The narrow gravel road is in good condition after recent repairs, but some sections are steep and lack side walls.
The Swartberg Pass in the Western Cape is unquestionably one of South Africa's most spectacular and accessible gravel-road mountain passes. Over a distance of just 24 kilometres, it traverses the Swartberg range from south to north, joining the Klein and Great Karoo. Starting at the southern end, the road winds up the mountain through the Swartberg Nature Reserve to an altitude of 1575 metres, from where you can enjoy spectacular views. After several kilometres of plateau, it descends again through a series of impressive switchbacks and into a deep gorge featuring extraordinary rock formations.
Officially opened in 1888, the pass remains operational and driving it is a memorable experience. Several stonewalled ruins along the route make for interesting historical footnotes and the pass itself is a national monument, declared in its centenary year, 1988.
On a freezing winter's day, with occasional snow flurries, I didn't expect to see much as I drove up the misty mountain. But noticing this Cape Eagle Owl in the lower reaches of the pass remains one of my best-ever bird sightings. The big bird sat hunched on a rock, unmoving, for hours.
This story is from the May/June 2022 edition of African Birdlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the May/June 2022 edition of African Birdlife.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
EXPLORING NEW HORIZONS
Keith Barnes, co-author of the new Field Guide to Birds of Greater Southern Africa, chats about the long-neglected birding regions just north of the Kunene and Zambezi, getting back to watching birds and the vulture that changed his life.
footloose IN FYNBOS
The Walker Bay Diversity Trail is a leisurely hike with a multitude of flowers, feathers and flavours along the way.
Living forwards
How photographing birds helps me face adversity
CAPE crusade
The Cape Bird Club/City of Cape Town Birding Big Year Challenge
water & WINGS
WATER IS LIFE. As wildlife photographer Greg du Toit knows better than most.
winter wanderer
as summer becomes a memory in the south, the skies are a little quieter as the migrants have returned to the warming north. But one bird endemic to the southern African region takes its own little winter journey.
when perfect isn't enough
Egg signatures and forgeries in the cuckoo-drongo arms race
Southern SIGHTINGS
The late summer period naturally started quietening down after the midsummer excitement, but there were still some classy rarities on offer for birders all over the subregion. As always, none of the records included here have been adjudicated by any of the subregion's Rarities Committees.
flood impact on wetland birds
One of the features of a warming planet is increasingly erratic rainfall; years of drought followed by devastating floods. Fortunately, many waterbirds are pre-adapted to cope with such extremes, especially in southern Africa where they have evolved to exploit episodic rainfall events in semi-arid and arid regions. But how do waterbirds respond to floods in areas where rainfall - and access to water - is more predictable? Peter Ryan explores the consequences of recent floods on the birds of the Western Cape's Olifants River valley.
a star is born
It’s every producer’s dream to plan a wildlife television series and pick the right characters before filming.
