ICONIC DRIVERS’ ROADS

From the wild and magnificent to the nostalgic and picturesque, there are an abundance of great driving roads on the planet. But some are more spectacular and more satisfying to traverse – those iconic stretches of tarmac on most travellers’ bucket list.

While they may differ in accordance with personal preference, seasoned road trippers agree routes such as the Pacific Highway in the US, also called Highway 1, La Route des Grandes Alpes in France, the Stelvio Pass in Italy, the Col de Turini in France, the Furka Pass in Switzerland, the Atlantic Road in Norway, the White Rim Road in Canyonlands National Park, Utah, the Ring Road in Iceland, the Tianmen Mountain Road in Hunan, China, the Great Ocean Road in Australia, Ruta 40 in Argentina, as well as our own Chapman’s Peak Drive, and Garden Route belong on this list.

However, in terms of real drivers’ roads I would like to add a couple … The route from Portovecchio to Zonza and Bonifacio on the Mediterranean island of Corsica, the Yiti-sifah road to Al Khiran in Oman, the Bainskloof Pass between Worcester and Wellington in the Western Cape, and the Longtom Pass section of the Panorama Route in Mpumalanga. Yes, there are more, but in compiling the content for this edition of Roadtrip we crisscrossed all of these challenging, driverfocused courses with mazes of twisting turns, sharp corners, sweeping bends, and hairy hairpins adding to their allure.

To find out whether the new Alfa Romeo Stelvio lives up to its iconic status of the pass that inspired its name; oh, and the unique cheese produced in the same region, we visited a cheese farm close to Wellington; after first negotiating the Bainskloof Pass, of course. And not to be outdone, Kayla Cloete did very much the same route in a BMW X1 … in the rain.

We also sampled the new Porsche Cayenne in the UAE and the Sultanate of Oman, driving the Wadi Bih and Wadi Wurayah trails, and negotiated the coiling mountain passes of Corsica, including the road to Zonza, to evaluate the new Jaguar E-pace, due in South Africa soon.

Speaking of Jaguar Land Rover, we narrate how a Range Rover Sport Hybrid takes on the staircase on the legendary Tianmen Mountain Road (also known as the Dragon Road), and soon a lucky couple who entered our weekend getaway competition, will get to experience the Long Tom Pass and the luxurious Velar on the magnificent Panorama Route …

We also traversed the Garden Route on our way to find fame and a Fortuner at the Inzolo Exclusive Game Lodge in the Eastern Cape, meandered through Madeira in a Mercedes taxi, and followed the epic voyage of a Nissan LEAF across Africa.

Regular contributor Jim Freeman experienced some Weskus bliss in a Mazda3 Astina, Jacques Kok went on an adrenalin pumping river rafting voyage on the Vaal River, while Justus Visagie tested the new Ducati 1200 Multistrada along the windy passes of the Western Cape.

Finally, we also update you on the abundance of new road trip ready contenders earmarked for our market and rate the finalists in the 2018 Wesbank South African Car of the Year competition, with the winner to be announced this month. So, get out there, find your favourite drivers’ road, and let us know …