GAMKASKLOOF (‘The Hell’)

April & May 2021

You will remember from our last post about our Karoo trip (you can read about it here), that we have just conquered the Swartberg Pass in wet weather conditions and have now arrived at Gamkaskloof … as well as a road that will take us to ‘The Hell’.

How dangerous can it be? Famous last words

DAY 3:

Yes, we are still in Day 3 … it was a long day with many high mountain passes, but also breathtaking views.

When a sign indicates you will travel 2 hours on 37km (22 miles), you must be ready for anything

Gamkaskloof, also known as ‘Die Hel/The Hell’, is a narrow and isolated valley in the Swartberg Mountain range. It is believed that the name ‘Die Hel’ is derived from the Afrikaans word ‘helling’ or ‘hel’, which means a steep dip or incline … later in the post you will see exactly why this is a very appropriate name!

Monument to commemorate the inauguration of the road in 1962 – called the ‘Otto du Plessis’ road

This road has to be one of South Africa’s iconic dirt roads. It winds through rugged mountain scenery, with a pass towards the end of the road (Elands Pass) that almost had me in a vertigo rush!

It is not recommended to complete this road as an ‘out and back’ trip in a single day – the slow average speed is around 25km/h – you will want to take it easy throughout, stopping and taking photos (and catch your breath after experiencing dizzying drop-offs, hairpins and narrow roads).

The welcoming sign … we are officially starting our trip to ‘The Hell’
Clouds still hang over the Swartberg Pass … at least, on this side of the mountain, the sun is out and the road is dry

At the beginning, the road wasn’t too bad. We drove on the flat part of Gamkaskloof and enjoyed the natural beauty around us.

Beautiful scenery as we’ve entered Gamkaskloof
We also saw some tall ‘fynbos’ bushes, which smelled very nice
Around some of the corners, we could see the road ahead

We knew the challenging part of the road was ahead and so looked for a place to have lunch before we got to that part.

We found this beautiful place by a ruin where we had to drive a little way off the main road. As we ate a sandwich and wandered around, we talked about how quiet it was – no other people, no cars, nothing … just the pleasant sounds of nature.

A quiet place where we enjoyed lunch and the beautiful surroundings

The road has now begun to change. Sometimes we were deep in the valley and other times the road took us along the edge of the mountain … up and down and up and down.

Here we look back at the road from which we came

There was one car ahead of us (we passed them half way) and another when we started the journey. Towards the end of the Elands Pass, another vehicle came from the front … so in total 3 cars on a road that stretched over 2 hours. Do you now understand that this is the ‘road less travelled’?

And then … we got to the part referred to as the highlight of the trip, the Elands Pass.

On top of Elands Pass … the road into ‘The Hell’
We have to get down there …

From here it is better to leave you in the capable hands of Berto (the driver) and our Go-Pro, as I spent most of the time with my hands over my eyes!

It took us about 11 minutes to drive down the pass, but the video is only 5 minutes long – do yourself a favour and watch it!

And … what do you think?

At least I managed to take 2 photos on the way down (and it was almost at the bottom) … with sweaty hands and a pounding heart 😉.

Towards the end of Elands Pass
I never thought I’d say this … but thank goodness we’re finally in the ‘The Hell’

There was a fire in November 2019 in the valley of ‘Die Hel’ and the evidence is still pretty clear as we looked around. Burnt trees were visible everywhere and it was kind of eerie to drive past them.

Burned trees – evidence of an earlier bush fire about 2 years ago

Although we reached the bottom of Elands Pass, we still had to drive another hour to get to our accommodation for the next three days. At least there were no more mountain passes (thank goodness); just a beautiful dirt road.

The last hour’s drive was on a beautiful road
Driving through the gate of Cape Nature to get to our little house
As the sun began to set behind the high mountains, we were still travelling on a scenic road

Finally we came to our house, called ‘Stalletjie’ (translated, a small horse stable). The whole house is just one room – double bed on one side, small dining table in the middle and the kitchen equipped with a sink, stove and fridge on the other side. But it was just what we needed and so cute!

Our house in ‘The Hell’ for the next 3 days
Our back yard … BIG green lawn and even a splash pool
Inside the ‘Stalletjie’ – how cute is this?

We will be living off the grid for the next few days – no electricity and no WiFi. There are solar panels for lights inside the house and LP gas for hot water and for the fridge. No TV, no newspapers, no reception … we were very much looking forward to a blessed weekend!

Our bathroom was outside the house – shower, loo and basin (we don’t need anything more)

It was an eventful day! We started with the beautiful Cango Caves, then we drove out a very wet Swartberg pass and finally a ride we will never forget in ‘Die Hel’. Now it was time to make a big fire and enjoy each other’s company in the wilderness.

A fire to end our day
We had some meat and then ended our meal with ‘braai broodjies’ (grilled sandwiches)

We sat outside until very late – the fire was our only light – and we could see the Milky Way stretched out above us. It felt so close we could almost touch the stars.

Our only light while looking at the bright stars that adorned the sky

In our next post we will show more of the beauty of ‘The Hell’ … in the meantime we hope you enjoyed this post.

I have to admit, while watching the video of our descent on that pass, my hands were still sweating 😉.