The rugged mountains have long posed a barrier to the Klein Karoo and early settlers in the late 1600s used to follow herds of elephants to find easier ways through the area.

[2]: 49 On 1 June 2002, former South Africa cricket captain Hansie Cronje's scheduled flight home from Johannesburg to George, Western Cape was grounded so he hitched a ride as the only passenger on board a Hawker Siddeley HS 748 turboprop aircraft.

[5] Near George Airport, the pilots lost visibility in clouds and were unable to land, partly due to unusable navigational equipment.

[6] The range is characterized by gentle southern slopes and steep drops on the north side down to the low valley Little Karoo.

[citation needed] The high rainfall on the range has created numerous perennial streams used for irrigation in the Olifants River valley.

[citation needed] Among the animals found in the Outeniqua range are klipspringer, grey rhebuck, leopard and various rodents.

In 1943, to cope with the increasing demands of modern traffic, construction was started on the Outeniqua Pass, using the labour of Italian prisoners of war.