Tankwa Time Out
SA4x4|July 2019

A weekend breakaway to the Tankwa Karoo via the Old Postal Route brings weather from every season for avid overlanders Simon van der Merwe and Minouw Coetzee

Minouw Coetzee
Tankwa Time Out

A few weekends ago we had the pleasure of once again travelling to the Tankwa Karoo. The Tankwa is a very special place for us. It’s where my anc Simon and I had one of our rst Rolbos Overland adventures, which led to me penning our rst blog and the two of us becoming fulltime explorers.

This time around we decided to try something new and travel along the Old Postal Road. Our nal destination was a campsite called “Die Mond” situated on the banks of the Groot River.

We left promptly at 06:00 on a Friday morning, taking the N7 out of Cape Town to Clanwilliam. We made a pit stop, had some breakfast toasties and then took the R364 towards Pakhuis Pass which connects to Calvinia. This pass leads past De Pakhuys which is regarded by climbers as a bouldering Mecca. When the weather starts cooling down outside of summer, it’s why you frequently and small rental cars, piloted by many foreign climbers, being driven out of their comfort zones on the surrounding gravel roads.

Going Postal – with care

After the Pakhuis Pass, we took the turnoff towards Wupperthal on the short and steep Hoek se Berg Pass. We then crossed the Biedouw River and turned onto the Old Postal Road 17km before Wupperthal. Be careful not to miss the turn-off as the road isn’t marked. Luckily it is tagged on Tracks4Africa.

The Old Postal Road is a historic Karoo-Cederberg route; a 53km gravel track connecting the Biedouw Valley in the Cederberg with Eilandsvlei Farm near the R355 in the Tankwa Karoo. This route was in the past used to deliver post between these two remote communities. The track has been maintained, though it is advisable to use a highclearance 4x4. It is amazing as you drive this route to realise that this terrain was regularly crossed on foot – the landscape is barren, though extremely beautiful in its vastness and simplicity.

Esta historia es de la edición July 2019 de SA4x4.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

Esta historia es de la edición July 2019 de SA4x4.

Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 9,000 revistas y periódicos.

MÁS HISTORIAS DE SA4X4Ver todo
SA4x4

Uganda The Pearl Of Africa

This trip, the very last in the series of stories from Dan Grec’s two-year Africa round trip, details a scary mishap and some extraordinary wildlife encounters

time-read
10+ minutos  |
March 2020
Chewy, But Edible
SA4x4

Chewy, But Edible

Take another look at those garden pests

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 2020
Auto Perfection?
SA4x4

Auto Perfection?

Adding a six-speed auto to Mahindra’s workhorse ups the game for this value proposition

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Defenders On Tour

The second 2019 Defender Trophy event kicked off in Limpopo and was unique in that participants camped in three different countries…

time-read
9 minutos  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Rad Rig The Dream Catcher

Motorhome world’s one-of-a-kind luxury globetrotter

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 2020
The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader
SA4x4

The Difference Between An Overlander And An Offroader

A very important distinction needs to be made between the offroader and the overland traveller; often the two are thought to be the same.

time-read
5 minutos  |
March 2020
Steelmate TP-S9
SA4x4

Steelmate TP-S9

Solar powered TPMS (External sensor)

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 2020
SA4x4

Light on the dark side

VW AMAROK DARK LABEL

time-read
4 minutos  |
March 2020
Monkey business!
SA4x4

Monkey business!

Vervet Monkeys (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) are the most widespread of the African monkeys; occurring from the Ethiopian Rift Valley, highlands east of the Rift, and southern Somalia, through the eastern lowlands of Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia (east of the Luangwa Valley), Malawi, Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Botswana, and all nine provinces in South Africa.

time-read
3 minutos  |
March 2020
SA4x4

GREAT ZOOKS

There are a few mishaps as a bunch of Jimnys tackle one of Lesotho’s premier off-road challenges, Baboon’s Pass

time-read
10 minutos  |
March 2020