De Rust means the rest, and the village earns the name by being a pleasant place to stop before or after a day in the Swartberg. It lies in the Little Karoo between Oudtshoorn and the mouth of the Meiringspoort gorge, a small settlement of about three and a half thousand people, with a single main street of low whitewashed houses, shady trees and gardens, and the long wall of the Swartberg mountains standing dark to the north. The land around is dry, with farms along the river and fields of lucerne laid out like green patches on the red earth.
Most visitors pass through on the N12, the main route from the Garden Route toward Johannesburg, and the village has the feel of a place that has learned to be gracious to strangers. Guesthouses with thick walls and cool courtyards line the streets, and a few small restaurants serve Karoo lamb, ostrich and homemade pies. The area is known for ostrich farming, a business that boomed in the early twentieth century when feathers were fashionable in Europe, and you see the big birds in paddocks along the road. Cango Caves, a spectacular limestone cave system, lie not far away on the other side of Oudtshoorn.
For riders the attraction is what lies on either side. To the south, the road passes through open Karoo country with long straights and wide views, and to the north it enters the gorge, with the road rising along the river. Summer afternoons are hot, often well into the thirties, so riding in the morning is best, and winter nights can drop below freezing, with frost on the fields. Wind is common on the plain, and thunderstorms in summer can bring flash floods to the dry riverbeds.
Fuel is available in the village, but supplies are modest, and the larger town of Oudtshoorn, thirty-three kilometres away, has everything you need in the way of workshops and shops. De Rust is an excellent place to spend the night before tackling the gorge, with quiet evenings and a sky full of stars, since there is almost no light pollution. Walk down the main street at dusk and listen to the quiet.