South African Break Aways

KAROO TRIP (6 – Final)

DRIVE OUT OF ‘THE HELL’

April & May 2021

Three glorious days in ‘The Hell’ … but we knew, at some point, it had to come to an end and we would have to go back into the world with its TV’s and newspapers (with mostly bad news) and city noises … urgh!  

A final look at our lovely cottage, the ‘Stalletjie’

DAY 6:

Today we are driving back home – a drive that will take approximately 8 hours (3 hours just to get out of ‘The Hell’) and then 5 more on tarred roads back home.

We will not ‘bore’ you with another video of our journey up to the top of Elands Pass … but I can guarantee you, it was just as thrilling as the descent a few days earlier!

At the top of the pass we stopped at a pull-off area to take some photos and have a quick breakfast.

Looking back from where we came …
Breakfast was a hard-boiled egg (to calm down the nerves after the ride up Elands Pass)
It really felt as if we were on top of the world

We’ve enjoyed half an hour of just walking around, taking pictures and enjoying the spectacular scenery that surrounded us. There was absolute quietness – almost surreal – which forced us to just sit down for 5 minutes and enjoy this moment.

A great place to relax after our drive up the mountain … and now we need to go beyond those mountains in the distance

As we were driving through the valleys of the mountains … up and down, up and down … we were now more aware of our environment than when we came down this road a couple of days before.

And to our delight, we saw two ‘klipspringers’ next to the road. The name ‘klipspringer’ is a compound of the Afrikaans words klip (‘rock’) and springer (‘leaper’) – it’s a small rock-dwelling antelope, native to Southern Africa.

The beautiful ‘klipspringer’
A ‘klipspringer’ – just a few meters away from our car

For the next hour we just enjoyed the drive. The high mountains, deep cliffs and beautiful scenery were enough reasons just to be thankful for the wonderful trip we had!

Early morning drive through the mountains
There were still some shaky corners where we had to be careful … but in the end, we saw no other cars
The mountains, although rock-hard, looks like soft scoops of ice-cream
We could see the road disappearing around a corner, only to somehow continue again
These stretches were really beautiful

And then we got to ‘Oom Koos se klip’ (translated ‘Uncle Koos’ rock’). This rock was the first real obstruction Koos van Zyl encountered when building the road and so became known by his name.

A well-known marker on the route – ‘Oom Koos se klip’

Towards the end of this route, we once again drove through the sweet smelling ‘fynbos’ which are on both sides of the road … this is a truly South African smell that I still have not encountered anywhere else on our travels.

The wonderful smell of ‘fynbos’ next to the road

If I had any illusions of a smooth road ahead after we left ‘The Hell’, I had to think twice! Although we were out of ‘The Hell’, we were still on top of the Swartberg Pass!

We need to get down this mountain …
Gravel road all the way down, with more zigzags and sudden switch backs than you can imagine

No surprises here … there are no pictures of the descent because I was clinging onto my seat! But once we reached the bottom of the pass, I was blown away by the high rock mountains on both sides of the road.

At the bottom of the Swartberg Pass and into the valley
Just breathtaking beautiful

The little town of Prince Albert is at the foot of the Swartberg Pass and from here it was back on the highway and another 440km (273 miles) back home.

But wait … there’s one thing, that we love to do when we’re on a road trip … and that’s to buy probably the most unhealthy, but also delicious ‘garage pie’. It’s called a ‘garage pie’ simply because it’s sold at various petrol garages across South Africa. We don’t do this often, but oh my, it’s great to eat one of these on the road … and later worry about heartburn (which we know would come knocking on the door 😉).

Our opportunity came in Laingsburg where we had to stand in a queue for our ‘garage pie’ … it sure is famous under the South African road travellers.

The famous ‘garage pie’

When we reached Ceres, we had to drive our last mountain pass. The Michells’ Pass is a beautiful tarred (yeah!) pass and especially beautiful to drive during winter when there are many waterfalls to be seen. This pass was damaged in 1969 by an earthquake, but soon afterwards rebuilt with superior engineering methods. It has some steep curves, but offers beautiful views of the mountains and river below.

Going down the Michells Pass
The majestic mountains on the Michells Pass

And then … just like that … we arrived at the very same spot where we took our 2nd photo days ago … somewhere on a farm road close to home. It felt fitting to take our last picture of our memorable trip here.

We started our journey here on this bridge 6 days ago

We really feel blessed to be able to have done this trip – celebrating our 25th anniversary in this way. But actually, this was more than just a celebratory trip – it was the opportunity to experience parts of South Africa we have not seen before, meeting wonderful people and spending quality time with each other. We had such good laughs and wonderful conversations … and will definitely cherish this trip in our hearts.

Thank you for following our Karoo Trip … we look forward to share the next road trip with all of you again here on Wet and Dusty Roads!

