8 EASTERN CAPE PASSES
The Eastern Cape’s dirt road passes, close to the Lesotho border, range from challenging to tame and from picturesque to spectacular. Oh yes, it’s also some of the highest in the country. So, what are you waiting for?
Opinions about where the highest dirt road pass in the country is are almost as varied as those about the Springbok rugby team or which James Bond actor is the best. Some believe the end of the Sani Pass actually doesn’t fall in Lesotho, disqualifying it and giving the honours to Naude’s Nek. But the actual border lies at the top of the pass and not at the border post, meaning the whole pass falls within South Africa. Another contentious factor is the fact that the Sani Pass is now partly tarred. So, does it still count as a dirt road pass? Then there are also other contenders for the title. The one is the TTT (the Tiffendell-Tenahead Traverse) and the other the Ben Macdhui Pass. You can argue about this too, because technically the one is only a contour path and the other a steep trail through private land that ends at the highest point in the old Cape Colony. It doesn’t matter how you look at it, the fact remains: Some of the country’s highest passes lie in the Eastern Cape on the southern foot of the Drakensberg. If you plan properly you can fit in eight or 10 of them and complete the so-called Eight Passes Challenge or the new Ben 10 Eco Challenge. The idea is to drive all the passes in seven days. We tackled the original eight.
1 BARKLY PASS Tar travel
If you drive from Elliot in the direction of Barkly East, the Barkly Pass starts 9 km outside of town. It’s named after Sir Henry Barkly, Cape governor in the 1870s, and it’s the only pass in the Eight Passes Challenge that’s tarred. On a sunny day it’s like driving Chapman’s Peak or Clarence Drive in Gordon’s Bay. The view over the farmlands is equally beautiful and the sandstone cliffs are impressive. Around the 7 km mark keep your eyes peeled for “the tortoise” on the left – you’ll know when you see this strange rock formation. When the fog rolls in over the mountain or the snowflakes start to fall, the road becomes silky smooth and you have to drive extra carefully, especially on Vyfponddraai, about 3 km from the bottom. In the days when people travelled over the pass in ox wagons and horse carts, many a wagon’s axle broke going round this sharp bend. A farmer nearby apparently fixed the axles at a cost of five pounds each. Today it’s still a dangerous bend, especially if you’re coming from the top. The Mountain Shadows Hotel is a kilometre from the top on your left. It’s a famous beacon in the district and a great overnight spot, and in winter you can warm up in front of the fireplace.
2 BASTERVOETPAD Easy does it
Opposite the Mountain Shadows Hotel entrance, at a sign that points you in the direction of the Bastervoetpad, there’s an unassuming dirt road. It takes you over the Fetcani Pass, a relatively short pass – you easily drive it without realising the summit is 2 088 m above sea level. About 8 km from Mountain Shadows another rusty sign on the right shows where the pass is. Pass the farmhouses (right at the first fork in the road and left at the next) until you get to a cement bridge. This is where the pass actually starts. Officially it’s the Dr. L.A.P.A Munnik Pass, but everyone refers to it as the Bastervoetpad because it’s more or less the same route that Adam Kok and his people took from Griekwaland West to Kokstad in 1862. In summer the road can be muddy, slippery and eroded in places, and in winter snow and ice can make it nearly impossible to drive. So, keep an eye on the weather or ask someone at the hotel to phone one of the farmers for first-hand info. On a nice day you don’t really need four-wheel drive for the pass. Good ground clearance and a diff lock will do, but a >
low-range gearbox will give you peace of mind when the wheels start struggling over the loose rocks. The road is uneven, narrow and challenging in places, but not too steep. After 18 km (from Mountain Shadows’ entrance) you’ll see the first of three memorials: in honour of one of Elliot’s erstwhile road inspectors, Nic de Bruin (around 1970 the councils of Maclear and Elliot worked together on the road). Less than a kilometre further is a second memorial, one that states you are now 2 240 m above sea level and that Dr. Munnik officially opened the pass on 12 December 1979. There’s a quarry 100 m further next to the road – you can pull in here for some shelter from the wind that tugs at you year-round while you look out over Kapaailand. Kapaailand is a colloquial name referring to the districts of Elliot, Ugie and Maclear and refers to the Xhosa leader Ncapayi who lived here early in the 19th century. From the quarry the pass descends sharply, and after 700 m it curves 180° and you pass the lookout point again. Over the next 2 km the road zigzags sharply twice and runs over four foothills of the mountain that stick out like tines on a fork in the small valley. Now the road starts to get rough. To your right is a steep cliff. After two more twists the road starts following the contour of the mountain. At the 27 km mark is the opening of a wide port with a steep green hill on your right and enormous cliffs and rock formations to the left. The road isn’t used often; you’ll have to ask someone to keep the wattle trees next to the road out of the way so you can drive through. The roughest section of the pass is now behind you. Start looking out for the rock pool in the river at the 30 km mark – there’s a picnic table and benches next to the road. Many people drive the 5 km from the low-water crossing on the eastern side of the pass to come swim and picnic here. (The biggest part of this is on forestry roads through PG Bison’s plantations.) At the end of the pass you turn right and drive back on the Wildebees Road in the direction of Elliot or you turn left through Ugie to Maclear and the Naude’s Nek Pass.
