Gamkaskloof - the road to a hidden paradise
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| The start of the road into Gamkaskloof. If you go straight, you carry on with the Swartberg pass (which is also amazingly beautiful) |
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| Warning sign at the start of the road |
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| The memorial to the guy who arranged for the road to be built |
Suddenly none of us had anything left to say.
In absolute silence we struggled down the last 10 kms of the 400 metre drop into the kloof. I kept on thinking how great it was that we had bought the Pajero... the Polo would have made the ride a little more...er .... ominous.
In absolute silence we struggled down the last 10 kms of the 400 metre drop into the kloof. I kept on thinking how great it was that we had bought the Pajero... the Polo would have made the ride a little more...er .... ominous.
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| The winding road down into the kloof |
Breathtakingly beautiful scenery surrounded us. The barren mountaintops of the Swartberge had transformed into something magically fruitful in the kloof.
Beauty on the outside with trembling on the inside made for a feeling of ecstacy only unventured roads can bring. Contrasts everywhere.
Nerve-wrecking to say the least.
I hate to admit it, but I was glad that Mr Cloete ended up coming with on this trip that was meant to be an all-girls trip.
The road into "Die Hel" took almost 2 years to complete. In the first few years after the road was built masses of people took interest in this previously isolated "kloof" and those who lived there became irritable and unfriendly with the (unwelcome) visitors.
We felt a little bit the same as we were welcomed into oupa Piet's house. After the tiring almost 3 hours on the road the signs said that the reception is the very last stop on the (only) road in the kloof. About 5 kms in, we passed oupa Piet's house and we dropped off the kids and my parents at the house. We went further down the road to "book in" and get the keys to the house.
15 kms in, through a few streams, the Gamkariver and down a dusty winding road - we arrived at reception (which was closed) and walked towards the closest house. A friendly guy called Martin told us that this reception belonged to Cape Nature and oupa Piet's house did not belong to Cape Nature, but was privately owned by the Jouberts, whose house is one of the first ones we passed coming in (about 30 minutes earlier).
A very irritated Mr & Mrs Cloete got back into the car and we sped off, through the Gamkariver all the way back, past oupa Piet's house to the little shop where we had driven past about 40 minutes ago.
The Joubert host sat in the badly lit shop and in a "not-so-friendly" manner, greeted us and told us she saw us coming in earlier. Obviously with no cellphone reception, they were unable to phone and let us know that we had passed by them....
Their website said that they have debit card facilities so I didn't bother bringing cash to pay the balance of our accommodation. Apparently the website info was incorrect as she wanted the balance in cash. We were obviously not the first ones to arrive there cash-less, as she comfortably started writing up the debt in her book, adding to it whatever merchandise Mr Cloete took from the shop.
I wondered what else waited as a surprise for us.
We got the keys and went back to the house where a beautiful old house painted the background to where my mom and dad and the kids were happily waiting for us. Built from rocks and mud, renovated a little, reed ceilings and ancient furniture .... it was a pretty sight. No electricity but the lights were solar powered. And the stove and fridge ran on gas. We would have felt much more at home if the house was a little cleaner... but the spirit of adventure had gotten a hold of us all and we didn't mind one bit.
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| Oupa Piet's house where we stayed |
Another surprise waited for us - the bicycles rattled so much on the way down, that Declan's one handlebar grip was missing, Declan's front wheel nuts and the front wheel shaft of both my bicycle and Mr Cloete's bicycle's were also missing ... luckily Mr. Cloete's superpower is fixing things, and while I comfortably paid no attention to the crisis, it disappeared :-)
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| Decorations in the house |
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| Photos on the wall in the house |
We prepared our first meal in the kloof, eating leftovers from our long road trip over the last two days and - as always - Mr Cloete had to "braai" (barbeque). My mom made us "potbrood" (bread cooked on the open fire) and we talked through how life in the kloof must have been all those years ago. I went to bed exhausted as did the rest of our little group, except of course the kids...
Declan woke me up just as I started dozing off to say that the smell of gas is overwhelmingly strong in their room, which it was. We made him a bed on the couch for the duration of the trip.
I slept for about an hour and then Charma stood beside our bed - crying. An abscess had formed on her toe (how the hell does that even happen?), and she was in pain. I gave her some nurofen, bandaged her toe (because if you can't see it it isn't sore anymore) and went back to bed. So much for sleeping soundly.
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| Bright-eyed and excited! |
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| Our first meal in the kloof |
The next day Mr Cloete and I got up early to do some exploring on our bicycles before the kids wake up. It was absolutely magical. Most of the road was downhill as it continually descended into the kloof and we knew our laughter would soon turn into tears when we turned around to head home. We had to again cross the flooded bridge over the Gamkariver and about a kilometre in, I realised my tyre was flat.
So we turned around and started walking (uphill) back to the house...
We were both silently hoping (praying) that someone with a bakkie would drive past to pick us up, and how lucky we were (God obviously answers our prayers in hell as well :-)... Two other guests came along and although they thought we were just greeting them at first, they quickly realised that our frantic waving must mean that we wanted them to stop.
Gratitude reached a new level that morning.
There is something about the kloof that makes a person very happy. Absolutely cut off from the outside (no cellphone reception at all, no electricity, no internet). At the same time however that same beautiful isolation can drive you crazy.
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| Playing games from my dad's childhood |
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| My mom kneading the dough for the bread that day |
After the road was built in 1962, the "klowers" started moving out - and the kloof was empty once again. It became a tourist attraction through Cape Nature, and since then people have been living there again.
Before the road however - the community living there were cut-off from the rest of the world. The only way in and out was by foot on a path called "the ladder".
Before the road however - the community living there were cut-off from the rest of the world. The only way in and out was by foot on a path called "the ladder".
The kloof - it seemed to me - have 3 owners. None of whom will tell you voluntarily about the others. The first part of the "property" belongs to the Jouberts. I found them at www.gamkaskloof.co.za
In my ignorance, I thought this was the only gateway to the kloof, but when we tried to find out how we can get to "the ladder" - the footpath the "klowers" used all those years before the road was built, we realised that there was more to the kloof than the Jouberts' website.
The next portion of property belongs to Cape Nature.
The thing is - I never even lingered long enough on their website to realise that I can book accommodation in the kloof. This is because they own so many other properties in the Cape, so Gamkaskloof is just one of many. They however restored most of the houses in the kloof and put up signposts to tell a little of the story of the kloof. Their reception is full of information and their staff are friendly.
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| Map of the road in the kloof |
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| Some info at the Cape Nature reception |
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| Cape Nature reception grounds |
And the last piece of land - of which neither the Jouberts, nor Cape Nature employees would tell you, is right at the end. Where the ladder entered into the kloof! Upon enquiring whether we can hike up "the ladder", we were abruptly told that the portion of land that the ladder is on is owned privately.
We drove up all the way to the end of the road and saw that it too was run as a guest farm.
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| Boplaas - where the ladder is |
The funny thing is, if you google "die hel", guess whose website "pops up"?
....which takes you back to the Jouberts' website.
And the other one - the website shown on the photo, doesn't open.
Oh well... if we ever go back there - THAT is the place where I would want to stay - www.diehel.co.za and that is also where you will find "the ladder".
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| An old dam |
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| Our little group ♥ |
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| A hike to the swimming spot |
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| Ruins of a house we came across while hiking |
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| Swimming in the Gamkariver |
Driving out on the last day felt a little sad. The road was no longer that scary, but we still sat in silence - each with their own thoughts to keep them company. Such a beautiful place, so many untold stories, so many places to still explore.
Opmerkings