Into the Baviaanskloof - 440km

The road then snakes out of the valley along Combrink’s Pass to Bergplaas, a large grassland plateau. Just before meandering down the Holgat Pass, the route passes Waterpoort. For many years, the deep gorge was a formidable obstacle between the farming communities of Enkeldoorn and Bergplaas, but in the early 1960s a cableway was built to transport livestock and agricultural produce across the gorge. Still further on is the turnoff to Doodsklip, allegedly named after people died there under mysterious circumstances.

About 5 km on comes the turnoff to Rooihoek, with its tranquil mountain pool set against a backdrop of a stark quartzite ridge. From the Kouga Valley the road hugs the valley slopes as it meanders steeply out of the gorge carved by the Baviaanskloof River to the summit of the Grassneck Pass where a viewsite affords spectacular vistas over the rugged countryside. Continuing further west, the road descends more gently and then crosses the Baviaans River several times before reaching Geelhoutbos.

BAVIAANSKLOOF CONSERVATION AREA

The Baviaanskloof forms the core of this conservation area, which covers 174 000 ha of deep valleys, rocky plateaux, wild rivers and spectacular mountain peaks. Complementing the wild scenery is an astonishing diversity of vegetation, ranging from lush indigenous forest and valley bushveld, dominated by tree euphorbias, to grassy fynbos and spekboomveld.

Among its more than 1 100 plant species are no fewer than 17 members of the protea family and botanical treasures such as the endemic Willowmore cedar and the rare Karoo cycad (Encephalartos lehmanii). Since 1985, several farms have been purchased and incorporated into the conservation area, and Cape mountain zebra, eland, buffalo and red hartebeest have been reintroduced.

The area has been managed by the conservation department of the Eastern Cape since 1994, and there are plans to extend it substantially. Basic camping facilities are given at Komdomo, Doodsklip, Rooihoek, Akkerendal and Apieskloof while Geelhoutbos has self-catering chalets. Donkey carts are common forms of transport.

ELANDS RIVER VALLEY

Between the Elandsberge to the south and the Groot Winterhoek range to the north, the Elands River has carved a beautiful valley. Dominating the scenery at the western end of the Groot Winterhoek range is the 1 758-m-high Cockscomb, so named because the five crests resemble the comb of a rooster. With its fertile alluvial soil and numerous streams draining the mountain slopes, the valley contains many farms on which a variety of crops are grown. The lush valley and the mountain with its arid fynbos slopes owe their name to the abundance of eland (Taurotragus oryx) that roamed the area until it became settled.