3 NAUDE’S NEK A high low point
There are two types of people who like dirt road passes: those who have driven
Naude’s Nek and those who are still planning to. This pass is on everyone’s bucket list and you don’t even need a four-wheel drive, unless there were heavy rains or snow. All you really need is enough time. It’s just over 100 km of dirt road between Maclear and Rhodes, of which Naude’s Nek takes up 32 km. It is, however, only one of three passes on this route. About 26 km outside Maclear you first have to drive over the Pot River Pass and another 33 km further the Elands Height Pass awaits. You’ll see the Elands Height police station on your left at the start of the pass – this is a good place to come to if you’re in trouble, because you can forget about cellphone reception until you reach the vantage point at the top of Naude’s Nek. About 800 m on the other side of the police station there’s a fork in the road with loads of road signs. Keep left. The pass that the Naude brothers built with pickaxes at the end of the 19th century starts 8 km further on. The road winds upwards with sharp turns and a steep drop on your right. It doesn’t feel like you’re going to go over the edge, but you’ll have to navigate well if someone comes from the opposite direction. There are rock weirs in places, and at the one there’s a sign that says the pass is a national monument. About 3 km from where the pass started is another fork; keep left again. The road surface is smooth and even but be on the lookout for rocks that might have rolled into the road. At the 9,5 km mark is a sign that indicates you are on the Naude’s Nek Pass and it’s 2 596 m high. There are two things you should know about this sign: Firstly, this is not the top of the pass, and secondly, the height of the pass is underestimated by 6 m. Over the next 5 km the pass zigzags, and in certain places it’s quite difficult to tear your gaze from the emerald-green landscape on your right. If it wasn’t for a tractor in the distance you’d think you were in a scene out of Lord of the Rings. The lookout point at the Tenahead turn-off is a good place to pull over if you need to make an urgent call – there is reception for most cellphone networks. This is also where most visitors take the obligatory “we were here” photo of Naude’s Nek. There is another sign that says you are now 2 500 m above sea level. It’s accurate, but it’s also not the actual summit of the pass. This is another 8,2 km further on at 2 590 m, but it’s easy to miss. Despite the sign next to the road there isn’t one at the highest point – here you’ll only find a farm gate and a twin-track. Further along is a new sign for the Ben 10 Challenge with all the right info, but it’s also not on the summit. From here the road descends steeply in the direction of Rhodes. On a map the twists and turns in the road look almost like a flattened spring and you can see sections of the road you still have to drive far down below. Below you, on the right, you can see the roofs of two barns at a kraal with hundreds of sheep in it and there’s a rickety bridge over the Bell River. It’s less than 1 km to the end of the pass where there’s a picnic spot and a memorial to the Naude family. Rhodes is 12 km further, but 1,2 km before you drive in to town there’s a T-junction with a sign to Carlileshoek.
4 CARLISLESHOEK Steep, steeper, steepest
The Carlisleshoekspruit Pass starts at the sign post. It’s a main access route to Tiffendell, and judging by all the sign posts next to the road, the ski resort’s people are very concerned about your wellbeing. As is the case with most of the passes in these parts, the weather determines what type of vehicle you’ll need. A few hundred metres past the turn-off is a noticeboard that’s divided into four parts. An arrow (almost like the arm on a watch) indicates whether the road is passable for ordinary vehicles, only 4x4s or 4x4s with snow chains. When the arrow points to the red block, the pass is closed. There’s nothing to do but turn around and go look for a fireplace and mug of Milo somewhere in Rhodes. The pass roughly follows the flow of the Carlisleshoek spring, and in at least six places one of the twists crosses the river. At the third ford there’s a sign that indicates your cellphone is useless until you reach the top. On the sign is a number that you can phone to ask for advice about the road or the weather – while there’s still reception obviously. Just after the halfway mark (8,1 km) is another sign that says you’re now leaving South Africa. Relax, you don’t have to reach for your passport because the Lesotho border, as the crow flies, is another 9 km from here. The steepest section of the pass lies ahead. The sign at the 11 km mark reads: “Put your vehicle in low range, keep the revs high, take the turn wide, and drive with confidence”. Even if you don’t have plenty of confidence, the rest of the sign is good advice to follow. The road here has a gradient of 1:3, which means you’re climbing an angle of 18,4°. It doesn’t look like much on a protractor, but just wait until you’re behind the wheel of a car. Luckily the most difficult parts of the road have a concrete surface, which means your vehicle’s tyres won’t slip on loose gravel. Right before the last of the four hairpin bends is an encouraging sign to ensure you the worst is behind you. On the other side of this there’s MTN and Vodacom cellphone reception. Or so it says on the next sign. There are two more bends in the road before you reach the big sign at the top of the pass that says you’ve conquered the fifth highest pass in the country. Stop here, walk back a short distance and enjoy views over the route you’ve just driven. Then get back into your vehicle and tackle the next section to the top of Volunteershoek Pass.
