72 |September 2019 go!Drive& Camp
the scenery is stunning. At the top of the
Ouberg Pass we stop for photos.
Here, at 1 404 m above sea level, there’s
a sign that tells the history of the pass.
We read that the Ouberg Pass was used by
the pioneer farmers as one of the first two
access roads to the Roggeveld and later
the town of Sutherland. Ox wagons were
the only means of transport, and when
they began to die out, the pass was used
for more than 80 years only as a trail for
sheep. At the request of the Bo-Visrivier
Farmers Association, the Sutherland
Divisional Council built the road, but
the association had to come up with the
money – and in the end Sutherland’s
farming community donated the funds.
Construction of the current pass started in
1968, and by 1969 it was completed.
It’s a shame that graffiti and a bullet
hole disfigures the sign, but the view of the
valley is beautiful. We descend the Ouberg
Pass – very steep with sharp turns.
WE TAKE IT easy getting to our next
destination: the Tankwa Karoo National
Park. At reception, we’re given the key to
our ablution facilities and then we get
settled in at Langkloof’s stand number one.
The stand, as its name suggests, is
located in a kloof, and you need a vehicle
with good ground clearance to get there.
There are only two campsites without
electricity, but each has its own ablution
facilities. A gas geyser provides hot
water and there are paraffin lamps in
the bathrooms.
We are alone in the kloof and thoroughly
enjoy the silence and solitude. All we see is
a herd of eland grazing near our camp.
After our stay at Langkloof, we pack
up and drive in the direction of Calvinia
through the Gannagas Pass that winds
up the mountain. We continue through
Middelpos to Calvinia. We sleep one night
at Kleinplasie – in a round room that was
a dam in a previous life. The next morningwe pack up and get provisions, including
skuinskoek, a particular deep-fried
favourite snack of ours.
We take the R27 to the Augrabies
National Park and camp here for four
nights. We explore the park from one
corner to the other and see loads of
giraffes. One highlight is observing a fight
between two giraffe bulls, right in front
of us. It was quite something to see how
the two of them attacked each other with
their necks.
There are a few different hiking trails,
and on our penultimate day we walk oneREADER STORY
NO TIME TO HUDDLE Chris
and Alida aren’t put off by
the colder winter weather
and are enticed by beautiful
landscapes, interesting
destinations and adventure.