Getting to De Kruis
As you journey to De Kruis enjoy the extraordinary nature of this breathtaking landscape as its sprawling vistas unfold before your eyes – a picture of undisturbed tranquillity.
The road from Matjiesfontein weaves through harsh but beautiful mountain ranges, opening up as you cross the boundary into the Northern Cape – where suddenly the majestic Roggeveld Escarpment appears as an impenetrable wall in the blue distance. Somehow, unbelievably, a road has been picked through the wall, leading up to Sutherland via one of Southern Africa’s longest mountain passes. But before you reach it the De Kruis valley branches off to one side: this is your road.
The conventional route to De Kruis involves a 3½ hour drive from Cape Town on good tar roads, followed by an 8km gravel farm road, for which you should allow another leisurely half hour.
The farm road winds slowly up into the De Kruis valley. Eventually the homestead rises out of a shallow dip to greet you: golden sunlight kisses the surrounding mountains.
Treat yourselves – your hosts can prepare dinner for you on your first evening or as often as you request
The Forgotten Highway
There is another route to De Kruis from the south west, which is along the old Forgotten Highway. This heads east out of Ceres, passes through the Karoopoort where the road swings north at the start of the Tankwa Camino (the R355), before branching off east again along the R356 to cross the Koedoesberge Pass at Thyshoogte on the Northern Cape border. A short detour will allow a visit to the famous Tankwa Padstaal. Then, after skirting the southern edge of Windheuwel, the Tankwa River valley unfolds before you – and beyond it Verlatenkloof and the De Kruis valley. This is a beautiful and lonely road, almost all of it on gravel and slow moving. It will take an hour or two longer than the conventional route.
If you decide to approach De Kruis via the Forgotten Highway, or undertake other extensive gravel road trips, please take heed of the advice offered by Peter Slingsby in his informative map publication,Tankwa-Karoo & the Roggeveld Escarpment:
“Almost every report of travels in the Tankwa mentions the state of the roads, particularly the sharp stones which are the cause of so many wrecked tyres. Razor-sharp shards of dolorite rocks that have split apart in the extreme summer heat/winter cold are largely the cause, and if you are driving on ‘city tyres’ you should expect a puncture or two! But don’t let that put you off exploring this fabulous area. … Enquire locally and be equipped with extra tyres, food, water and bedding. There is little or no cell phone reception in the area and farms may be unoccupied.”
Further information about driving at De Kruis
- The homestead is accessed via an 8km gravel farm road, which crosses a number of dry riverbeds. Although many of our guests have visited in smaller two-wheel drive cars, a high clearance vehicle is an advantage. Low profile tyres are not encouraged.
- Assistance and advice will gladly be provided to any guests experiencing uncertainty or difficulty, and arrangements can be made in advance with the guest house manager to escort guests and their luggage from close to the start of the gravel road up to the homestead in one of the farm’s Land Cruisers: guest cars are kept in secure covered parking at a farmhouse near the bottom of the farm.
- Covered parking for 3 vehicles at the homestead.