Prince Albert sits at the foot of the Swartberg mountains on the edge of the Great Karoo, a small, whitewashed town with Cape Dutch gables, irrigation furrows running down the main street, and an air of having been forgotten on purpose. Water from the mountains is the secret. It runs through the town in channels, feeds orchards and olive groves, and turns a patch of desert into a place that grows apricots, figs, grapes and olives on a surprising scale. Nobody comes here for speed, and the town is very good at that.
For riders it is the best base for two of the great passes in South Africa. To the south, the Swartberg Pass climbs to about 1,585 metres in a series of dizzying switchbacks, cut by the engineer Thomas Bain in the 1880s with convict labour, and it is gravel, steep and exposed, with stone retaining walls that have lasted for well over a century. To the south-west, the tarmac road through Meiringspoort follows a river through a gorge of folded red and grey rock, with high walls and a waterfall at one stop. The Swartberg demands care, with loose surface, sharp bends and sheer drops, and should be avoided in rain or snow. Spring and autumn are the best times. Midsummer in the Karoo is fierce.
The town itself was laid out in the 1760s around a farm and later named after Queen Victoria's consort, and its streets of low houses, shops and cafes feel timeless. The local speciality is dried fruit and olives, and you can buy apricots, dried peaches, preserves and olive oil at roadside shops and the weekend market. A small museum covers the town's history, and the shop owners are happy to talk. Deep in the mountains, the isolated valley of Gamkaskloof, known as the Hell, was home to a community cut off for generations until a road was cut in the 1960s.
The landscape is a mix of arid and wild. Karoo scrub, aloes and succulents cover the plains, and in spring the veld blooms briefly. The Swartberg range is a World Heritage area, with rock formations twisted by ancient tectonic forces, and leopards, klipspringers and eagles live in the high country. At night the stars are brilliant, and the air smells of dry earth and sage.
You can buy fuel in town, and you should, since the mountain roads have none. Bring water, a warm layer for the pass and a cheerful attitude to dust.