The Gariep Dam is the biggest dam in South Africa.

The dam was commissioned in 1971 and was originally called the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam. After the end of apartheid the name was considered unsuitable and changed to Gariep Dam in 1996. The word gariep comes from the Khoi San language and means “Great water”. It is also the original name of the Orange River which flows into the dam and acts as the border between the provinces of the Eastern Cape and Free State.

The road crosses the 88 m high and 914 m long wall and contain approximately 1.73 million m³ of concrete. You can actually get out and walk back onto it for views both over the dam on the one side and into the gorge on the other. The Gariep Dam is the largest storage reservoir in South Africa with a total storage capacity of approximately 5,340,000 megalitres (5,340 hm³) and a surface area of more than 370 square kilometres (140 sq mi) when full. The hydro-electrical power station houses four 90 MW generators.

Tours of the dam wall are also possible.