Tent Travels: When Die Hel froze over

WEATHERWISE, camping can involve some extreme contrasts – as it did one hot spring day when Bill and I wandered off the Swartberg Pass to visit the valley known as Die Hel.

I am not sure how the lovely Gamkaskloof earned this nickname. It is a stunning valley, remote and far off the tourism beaten track. There is nothing hellish about it at all so perhaps the name, ‘Die Hel’ refers to the fact that it is not easily accessible.

Settlement of the Gamkaskloof goes back to 1830. However, until fairly recently, the only way out of the valley for the ‘kloovers’ – as the settlers were called – was by foot, donkey or horse, via various rugged mountain paths and passes.

Because of the valley’s topography members of this isolated little community had to be self-sufficient, only leaving their valley occasionally to trade for the few items they could not produce themselves.

Our journey into Die Hel was comparatively easy. Near its summit, we turned off the Swartberg pass that links Oudtshoorn and Prince Albert. We then followed 50km of steep, winding, gravel road through tilted, twisted blocks of mountain into the lovely valley. This scenic road, built in 1963, finally linked the isolated valley to the outside world. Sadly, it also encouraged younger generations to seek their fortunes elsewhere and the population quickly dwindled.

When we visited Gamkaskloof, Annetjie Joubert (nee Mostert) was the only original kloover still living there. We met her when we stopped at a little shop to buy cold drinks. It was a scorching hot day and we were thirsty after completing ‘Die Hel run’.

Annetjie told us about the valley’s history as we sipped our icy drinks then she kindly took us to see the restored little Gamkaskloof cottages that now accommodate visitors to the valley.

We were planning to camp, however, so she directed us to the Cape Conservation office where we could book in for the night. Cape Conservation has bought up most of the land within Gamkaskloof and has set up a programme to preserve both the historical and natural treasures within the valley. Hot and tired, we then made our way back to the lovely little camping ground where we set up camp.

It was a beautiful evening, a cool breeze providing a little relief after what had been an incredibly hot, dry, dusty day. The next morning, when we woke to the pitter patter of gentle raindrops on our tent, the temperature had plunged dramatically.

We quickly packed up our tent and set off along the road out of the valley. There was something odd about the raindrops falling on our windscreen. Suddenly we realised they weren’t raindrops at all. They were snow flakes.

By the time we reached the point where the Gamkaskloof road meets the Swartberg Pass, the world had turned white. While we’d been sleeping, Die Hel had frozen over.

More Tent Travels:

• Camping, weather or not
• The fairest of them all
• Moonscapes and the Noisy One
• Between the rocks in a hard place