After an hour of rolling through tiny hamlets interspersed by tar and sand sections we finally arrived at the foot of the 1 000m pass with heavy legs and a deep craving for the abundant koeksisters , boerie rolls and jelly babies . The magnitude of 170km with 3 000m of climbing only really hits you there , looking up at a white road , endlessly zig zagging its way into the sky above . It was 16 ° C at the bottom – dropping to just a fingerbiting 8 ° C in icy winds on top . After one last gulp of Fanta Grape and inhaling yet another cold Bar One it was time to tackle it !
The Swartberg Pass , like Meiringspoort to the east , is especially known for the unusual geology that is exposed at its northern end . Here , 700m-high quartzite cliffs of the upper
The rubicon of gravel road passes in South Africa , the Swartberg Pass connects the Klein Karoo with the Great Karoo , offering far-reaching views over both .