You Only Live Once

I burst into song. One can do this when travelling alone. Even though I still had a few hours’ drive to my destination, the freedom of being on the road always fills me with joy.

- Richard Van Ryneveld

And when I’m heading to the Groot Karoo north of the Swartberge, it’s impossible not to join in with the music on the radio.

My singing almost turned to yodelling when I arrived at Guest Farm had me attempting a “yooooo deee ouuuu deee dooooo”. From the camp to the reception and little restaurant, everything is fantastic, deserving of their three-star rating.

My journey started in my home town of Greyton, from where I headed east-north-east before turning off the N2 just past Swellendam onto the R324 heading towards the little hamlet of Suurbraak.

Then it was via the Tradouw Pass to join the famous Route 62 at Barrydale, and on to De Rust.

My first stop was just a little further, about 25 km north over the Meiringspoort Pass to Klaarstroom and then another 25 km on to El Yolo One, just over the Western Cape border in the foothills of the Swartberge.

EL YOLO ONE

By now you are probably wondering about the unique name of this Karoo Farm. Helene Scheepers, the charming manager, was waiting for me at the front steps of the reception and restaurant building and quickly explained the origins of the name: EL YOLO OnE stands for “Enjoy Life You Only Live Once oN Earth”.

It was the owner Willem Cillié’s children that came up with the name. Whilst on the subject of kids, El Yolo One is a wonderful place to camp with the kids. There are goats, pot-belly pigs, and like any good Karoo farm also some cattle and sheep.

There is also a small playground for the kid’s area in the main camp where the chalets are found, as well as a small heated pool.

I camped at the main campsite under some huge poplars, and down at the 4x4 camp, which is only booked out to a single group, with a maximum of eight people at a time.

Both camps are superb, but I really wished I could have stayed down at the bush camp for a lot longer.