Mzanzitravel Magazine - Issue 9

Local Travel
Seweweekspoort, near Route 62
The CP Nel Museum in the town is one of South Africa’s best country museums.
Located in the historic building of what was once the Oudtshoorn Boys’ High
School, it is also the only museum with a Synagogue inside that is still in use! This
testifies to the erstwhile large Jewish community of the town who were prominent
in the ostrich business and which earned it the nickname “Little Jerusalem”. Much
of the town’s history and the ostrich boom years is on display here. The museum
building is now a national monument.
De Rust and Meiringspoort
The quaint little villagem of De Rust, voted South Africa’s Town of the Year in
2011, is strictly speaking not on Route 62, but is close enough and well worth a
visit. From Oudtshoorn follow the R341 east, passing by the Kammanassie Nature
Reserve, until you reach De Rust, 34km away. From De Rust you can re-join Route
62 at Uniondale by continuing along the R341.
The town has many interesting little shops, restaurants, pubs and very good
lodges and B&Bs. A short distance outside the town lies the Cango Wildlife Ranch,
home to over 90 species of amazing animals, the world’s first crocodile cagediving
and a very successful cheetah breeding facility. A visit to the Buffelsdrift
Game Lodge, situated 7km from town in the foothills of the majestic Swartberg
mountains, is also well worth a visit. The game farm offers visitors luxury tented
en-suite accommodation overlooking a spectacular 5ha natural waterhole where
wild animals come to drink, bush safaris, guided nature walks, game viewing on
horseback and elephant excursions.
Another unique attraction is Meerkatmagic, a conservation and research project
which only works with wild animals using ethical techniques to gain their selective
trust after many years, without ever taming them.
Contact Info:
Oudtshoorn & De Rust Tourism, Tel +27 (0)44 279 2532, email info@oudtshoorn.
com; Meerkatmagic Tel +27 (0)44 272 3077, website www.meerkatmagic.com;
Buffelsdrift Game Lodge Tel +27 (0)44 272 0106, email info@buffelsdrift.com;
Cango Wildlife Ranch +27 (0)44 272 5593; CP Nel Museum +27 (0)44 272 7306,
email cpnmuseum@pixie.co.za; Klein Karoo Nasionale Kunstefees Tel +27 (0)44
203 8600, email info@kunste.org.za, web www.kknk.co.za.
Nestled between the Swartberg and Kammanassie Mountains, the village is
the gateway to the Great Karoo through the spectacular Meiringspoort. Stop
in this village where time has long stood still for breakfast or lunch, and after
exploring the settlement, continue driving a few more kilometres till you come to
Meiringspoort. Here the road enters an awesome, narrow gorge flanked by soaring
cliffs that almost cause the sky above to disappear at times. It runs alongside the
Groot River which, contrary to what its name suggests (meaning “big river”), is
little more than a gentle stream. But don’t be fooled by that: it has flooded the poort
on numerous occasions, and in the late 1990s a spectacular flood forced it to be
closed and the road to be rebuilt at huge cost.
For 25km the road follows the contours of the gorge and river, ducking underneath
overhanging cliffs and crossing the river 25 times, with beautiful picnic spots,
including magnificent waterfalls, dotted all along the way. At the far end of
Meiringspoort the road emerges at Klaarstroom, 55km east of Prince Albert. One
of the most scenic spots is found at Die Skelm where a waterfall tumbles down into
a dark pool said to be bottomless and the home of a mermaid. In the poort you will
also find a sign marking the spot where the Afrikaans author, C J Langenhoven,
carved the name of his fictional elephant, Herrie, on a boulder; today it is a national
monument.
72 |ISSUE 9|www.mzanzitravel.co.za | MZANZITRAVEL