Western Cape: Gamkaskloof (Die Hel) temporarily closed! [update]

update (12 December 2019): Gamkaskloof (Die Hel) will be closed from 03 December 2019 to 29 February 2020 as a result of damage to infrastructure during the recent fire. 

update (03 December 2019): Gamkaskloof (Die Hel) is closed until further notice as a result of a recent fire. The adjacent private landowners restaurant at Fontein Plaas is still operational and can be entered at own risk.

CapeNature, the public institution with the responsibility for biodiversity conservation in South Africa's Western Cape, has announced that Gamkaskloof (also known as "Die Hel") in the Swartberg Nature Reserve will be closed from today (26 November 2019) to 02 December 2019 as a result of an outbreak of fire. The fire is under control but the reserve will be closed to allow for mopping up operations.
Gamkaskloof (Die Hel), a narrow valley about 32 km long with a maximum of 180 m wide, lies isolated within the Swartberg Nature Reserve in the wedge of the Gamkaskloof valley south of the Gamkapoort Dam. The Swartberg Nature Reserve stretches 121 000 hectares between the Klein Karoo and the Groot Karoo, bordering the Gamkapoort Nature Reserve to the north and the Towerkop Nature Reserve to the west. The town of Oudtshoorn is 40 km away.