As is the case with most passes in this region, the weather determines what sort of vehicle you’re going to need.
5 VOLUNTEERSHOEK Hold on!
The turn-off to Tiffendell lies at a T-junction 6,5 km north of the Carlisleshoekspruit Pass summit. There’s an official road sign indicating that Rhodes lies to the east and the farming communities of Wartrail and New England to the west. In the bottom corner on the right-hand side of the sign a few pranksters put stickers and licence disc holders, just so you know you’re not the first person to stand here. Thanks guys. The other sign simply says: “WARTRAIL NEW ENGLAND Simply the best”. Who are we to disagree… The top of the Volunteershoek Pass is 8,2 km further, past the Loch Ness lake (yes, really) on your right, all along the Knoppieshoek spring. It’s a passable farm road to the sign at the top of the pass towards the turn-off to the farm Hawshead. There are three or four farm gates on the way there and mud pools in places where rain water hasn’t seeped away. There’s quite a bit of livestock walking around, so leave the gates the way you found them. The rest of the road should rather not be attempted without a 4x4. If you’ve travelled here in your Bantam bakkie, turn around and follow the road back. The pass drops sharply over the next 2,5 km and you’ll quickly see the first of seven cattle grids on the pass. The road is rocky, and although the “cliff” on your left on this stretch of the pass isn’t very steep, there are deep dongas that you should be on the look out for. Over the next 3 km the road winds without much incline. From the 6 km mark it drops sharply, around a hairpin bend to the left that takes you into a small valley. At the top of the valley, in the turn, is a waterfall that is sometimes completely frozen in the winter months. The road is narrow and littered with loose rocks. The cliff is on your right… and very steep. Drive slowly, gear down to first and use low range for stability. When you spot the radio tower on your left, there’s still another 1,3 km of the pass left. At the tower the road curls through a 180° curve and starts to descend almost to the bottom of the valley before swerving to the left for the last kilometre towards a T-junction. Turn right and follow the road for 8,5 km to the Wartrail farm school. The R393 turns off here, in the direction of Lundin’s Nek. >
6 LUNDIN’S NEK The boys on the border
The surveyor-general’s 1:50 000 map (3027DA Blikana) shows the pass as Lundin’s Nek. Who the pass is named after and when it was built, however, remains a mystery. But an even bigger mystery is how the spelling changed to “Lundean’s Nek”. Even on the official sign posts, like the two where the R393 connects with the road at Volunteershoek, it’s spelt like that. The pass actually starts 5,5 km further, past the Wartrail Country Club and Reedsdell Guest Farm, at the cement ford where the road crosses the Joggemspruit. The pass isn’t particularly steep and on both sides of the road lie pastures on the foot of the Balloch Mountain. You can easily drive here with a bakkie without four-wheel drive, but the road is definitely too eroded for a sedan. Besides a handful of farmers, it’s really only military vehicles that drive here. The military outpost lies 2,7 km up the pass. There are three or four buildings with a radio mast and water tower. The place is surrounded by a fence and the pass runs through the camp. The gate is mostly open, but if it’s closed just ask if you can drive through and allow the soldiers to search your vehicle if they ask. Next to the road, lance-corporal Boyanda Wihoyi walks in full uniform from the outpost to the summit 1,7 km away. He does it for exercise and to get cellphone reception (MTN) at the small plateau where another sign with the incorrect spelling tells you you are now 2 170 m above sea level. The soldiers do border patrols to catch poachers and illegal immigrants, but how exactly they keep track of all the goats, cattle and donkeys that walk around here no one knows. On a clear day you can see into Lesotho from the plateau, and if you, like the cattle that graze here, aren’t afraid of heights, you can walk up a rock cliff a few hundred metres further to take photos of the panorama in front of you. From here you can also see how the road runs down the mountain and disappears around a bend. The border post is 5 km north-northwest from here, but along the road it’s twice as far. The road follows the contours of the mountain, through the Mtunzini informal settlement, to the Telle River. There are a few twists, including three hairpin bends between the 6,5 km and 8 km marks. When you reach the foot of the pass you can continue for 34 km on the R393 to the Telle Bridge border post to Lesotho, or you can complete the curve to where the road re-joins the R58 65 km further near Lady Grey. That will keep you busy for an entire day. Rather turn around at the foot of the pass or even at the top. Then follow your track back to Wartrail’s T-junction and follow the R396 to Barkly East. From here it’s 40 km tar road to the turnoff to Joubert’s Pass.
