Karoo View

Trail Review Aasvoëlberg, Eastern Cape 
 

- Angus Boswell

When thinking about 4x4 challenges in the Eastern Cape, the Baviaansk loof first comes to mind. Everyone makes this a bucket list tick, but if you are in this part of the Karoo for longer, what else is there? Having headed inland after an Eastern Cape coastal escape, we decided on a detour to Willow more where one of the attractions is called Finchley Farm: a working sheep farm with two historic guest cottages and a rustic campsite nestled amongst the acacias, just below a spectacular dam.

It’s a basic and unpretentious sort of campsite. Electricity is only on demand, the sites are partially grassed and tucked out of the wind, and water for the shower is heated with a paraffin-driven rocket boiler.

There is good walking and mountain biking in the area if you ask, and also the chance to scale the Aasvoëlberg which hangs over the horizon to the north – either on foot or by car. This was the next day’s mission.

We had a quiet night sharing the campsite with two bikers who headed out early while we tucked into a leisurely breakfast. After collecting the keys and detailed instructions from owners Joanne and Michael Kroon up at the main house, it was a 13km trek up the R407, then a shot right through Leeu Kloof on the district road to Strydomsvlei, where we were able to see just how true the Sand River was to its name. A cluster of rundown labourers’ shacks just through the kloof and a locked gate are the markers for the trail entrance.