this narrow dirt track where we could actually pull off. In fact, in a couple of places, it was a good thing we were a fairly small car passing another fairly small car! Campers are expressly forbidden from even starting (or thinking about starting) this transit!
And we thought our 550' cinder block wall around our front yard of the New Mexico house was impressive!
The payoff is this gorgeous view from the crest of the drive . . . would make Renoir swoon!
Views along this astonishing drive include some fascinating flora, notably fields of South Africa's national flower, the protea, or the end of season remains of same.
And we know we're back in Oudsthoorn because we're surrounded by ostriches!
Wow - what a day, what a drive, what a road!!
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