Mzanzitravel Magazine - Issue 9

Local Travel
South Africa’s iconic and world-famous Route 62 has become
a major tourist attraction and a favourite with locals as well
as visitors from around the world. But many people tend to
think of it only as that section of the route between the towns
of Robertson and Oudtshoorn, when in fact the entire route
runs from Robertson in the Western Cape to Jeffreys Bay in
the Eastern Cape.
In Issue 6 of Mzanzitravel we carried an article covering the first section. In this
article we take a look at the second section between Oudtshoorn and Jeffreys Bay.
The Oudtshoorn-Jeffreys Bay stretch makes for an equally delightful road trip with
plenty to be discovered along the way, including the world’s longest wine route at
850km long (although much of it falls outside of Route 62). Along the way are some
tiny towns and villages with a unique old-world charm, nature reserves, mountains
and mountain passes, dams and river streams, and so much more.
200km valley is formed by the Kammanassie and Kouga Mountains on its
northern side, and the Langkloof, Tsitsikamma and Kareedouw Mountains on
the southern side. The Langkloof is a narrow, fertile valley and is known for
ostrich farming along the western part and fruit growing, especially apples and
pears, further to the east. The valley was named by Isaq Schrijver in 1689 and
has been farmed since 1760.
The Langkloof is also home to many well-preserved San (bushman) paintings.
It is also here where the Kouga mummy was discovered, thought to be
that of a young Khoi person, which is now housed in the Albany Museum in
Grahamstown. The valley is a 360 degrees kaleidoscopic feast of ever changing
mountain colours and formations, river streams, farmlands and orchards, with
its tiny towns dotted at intervals in-between. Apart from the N2 coastal route,
Route 62 is also the only other main highway directly connecting Cape Town and
Nelson Mandela Bay (Port Elizabeth).
The part of South Africa through which this stretch of the R62 – as the road is
officially known – runs, is known as the Langkloof (long valley). The roughly
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