Oudtshoorn, Swartbergpass & Prince Albert

Today we headed towards Swartberg Pass in bright sunshine. Behind the Swartberg Mountain lies the Great Karoo and the town of Prince Albert. The Great Karoo is a semi-desert landscape, so the vegetation behind the mountains is expected to be different from here. We are in the 'Little Karoo' ;-) It's green here, and as mentioned yesterday, there are many different farms!

We were told that our rental car would easily handle the mountain pass road... but when we saw a sign at the entrance warning of rockfalls, we had some concerns. Thankfully, no rocks came down :-). However, we wondered if such a road would be allowed in Germany.

The higher we climbed, the more breathtaking the landscape and the view of the mountains and down into the valley. We stopped over and over again to take photos. The view was amazing. The different flowers and cacti looked fantastic. Oh, it was simply stunning. We put our arms in the air and smiled.

There were only a few cars on the pass. I found that very pleasant, because sometimes I wouldn't have known which way to dodge. Then a large SUV came towards us. Well, now what? I couldn't move our car forward or backward, so the guy with the Jeep had to reverse. It worked quite well. But I was really glad that we didn't encounter more cars like that. The pass road was really exciting, with lots of hairpin bends and steep inclines. On the way down, there was a sign indicating a water-filled depression. What does that mean? Hopefully not a passage through a creek or something like that! But there were 2 passages that were slightly flooded with water. With cautious driving, they were manageable. But how would that work during the rainy season? Finally, the sign 'End of Swartberg Pass' came into view. Phew, we made it, there was a super beautiful but also exhausting drive behind us.

Next, we continued to Prince Albert. The entrance to the town was already fascinating. Trees were in full bloom everywhere. They bloomed in red, pink, orange, and purple. It looked like a different world. Especially when they were together, it was a sea of colors. The small town center consists only of one village street, and there are cute shops on both sides. There were, for example, two antique shops, cafes, a butcher, and restaurants. We walked around the town on foot and had a drink in a cafe. It felt very peaceful and dreamy. Yes, we felt very comfortable there.

By noon, I wanted to go back because it was incredibly hot. It was over 30 degrees and the sun was shining from a cloudless sky. On the way back, we took a bypass road to see if the landscape is actually different. And it was. The landscape appeared barren and dry. Even the mountains didn't look as lush :-) Everything was rather bleak. There were no houses or farms in sight for miles. But it was still impressive, this barren and especially very vast landscape.

We returned via a well-developed road and made a stop at a waterfall in the middle. It was very beautiful there. Absolutely not crowded. It's a shame we didn't bring our swimming gear.

In general, I notice that there is very little traffic on the roads. On the way back, we drove 65 km in one direction and maybe three cars came towards us, and two of them overtook us. Speaking of overtaking on single-lane roads, here's how it goes: the one being overtaken can use the right shoulder to make space. The overtaker says thank you with a double hazard warning lights flash and receives a flashing high beam in return. I have to say, it works really well here!!! We haven't seen any traffic jams or accidents so far. It's crazy. However, a car hit a local on the highway, and he was lying in the grass :-(! But until today, I wonder how people can be allowed to cross a highway, unbelievable!

Now a QUESTION, who wants to guess? How many kilometers have Anke & Daniela already driven through South Africa (including this report)? We won't cheat! Whoever guesses the number of kilometers or comes closest to it will receive a little something from us from South Africa! So you can participate until November 1st :-)!

The next stop is Hermanus.

Warm greetings from South Africa from Anke and Daniela