Memorabilia from our trip – postcards from ‘The Hell’ and a feather of the guinea fowls that visited us on our last day
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41 thoughts on “KAROO TRIP (6 – Final)”

  1. The stark landscape is really beautiful and I love your photos of the klipspringer. It was really cool to see so many different antelope species while in South Africa and Namibia. I’ll never forget the springboks—amazing leapers too. You got me curious about garage pie. What’s in it?

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    1. Oh yes, there are really so many different antelope species here (and of course in beautiful Namibia) … the springbok is my true favourite, so gracious when they leap into the air (but the little klipspringer was just so cute 😊).
      A garage pie … sometimes you don’t even dare asking what’s in it … 😜 … but it’s usually some sort of meat (lamb/chicken/mince) and if you’re lucky, maybe a carrot! No, it’s probably not that bad … some of those pies are really great (this one specific, was a burger pie – like a hamburger, just in a pie) … it’s just the intense heartburn afterwards that’s the problem.

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    1. Yes, they are beautiful – the klipspringer (a well-known antelope in South Africa), is such a wonderful animal to see running (and leaping into the air), especially down or up a mountain. Thank you, the trip was really great!

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  4. The end of a truly wonderful trip Corna. The mountainous scenery looks beautiful and it was marvellous that you were able to see the klipspringer / antelopes. I would have enjoyed that garage pie , we have to allow ourselves these unhealthy treats now and again – was it meat and potato? Best wishes, Marion

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    1. I was so excited to see that klipspringer – when we’re driving in the mountains, we’re always on the lookout for one. It was the first time we saw one within such a short distance. The garage pie was literally a hamburger – filled with a patty and tomato slices (like a hamburger wrapped in pie filling 👀). Thank you so much Marion for reading and all your lovely comments on our Karoo trip posts 💌.

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  5. More amazing landscapes and what a shot of the klipspringer, looking right into the lens! I was going to ask what Garage Pie is, but then I’ve just seen the comment thread clears that up. Glad you are back home now, enjoy some rest!

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    1. Oh yes Leighton, I was so excited about that little klipspringer – I could’ve almost touched his little black nose 😊. That garage pie was great (as expected), but I think we will wait some time before we buy another one! Thank you so much for following our Karoo trip to the end – much appreciated.

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  6. What an awesome trip you had! Now more than ever I can not wait for our Karoo trip at the end of July! We will be going on the Swartberg pass and to Prince Albert too! Thank you for sharing! Die klipspringer is so pragtig!

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    1. Wonderful … now I’m almost jealous of you going to the Swartberg Pass (and Prince Albert is such a charming little town)! I hope you will share some of your beautiful pictures with us. Ag liewe land, daai ou klipspringertjie was so oulik – nie eens weggehardloop toe ons by hom stil gehou het nie 💌.

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    1. Oh yes, those mountains were just out of this world … we were trying to make pictures out of them, that’s how we’ve ended up with ‘ice-cream mountains’ 😉. I agree, the klipspringer was probably the cutest animal on this trip! Thank you Maggie for following our Karoo trip and all your comments – much appreciated.

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      2. I must admit … it’s almost as if I know the ‘outback’ like the back of my hand … reading all those romances playing off in that part of the world 😉. Thank you, I will definitely have a look at that trip on your blog!

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    1. Yes, it was a really great time! The best thing to do, when one gets back from a holiday, is to start planning the next one 😄. And the best thing about any holiday, is looking forward to it (where you’re right now!)

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  12. Pingback: KAROO TRIP (5) – Wet and Dusty Roads

    1. Thank you so much for following our Karoo trip to the end Morag! Yes, that egg came at the right time 😄 … and who would not want to stay there forever (it’s just getting there, that might be a slight problem!)

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    1. A rugged drive indeed … you can watch a video of the descent into The Hell in our Karoo Trip (4) post … nerve wrecking to say the least! Oh wonderful, you must enjoy next week … hopefully there will be more hiking trails to explore (and to share on your blog!)

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      2. I really hope for your sake the rain is clearing towards next week … but sometimes, to camp (or hike) in rain, also ensure memorable trips 😉 … but let’s keep our fingers crossed for dry and sunny weather!

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      3. It’ll be a great test to see whether our camping gear still holds up after all these years! It’ll also be a great test to see whether our relationship holds up after all these years as well!! Like you said, either way, it’ll make for some great memories!

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      4. Nothing like camping during a rainy weekend away (or hiking in the rain) for a serious test of any relationship … hiking the Portuguese Camino (2018) in rainy and muddy conditions, was a great test for us … and we’ve survived to tell our story 😉!

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  15. Wonderful 👏👏👏👏 what an amazing trip. I was living in Cape Town during that earthquake 😳 it was quite something. There was a picnic spot we used to visit frequently called Baines Kloof, you may even know it…it was completely transformed after the quake..

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    1. That was a really fantastic trip … loved every moment of it (all part of making memories ☺️). The earthquake was a bit before my time (👀👀), so didn’t know about that picnic spot. In the Bainskloof Pass there is now a very popular picnic/restaurant called “Tweede Tol” – we’ve been there a couple of times and it’s really lovely.

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