Pont at Malgas

Before roads made travel from Cape Town easy, Malgas was an "inland port" for steamboats transporting provisions to the Swellendam area. Today Malgas is famous for it's "man drawn" pontoon across the Breede River, a service begun in 1860 and still operational today. The pont is the last working example in South-Africa. Vehicles and pedestrians are manually hauled across the river, with special rates for lifestock. This service operates from sun up to sun down.

Malagas was the name of the Hottentot chief, whose kraal was situated near the site. The name of the village was changed to Malgas because in the older days, post for the village ended up in Malagas Spain!