In distance Nieuwoudtville is less than halfway to the park, but in travelling time exactly halfway. Nieuwoudtville is also the gateway to the great undiscovered secrets to the north of us.
Travelling from Cape Town you will bypass Malmesbury and from there onwards travel through the Swartland, Moorreesburg and Piketberg and up to the magnificent Piekenierskloof Pass. In days gone by there were no wheat fields and the Swartland was the Renosterveld. It is the dark colour of the vegetation in the Renosterveld that gave the Swartland its name.
As you cross the Berg River between Moorreesburg and Piketberg, in the distance off to the east you will see the peaks of Kleinwinterhoek and Grootwinterhoek. In winter, and if you are lucky on a clear day after a deep cold front has passed, you will see these peaks capped in snow.
Travelling up Piekenierskloof Pass you exit the Swartland. Down the other side you enter the valley of the Olifants River.
The West Coast of Southern Africa is dry. There are only four perennial rivers between Cape Town and Angola. The Berg River with its estuary at Velddrift; the Olifants River with its estuary at Papendorp (did you know that?); the Orange River with its estuary at Alexander Bay (a seriously disturbed if not destroyed ecosystem that calls for international indignation); and the Kunene River with some of the biggest crocodiles in the world - the ultimate experience for the adrenaline junkies who canoe this river!
Now back to the Olifants River Valley. As you cross Piekenierskloof, Citrusdal is on your right and for a distance of 100 km the road hugs the Olifants River. Amazingly, for most of its course this river flows northwards with the Cedarberg to your right (to the East) and the coastal range to the West.
Travelling between Citrusdal and Clanwilliam you will pass through orchards of navel oranges, valencias, satsumas, clementines, lemons and grapefruit. If you are fortunate enough to travel during the flower season, the heady scent of the citrus blossoms will blow your mind.
Halfway between Citrusdal and Clanwilliam, there is a low-water bridge off to your right. The "pad predikant" (road sign!) will direct you to Algeria, a forestry station in the Cederberg. Do not proceed to Algerea. Immediately after crossing the river, turn left. From there onwards right up to Clanwilliam you will be travelling along what was once the main road to Upington and Johannesburg. This is before they built the macadamised highway along which we are now obliged to travel. The old gravel road – the erstwhile highway - will take you back in time. It follows the flow of the sinuous Olifants River until it enters the Clanwilliam Dam. Clanwilliam is one of South Africa's oldest towns and the birthplace of one our most hallowed poets, C Louis Leipoldt.
For the moment I will not say more about Leipoldt or Clanwilliam, but when on a cold winter’s night you sit around the fire in the SMIDSWINKEL RESTAURANT enjoying good red wine from the Olifants River Valley, we will speak of Clanwilliam and Leipoldt. And read Leipoldt’s poetry written about the Anglo-Boer War, and discuss his journeys as the personal physician for Pulitzer (of the prize fame) when he tended him on his yacht in the Caribbean.
With Clanwilliam behind us we enter the lower regions of the Olifants River passing through Trawal, renowned for its export table grapes. Most of the crop is never eaten in South Africa but ends up in Covent Garden. With Trawal on your left, you will see the stainless steel fermentation tanks of the Trawal Cellar. Drive in and buy some of their red wine – excellent value for money. And this applies to each and every cellar that hugs the river. North of Trawal you part with the Olifants River at Klawer and from there enter the southern extremity of the Knersvlakte, the name derived from the sound which the wheels of the ox wagons made crunching across the quartzite hills which extend up to Nuwerus.
Your next town on this epic journey northwards is Van Rhynsdorp. If you carry on northwards from Van Rhynsdorp you will ultimately reach the Orange River and Namibia. However, it is a prerequisite to visit me at Nieuwoudtville, so turn off to your right (eastward), travel through Van Rhynsdorp and undaunted, take the Upington road.
Approximately 55 km beyond Van Rhynsdorp, on your route to Upington, you will ascend Van Rhyns Pass. Once you crest the pass you will enter the Bokkeveld Plateau, and from there gently glide down to Nieuwoudtville, THE BULB CAPITAL OF THE WORLD. |