Apart from a handful of brave farmers, you’re only going to find the occasional army vehicle here.
7 JOUBERT’S PASS Many hands make light work
About 5 km past the halfway mark on the tar road from Barkly East to Lady Grey a big road sign points right. It’s a detour to Lady Grey, over the Joubert’s Pass. It’s a 48 km curve on a decent farm road that you can drive in a sedan (depending on the weather). The first 10,5 km of the road is full of sign posts to the Lammergeier Private Game Reserve. The road goes up and down a few times over ridges and through shallow springs before you see a tourism sign next to the road that reads “Joubert’s Pass 25”. What the 25 refers to is unclear because the pass actually begins 11,5 km from here, on the other side of Car Sump Drift and Karwegspoeldrif. >
Almost every ford or turn in the pass has a name. Halfway up is Skrikdrif, and when you reach the top at “The Nek” there’s another sign that reads “Heaven on Earth”. It’s a good description of the view. A cement road leads from the other side of a locked gate to a telephone tower, and your cellphone suddenly springs to life. With the 3G reception here you can even upload a pic to Facebook. A sign next to the gate tells the story of the farmers – five Jouberts, a Cloete and a Stevenson – who built the pass. Apparently, the government back then reckoned that at an estimated £6 000, the pass would be too expensive to build. The farmers and their workers decided to build it themselves – and did it for £1 200. From here the road drops over the next 7,5 km to right outside Lady Grey, between Witfontein Dam on your left and the Lady Grey Dam on your right (there are turn-offs to both). Next to the road are more signs with names like “Windpunt” and “Ian se Afgrond” where one Ian and his friends apparently wrote off Ian’s mom’s Audi. The pass ends almost in Lady Grey. Where Brummer Street eventually reconnects with the R58 you turn left in the direction of Barkly East and the Otto du Plessis Pass.
8 OTTO DU PLESSIS PASS River side
When after 60 km on the R58 you turn left from Lady Grey’s direction onto the R396, you’ve actually covered three passes, but nobody ever really writes about the Rebelshoogte, the Grondnek and the Kraai River passes because there isn’t much to write about, especially not the first two. The turn-off curves and then goes over the R58, becoming a dirt road. About 3,5 km further is a worn road sign that’s illegible. Keep right, over the Zadelboom Bridge and past the turn-off to Zuurvlakte and Heuningskloof. After 7 km turn left and then keep right to the fork where there’s another illegible road sign. The road runs upstream past the Saalboom River and a few houses where kids are kicking a ball in the tall grass. They wave while the moms watch you with a beady eye from the kitchen door. Going up, the road swerves slightly to the left, but it’s another 3,5 km from here to where it again crosses another tributary and where the pass actually starts. Ouhout bushes obstruct your view of the river and to the right of you is the mountain. The road is wide enough so you can make way for Andries and Kleintjie Hough in their Prado coming from the opposite direction. The Houghs have travelled all the way from Mossel Bay to drive the eight passes. On the road map on her lap, Kleintjie has also marked a few lesser-known passes. They are not in a hurry. “You want to stop every kilometre or so to take a picture of a bird or a colourful house,” says Kleintjie. She’s right: You don’t drive these passes because you’re in a hurry. It’s only 3 km from the foot of the pass to the stone monument on the summit in honour of Dr Otto du Plessis who opened the pass in 1959. There’s enough space to pull over for a picnic, but at the top the wind might just blow the milk and sugar out of your coffee. Rather drive another 300 m to the picnic table on the left of the road. From here you have an unadulterated view over the Tsomo Valley. The road winds for 3,5 km through three wide turns with the mountain on your left and a view over hills on the driver’s side. Then the road turns sharply to the right and starts descending into the ravine where trees grow on both sides. You have to cross four or five streams before the pass ends at the foot of the ravine at a low-water crossing over the Xentu River. From here’s it’s another 11 km to the T-junction where you can turn right to Ida or left to Elliot, where your Eight Passes journey began.