Molteno to Aliwal North – the Stormberg route

Along the Stormberg Route, beneath the southern Drakensberg

© Chris Marais

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The Stormberg route is a slow, meandering route between Molteno and Aliwal North in the Eastern Cape during which you imbibe all the local flavours, customs, characters and cultures of the area. There is rich history around here, from the early presence of the San to the many South African (Anglo-Boer) War battles that took place all over these mountains, and beyond.

Molteno is known for many things. It was first a booming coal town. Because of the abundance of good building sandstone in the area, it is blessed with sturdy, attractive homes built long ago. There is also a lot of San art in the mountains around here, and some quirky humour in its main street in the form of a sign advertising food from the Hungry Denn: ‘Stop and eat or we’ll both starve to death...’

Another important fact you should know about Molteno is that it gets very, very cold in the winter months of June to August. With a record low temperature of -18 degrees Celsius (28 June 1996), it vies with Sutherland in the Western Cape as South Africa’s coldest town. Locals will, of course, tell you Molteno is without doubt the coldest of them all.

From Molteno we head to Dordrecht, the farming town that lies in the Stormberg Mountains. Like Molteno, Dordrecht is part of the merino sheep agri-business in the area and also has a number of lovely sandstone homes.

We stay overnight in Dordrecht at the Grey Street self-catering establishment, which means we have to go on a quick grocery shop to the local Quicksave convenience store. We ask the Grey Street owners, Tim and Shari Salmon, for the keys to the Anderson Museum for an interesting insight into local lifestyles from a century ago. Look out for the maize sheller, the old petrol pumps, and the rather frightening dentist’s chair.

The next morning we tour the area, enjoying the snow-dusted Stormberg foothills and seeing the end of the so-called ‘Dragon’s Tail’ – the southern Drakensberg peaks.

We drive on through the rather spectacular Barkly Pass to the town of Barkly East. But we don’t tarry long, because tonight’s stop is in the village of Rhodes and there's about 40km of mountains to cross.

Finally, we check into Walkerbouts Inn and make for the bar where owner Dave Walker is pouring the first round of the evening. It’s starting to chill down outside, and the hospitality and warmth at Walkerbouts are very welcome.

The next morning we head back through Barkly East on the R58 to Lady Grey, where we'll spend the night. It’s only 50km on to Aliwal North and we’ll make a slow drive of it tomorrow...