Seweweekspoort better known as Smuggler’s Route, is one of South Africa’s most spectacular mountain valleys.
Once the main route for brandy smugglers, runaways, slaves, and outlaws, this majestic 15 km gorge connects the Little Karoo and the Great Karoo and is probably one of the most awe-inspiring mountain passes in South Africa.
Completed in 1862, there are several stories explaining the origin of the name:
It took 7 weeks for mounted troops to escort a gang of highway robbers, being banished from Barrydale, through the Poort, or
It took 7 weeks for the authorities to catch a stock-thief who fled into the mountains, or
It took 7 weeks for a gang of brandy smugglers to return through the Poort from Beaufort West.
But the most likely explanation is that the Poort was named after a missionary from Amalienstein, Reverend Zerwick. The local population could not pronounce his name and called it Seweweekspoort.
The ruins of the old tollhouse can still be seen at the northern entrance to the Poort… along with the ghost of the first toll-keeper!
According to tradition, the ghost of one of the first toll-gate keepers can be seen on dark, stormy nights, when he appears with his lantern, stopping motorists. As soon as they stop, the figure with the lantern disappears, as mysteriously as they had appeared!
No one knows why the toll-keeper has never left his post, but one thing is certain, it is best to always carry some cash on you!
Haunted History of South Africa 