8 March 2021

The Kaalvoetvrou Monument and Retief’s Pass

Retief’s Pass is the route taken by Piet Retief’s party as they descended the Drakensberg and headed for Mgungundlovu, King Dingane’s capital. The Kaalvoetvrou (Barefoot woman) Monument commemorates Susanna Catharina Smit, sister of Gerrit Maritz, who claimed that she would prefer to walk barefoot over the Drakensberg than under a British flag. Ironically, she died in Natal, which meant that she never did walk barefoot across the Drakensberg.

GPS co-ordinates: S28° 33.300’ E29° 08.963’.