Tankwa down the road

The R355 is South Africa's longest uninterrupted gravel road one that isn’t crossed by any other road. It's a delightful indulgence to set aside a few hours and drive it from end to end.

- Cyril Klopper

The R355 starts 40 km east of Ceres in the Cape Bokkeveld, where the tarred R46 regional road veers right towards the N1 highway (S33.23135 E19.67690). The R355 follows the dry bed of the Doring River, which runs between the Kwarrieberg (1 437 m high) to your right and the Saalberg (1 322 m) to your left.

This ravine is known as Karoopoort, and the road was laid out by the renowned Cape road engineer Andrew Bain, with construction handled by his son-in-law, Adam de Smidt. In the middle of the ravine is a short section of tar road and a farmstead dating back to the 18th century.

The tar road turns back into gravel as soon as you pass through the ravine and enter the southern edge of the Tankwa Karoo. The first stretch of the R355 is always badly corrugated, but 3 km past the farmstead, the road surface improves where the Sutherland road (R356) branches off to the right.

To your right is the Inverdoorn Game Reserve, where you can see the Big Five.

However, this is a private reserve, and you'll need to book in advance if you'd like to visit. Go to inverdoorn.​com if you're in the mood for this.

At the upper boundary of Inverdoorn's property, you'll spot two hills on either side of the road. The one to the right is Eierkop, offering a stunning view over the R355 as it stretches into the Karoo.

You can turn off at $33.08069 E19.77359 to explore Eierkop on foot. Just watch out for snakes.