July 2026

Driving on a scenic pass to a beautiful dam

As promised in our first post about our camping weekend at Dwarsberg Trout Hideaway near Rawsonville (read here), we’re now going to take you along the Stettynskloof Pass all the way to the end where the Stettynskloof Dam is located. Hop in and enjoy the spectacular views with us.

Stettynskloof Pass:

The Stettynskloof Pass is 18.3km/11.3 miles long and the road mainly remains on the south-eastern side of the Holsloot River which has carved this deep and rugged kloof through the Stettyn Mountains.

Most of the road lies on private land owned by Dwarsberg Trout Hideaway. If you’re a guest at the farm, like we were, you can drive this pass while staying in the cottages or camping there. The road rises and falls continuously and the scenery is really lovey with views of the river and the majestic mountains.

The road on the Stettynskloof Pass

About 4km/2.4 miles from Dwarsberg’s reception is the ‘upside down tree’. Luckily there’s a spot to safely pull over your vehicle and we were able to take a few photos here.

The upside down tree

View of the Holsloot River and road

The road is quite narrow, but there are a few small widenings where cars can pull over in order to pass each other. We also saw a beautiful waterfall from the road. Before you think that this might be the waterfall we tried to hike to (read here), I can confidently say that it wasn’t because it’s on the other side of the river. But in the end, we did get to see a waterfall – just not while hiking.

Waterfall on the other side of the river

The road runs constantly along the river

Stettynskloof Dam:

After quite a few sharp turns (apparently there are 128 of them) and extremely steep drop offs on the river’s side, we reached a gate to the Stettynskloof Dam. The last 2km/1.2 miles to the dam are a steep climb and the road is rutted and corrugated. It’s maybe better to drive this stretch with a 4×4 vehicle (or if you’re in a 4×2, use the diff-lock).

Stettynskloof Dam

The dam is a combined earth/rock-fill dam and was built between 1953 to 1955 as part of the Stettynskloof Irrigation Scheme. (When you drive along the pass, you can see the pipeline that transport the water from the dam to farms and the nearby town, Worcester.)

On the edge of the dam, we noticed tiny and colourful flowers. These purple and pink Oxalis (commonly known as sorrel) looked beautiful in the bright sunshine.

Colourful flowers

Oxalis/Sorrel

We read earlier that visitors are not allowed to walk on the steel walkway. However, the gate was open and there was no sign indicating that it was a restricted area. Berto walked to the middle of the walkway, took a photo, and then walked back again.

Steel walkway

There is another viewpoint at the very end of the dam wall where you can walk on the raised concrete path to look at the overflow. But take note: This is not for anyone who’s afraid of heights. I took photos from a safe distance, while Berto was brave enough to walk on the concrete path.

Stettynskloof Dam (my photo)

Stettynskloof Dam (Berto’s photo)

On the left you can see Berto’s tiny shadow

The overflow of water goes into the river

We slowly drove back to the gate and then turned around to see the overflow of water pouring over the edge of the dam wall down to the river. It was great to see the Stettynskloof Dam – a dam that isn’t really that well-known, but of great value to the area.

Looking at the overflow once we got back down to the river

From here, we got back on the narrow pass to our campsite at Dwarsberg Trout Hideaway. The Stettynskloof Pass and dam definitely gifted us a day of wonder.

Back on the Stettynskloof Pass

We enjoyed the sights of the dam, river, rugged cliffs and majestic mountains. And we were even lucky to see the delicate glow of another Protea bloom – beauty and serenity that lingers long after the road has ended.

Holsloot River

Protea nitida