Meiringspoort

Meiringspoort takes the N12 through the Swartberg along the bed of the Groot River, and because the road follows the water rather than climbing over the range it crosses the river twenty-five times in about seventeen kilometres. The walls are the attraction: Table Mountain sandstone tilted and folded into curves and near-vertical bands, coloured red and orange by iron oxide, rising steeply on both sides. A short walk from a parking area leads to a waterfall with a dark pool, said in local tradition to hold a mermaid. It opened in 1858 and has been rebuilt repeatedly - floods in 1996 destroyed much of the road and it was reconstructed with stronger crossings, but the poort still closes when the river comes down hard. Unlike the Swartberg Pass a few kilometres west, this one is tar and easy, which makes it the alternative for anyone not wanting gravel.

What you actually see

• The twenty-five crossings - a road that fords the same river repeatedly through the gorge.
• The folded cliffs - red and orange sandstone bent into curves and vertical bands.
• The waterfall pool - a short walk to a dark pool with a mermaid tradition attached.
• The tarred alternative - the easy route through the Swartberg beside the gravel pass.

When to go

All year. One to two hours with stops. Check road status in heavy rain.

Honest expectations

Floods close the poort and have destroyed the road before - it is not a route to attempt in a storm. It is a national road with trucks, so stopping places are limited. The waterfall shrinks in dry seasons.

Nearby

The Swartberg Pass is west; De Rust and Oudtshoorn are south.