by Don Kwikshot

Created on: May 21, 2008

MISSION VILLAGES OF THE WESTERN CAPE

WUPPERTHAL

If you have a yearning to really escape from the hurly-burly of the 21st century and disappear into the fascinating wilderness which makes up a great deal of the Western Cape, then there can be few places better, with more scenic situations, than Wupperthal, hidden as it is deep in the Cedarberg mountains behind Clanwilliam. Before you set out on this wonderful journey, you should be warned that the round trip can not comfortably be travelled from Cape Town in less than two days if you are to see everything there is to see. The route described here should only be undertaken in a 4-wheel drive vehicle as the latter part is not suitable for ordinary cars.

To start with, leave Cape Town on the N7 and travel to Clanwilliam (2hrs 15mins, +-225 kms); turn off the national road into Clanwilliam and stock up for the trip ahead; please remember, there will be no more petrol or diesel for about 250 kms and the going is fairly rough, so your fuel consumption will be more than usual.

Leave Clanwilliam on the R364 towards Calvinia and you will soon find yourself heading steadily upwards over the Pakhuis Pass, leaving the fertile Oliphants' River Valley behind you. The road, although now tarred in places where the gradient is particularly steep, is rough and the terrain becomes more and more wild as you head into the mountains. About 8,5 kms out of Clanwilliam you will pass along a relatively flat stretch of very sandy road between high pinnacles of typical Cedarberg rocks and lined with dense bush. On your left hand side there is a small car park where you can pull off and take in Louis Leipoldt's grave in one of the caves. Although the grave and the rock-paintings are interesting, it is the silence which deafens you and the loneliness which abounds. Take a few minutes to absorb the silence, look out for the eagles as they hover high in the blue looking for prey, and if you look carefully you will see the occasional dassie watching you from his vantage point in the rocks.

Back on the road again you soon begin to twist and turn upwards until at 1087 metres you cross the summit of the pass and begin a steep, winding drop into the valley below. Pass the turn to Bushman's Kloof on your right and head onwards across the valley floor until you see a lonely clump of trees on the right hand side, about 19 kms from the grave. Although there is no marked spot for stopping, it is well worth pulling to the side of the road and walking into

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