The Great Divide

Birding the Swartberg Pass

- Text and photographs by Richard Du Toit

The narrow gravel road is in good condition after recent repairs, but some sections are steep and lack side walls.

The Swartberg Pass in the Western Cape is unquestionably one of South Africa's most spectacular and accessible gravel-road mountain passes. Over a distance of just 24 kilometres, it traverses the Swartberg range from south to north, joining the Klein and Great Karoo. Starting at the southern end, the road winds up the mountain through the Swartberg Nature Reserve to an altitude of 1575 metres, from where you can enjoy spectacular views. After several kilometres of plateau, it descends again through a series of impressive switchbacks and into a deep gorge featuring extraordinary rock formations.

Officially opened in 1888, the pass remains operational and driving it is a memorable experience. Several stonewalled ruins along the route make for interesting historical footnotes and the pass itself is a national monument, declared in its centenary year, 1988.

On a freezing winter's day, with occasional snow flurries, I didn't expect to see much as I drove up the misty mountain. But noticing this Cape Eagle Owl in the lower reaches of the pass remains one of my best-ever bird sightings. The big bird sat hunched on a rock, unmoving, for hours.