Klein Karoo

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Old grave yard

I was driving around the Klein Karoo town of Oudtshoorn looking for something interesting to photograph when I came across this old cemetery. It was surrounded by businesses and a couple of houses with a stone wall and old steel gate in the front. Cemeteries, especially old historic ones, fascinate me, so this was a huge find.The graves were made mostly of sandstone and the majority were so weathered and eroded that you couldn't see what was on them. I…

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05/03/2010
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Donkey car

As our round trip day outing via the Swartberg Pass to Prince Albert and back through Meiringspoort was coming to an end, we made a quick stop in the town of De Rust. Named such as it was a place to outspan the oxen to rest before or after a journey through Meiringspoort, the town is quaint place with a couple of interesting shops and eateries along its main drag. As we were coming into town I noticed a donkey…

6 Comments
15/01/2010
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Klein Karoo sunset

The world's biggest bird walking down a fence in the Klein Karoo near the town of Oudtshoorn at sunset..For more awe inspiring pictures from all over the globe featuring the sky, visit Skywatch.

18 Comments
14/01/2010
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Meiringspoort

There are two ways to get from the Karoo into the Klein Karoo over / through the Swartberg and both are very scenic. The Swartberg Pass is for those with lots of time and Meiringspoort for those in a hurry. The Meiringspoort road features soaring cliff walls with spectacular rock formations along the 25 km tarred road which winds along the floor of the gorge and crosses the Groot River 25 times. Each crossing, or drift, has its own name…

8 Comments
13/01/2010
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Poort-Pourri Kontreiwinkel

Driving towards De Rust and Oudtshoorn from Prince Albert takes one through Meiringspoort. Just before you enter the poort the road passes the little hamlet of Klaarstroom which has remained virtually unchanged since the days of Queen Victoria. As we were passing the turnoff into Klaarstroom my eye caught a peculiar sight and I nearly left the road as I spun my head around. A number of man sized dolls were sitting on benches, on bikes and just standing around…

5 Comments
12/01/2010
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Prince Albert

After driving through the Swartberg Pass (from here to here), we entered the village of Prince Albert. The first farmers in this area started farming in this fertile valley from 1762. The area soon attracted other farmers and church services were held on the market square and by 1844 an Dutch Reformed Church had been built and a thriving community established. In 1845 some parishioners suggested that the village be named Albertsburg after "Naar zijne Hoogheid" - his Royal Highness,…

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11/01/2010
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Klein Karoo farm house

A farm house on one of the ostrich farms just outside Oudtshoorn on the road to Schoemanshoek. The mountain in the background is the Swartberg where the Swartberg Pass (read here and here) can be found.

2 Comments
08/01/2010
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Swartberg Pass Part 2

Yesterday we drove up the Swartberg Pass and took a break at the top. Today we decent into the Karoo. The northern part of the pass is famous for its switchbacks and you won't find a travel book on South Africa that doesn't have at least one photo of the pass.Just before we started our decent I was curious to see where we were going and saw how the road snaked down the mountain side at a gradual decline. There…

5 Comments
07/01/2010