Tankwa Time Out

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

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.