TRAIL GUIDE

There are several gravel mountain passes on the border between the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal. A few of them were used by the Voortrekkers and two of these historic passes have become so deteriorated that they’re perfect for 4x4 vehicles.

The route starts on the R74 regional road at the lower end of the Sterkfontein Dam in the Free State. At a road sign (S28.52302 E29.07693) for the Retief Pass and Retiefklip, follow the S19 Bergville Road for 2 km to a signpost for the Kaalvoet Vrou and Retief Pass. Here you can turn left and visit the statue of Susanna Smit – according to legend, this Boer woman squared off against a British commissioner and told him: “I’d rather cross the Drakensberg barefoot than be under English rule.” The Retief Pass to which the road sign refers is on private land and you must get permission from Sollie Prinsloo of Dumbe Berg Accommodation to drive there. This pass was declared a Heritage Site in 1977 because the Voortrekker Piet Retief led his trek through here in 1838. But Retief Pass will take us in the wrong direction, so we won’t be going there today. Continue for 600 m to a signpost for Retiefklip (S28.50272 E29.08663) – turn right here. A twin-track takes you across the Modderspruit via a low-water bridge and then up to the cliffs of the Kerkenberg (Church Mountain). So named by Rev Erasmus Smit, the pastor and diary writer of the Retief Trek, and also the brave husband of Susanna “the barefoot woman”. The Retief Trek waited here while Piet went to get permission from the Zulu king Dingane to enter Natal. Return to the S19 Bergville Road and turn right toward Harrismith. Follow the road for 4 km and turn right again onto the S796 farm road. Follow the S796 for 10 km until it joins the S800, then turn right again toward Geluksburg. After 9 km you will come across a rusty road sign of which only the “urg” of Geluksburg can be read – turn right here.

You are now driving on the Tintwa Pass, a beautiful gravel road that winds up a mountain called Die Maanhaar (The Mane). At the crest, the gravel road of the Tintwa Pass makes way for the tar of the Middledale Pass. This would take you down to Geluksburg, but instead, look out for a turnoff on your left roughly 800 m after the transition from gravel to tar (S28.47025 E29.31717). There is no road sign, just a few thatched roof rondavels and a cattle enclosure, and a short distance away you drive through a sagging wire gate: this is the beginning of the Sandspruit Pass and 4x4 fun! THE SANDSPRUIT PASS is almost forgotten – you won’t find it on GoogleMaps nor GoogleEarth, and also not on a 1:500 000 topographic survey map. It’s immediately clear that the road is rarely used, because it is almost completely grown over with grass and the twin track is hidden in places. According to some sources, this is the route Gerrit Maritz’s trek took (another Voortrekker party) but others believe the Maritz Trek crossed farther north over the De Beers Pass. It is also alleged by some that Piet Retief took this route on his first visit to Dingane. On our previous visit in 2013, the Sandspruit Pass was a lovely road with a difficulty rating of 2 out of 5. With this visit, however, we gave it a 3. Exactly 3 km after the wire gate, you drive around a spur of Die Maanhaar and then up a rock ledge before the mountain pass descends again. The views are magnificent, but you won’t get too many opportunities to appreciate the scenery as the road will require all your attention from here on out. Our rented campervan had good ground clearance but a dismal departure angle, and therefore we had to use