Swartberg Nature Reserve

Swartberg Nature Reserve accommodation in Oudtshoorn Western Cape

Description

This restored traditional cottage is fully equipped as self-catering accommodation and has a lovely view into Onderpoort. The flat-roofed home of Koot and Hettie Cordier at "Die Hoogte" is one of the most recent structures in the Kloof. It was only built after the opening of the road in 1962, when it became easier to buy building material, like steel window frames and corrugated iron, in neighboring towns and to use vehicles to transport it. Cordier chose a site which had been erroneously leveled by the road builders. It had a view of his meadows, orchards and goat pens. The dwelling was restored in 2001.

The Swartberg Nature Reserve is located just north of Oudtshoorn and south of Price Albert in the Klein Karoo. The range is bordered on the west by the Gamkarivier and stretches eastwards nearly 150 km to the Eastern Cape border.

Within the mountain caves many rock paintings and artefacts have been found, that were once occupied by the nomadic San. More recently, the remote Gamkaskloof Valley, was settled by white farmers in 1830. This region can be reached by the Swartberg Pass that connects Prince Albert with Oudtshoorn.

The 6 km Grootkloof in Gamkaskloof has 26 interpreted stops that provides insightful information on the lives of the early settlers that inhabited this region. Booklets are available at the CapeNature Ouplaas Information Centre.

The Swartberg Hiking Trail is a 5 day trail can be booked through the George reservation office at Tel: (044) 802 5310. This is a fairly strenuous trail, and hikers must be wary of the extreme temperatures, characteristic of this semi-arid region.

The Swartberg Nature Reserve lies in the Oudtshoorn district between the Great Karoo and Little Karoo, bordered by the Gamka River in the west and the Uniondale / Willowmore road in the east. The Swartberg Reserve encompasses 121,000 heactares of mostly state-owned land. Gamkapoort Nature Reserve, immediately to the north of the reserve and 8,000 hectares in extent, is part of the Swartberg, making the total conservation area a vast 129,000 hectares.

Three historic routes connecting the Great and Little Karoo lead through the reserve. Toorwaterpoort is a train route, Meiringspoort is used by motorists and the untarred Swartberg Pass takes one over the Swartberg. Gamkaskloof was first inhabited by farmers in 1830 and was accessible only on foot until 1963 when a road was finally built into the valley. The reserve’s vegetation is diverse featuring renosterveld, mountain fynbos, Karoo-veld, spekboom veld, and many geophyte species. Most plants flower in spring, but early autumn is the time that many protea species flower, attracting large numbers of sugarbirds and sunbirds. During mid-summer (December - February) many of the interesting plants on the higher Swartberg peaks are in flower, including the very rare Protea venusta.

Wildlife likely to be seen in the Swartberg Nature Reserve include klipspringer, grey rhebuck, kudu, baboon and dassie, and at Gamkapoort you will see springbok. Leopard and caracal also occur in the area, but are very seldom seen. More than 130 bird species have been recorded here including black, fish and martial eagle, Cape sugarbird and the pied kingfisher.

Contact Details Anysberg Nature Reserve 028 425-5020 028 425-5030 Enquire now View Rates View Directions

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