Meiringspoort: Refreshing Waters

After two days in Beaufort West and surrounding towns we were heading back home.  After a lovely breakfast at Die Herehuis guesthouse we packed the car and started the 300km drive back home.

Leaving Beaufort west at about 8:50

After driving for about 120km we reached Meiringspoort Pass.   

Entering Meiringsppoort

Meiringspoort Pass was built by Andrew Geddes Bain and his son Thomas Bain and was opened in 1858.  The road has been “verbeter” a lot since then.  In 1996 the pass was closed for repairs after flooding and is now a good road to drive.  It is also beautiful.  The road is surrounded by mountains and beautiful plants
The road crosses the Groot River 25 times.  Each drift has an interesting name and it is a lot of fun to read the names while driving. The names start with Eerste drif (First Drift) and ends with Laaste Drif (Last Drift).  I like Spookdrif (Ghost drift), Uitspandrif (Outspan drift) and Waterval drif (Waterfall drift).  You can read all of the names and the stories behind them here. 

Waterfall Drift

We stopped at the Waterfall Drift.  This is a nice spot for picnics with clean bathrooms.  There are interesting exhibits of how the pass was built and about the plants that grow in the pass. 














We walked to the waterfall.  It is a short and easy walk of about 5 minutes to reach the beautiful waterfall.  There was a lot of rain in the week before and the water was flowing strong.  The water is clean and fresh and I had to taste it.  It was icy cold and very refreshing. 























Soon we were back on the road but there was one more stop to make in Meiringspoort at Herrie’s Klip (Herrie’s stone).  Afrikaans writer CJ Langenhoven (1873-1932) wrote a book about an elephant named Herrie.  CJ Langenhoven carved the name Herrie on a stone in Meiringspoort as a monument.  In 1973 the stone was declared a National Monument.  

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