Western Cape, South Africa. January - March 2022.
1. Richmond to the Gariep Dam via Meiringskloof Nature Park.
Our route.
Blue: Richmond to Meiringkloof via Bergville, Olieviershok Pass and Golden Gate.
Green: Meiringkloof to Gariep Dam.
Richmond to Meiringskloof Nature Park.
We left Richmond soon after 8am. From Pietermaritzburg we took the N3 to just beyond Escourt and then drove through Winterton and Bergville before going over the Oliviershoek Pass, past Sterkfontein Dam and through the Golden Gate National Park to Meiringskloof Nature Reserve, just outside Fouriesburg.
After we left the N3 the roads were nice and quiet. We stopped for lunch at a cafe near Bergville.
We stopped at the lookout point at the top of Oliviershoek Pass.
It was lovely to see Sterkfontein Dam full.
The scenery driving through Golden Gate National Park is always beautiful.
Meiringskloof Nature Park
We stayed here for a couple of nights. One morning we followed a path through the Reserve, across the valley and up to a large cavern. We couldn't get to the top of the Kloof as there was too much water in one of the smaller caverns. On our way back we came across another cavern gourged out by the river.
Travelling from Fouriesburg to Gariep.
From Fouriesburg we drove along the R56 which is on the north-western side of the Lesotho border. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was amazing - sadly the road between Fouriesburg and Ficksburg is one of the worst roads we have travelled on with LOTS of potholes - just as well we weren't in a hurry!
As we were travelling we were stopped by another vehicle and the driver pointed out that our van was 'crabbing'. We had a look underneath and discovered that the bolt holding the front of the nearside spring had dropped off. We carried on, driving carefully, until we got to the small town of Smithfield where we stopped at a garage and asked about a mechanic. Luckily there was one right next door. Kevin had a word with the owner who went off to go and buy a bolt while his mechanic set about moving the chasis back to the correct position. Once the boss was back the mechanic quickly fitted the bolt and we were soon on our way.
The chassis is several cms further forward than it should be.
The mechanic who did the work.
Gariep Dam
From Bethulie the road followed the northern shore of the dam which looked to be full. We stopped at River Destiny Lodge which is a few km from the dam wall.
We drove to the Gariep dam wall and had a walk along it, stunning to see the amount of water going over the dam wall. On our way back to to campsite we stopped at the bridge over the Orange River to have a look at a different view of the dam wall.
Last updated: November 2022