Seweweekspoort Pass

Seweweekspoort Pass

Seweweekspoort, or Seven Weeks Poort, is a rugged mountain ravine that lies just at the start of the Klein Swartberge near Towerkop Nature Reserve. The ravine or poort is a combination of some of the most beautiful vertical rock folds in the country that combine to form a narrow little pass through which a road winds. The road too is narrow, for obvious reasons, winding for roughly 17 km through incredible mountain scenery, crossing the little river that follows the poort floor no fewer than 23 times.

Seweweekspoort did not always have a road. The pass that now allows cars to experience its beauty, was an engineering feat that involved Thomas Bains, a team of convicts and a lot of time to achieve. At the northern end of the poort you can still find what remains of the original toll-house. Drive through here in December and you might catch sight of the Protea aristata, a very rare protea that was thought to be extinct until it was rediscovered here during the 1950s.

On the poort's western flank is the huge Seven Weeks Poort peak, which dominates the Klein Swartberge at 2325 metres. Whilst the road was initially used by farmers to enter the Great Karoo region, today the sheer magic of the scenery, and the wildness of the slopes mean that you are completely encased in nature throughout the 17 kilometre drive. Its beauty continues to captivate with bare walls of vertical rock, and a path that twists and turns spectacularly – as many as thirty times in all.

Yet within this desolation there are places to stay. To hide out and escape life as we know it. There are hikes to do, walks to take and sheer beauty to behold.