Kaalvoet Vrou

The Voortrekkers were renowned for their free spirit of independence and for their hardy resilience. Retief’s Klip (Retief’s Stone) is where Piet Retief’s party of Voortrekkers descended the Drakensberg and entered Natal on 14th December 1837. They had decided not to proceed with the rest of the Voortrekkers to what was to become the Transvaal Republic. Retief’s group consisted of some 66 wagons and these were the first wheeled vehicles to enter Natal. At Voortrekker Pass, near Bergville, stands a monument of a woman walking away from Natal. Known as Kaalvoet Vrou (barefoot woman), this monument is in memory of Susanna Smit, sister of Gert Maritz, who declared that she would rather trek barefoot back over the Berg than live in Natal under British rule.

Kaalvoet Vrou - Historicat monument at the top of Oliviershoek Pass