Latest Mountain Passes added

This pass is well above the national average length at 8.7 km and is one of three back to back passes along the R61 between Lusikisiki and Port St.Johns. There are 58 bends, corners and curves compressed into that length and many of them exceed 90 degrees through tight arcs. It is necessary for drivers to have a high level of concentration on this pass, as it's a busy road and the many courier and delivery trucks and minibus taxis have scant regard for barrier lines.

The pass name is of course taken from the Umzimvubu River which is crossed at the foot of the pass near Port St.Johns. Drivers who do this route for the first time will be in for a few nasty surprises in that here you will find some of South Africa's severest speed bumps. These are unfortunately necessary to slow the wild drivers down - especially near villages and schools. There is one specific speed bump designs which consists of 5 sharp speed bumps, spaced about 1m apart. 

Despite all the dangers, the pass offers fabulous scenery and especially towards the middle of the pass where the Gates of St. John start making an appearance. The Xhosa version of the river and pass exclude the U - so "Mzimvubu" For Western tongues having the M and the Z following each other, make it difficult to pronounce. For purposes of indexing we have used the older version of Umzimvubu.

This very steep and winding road starts in the town of Port St Johns and winds its way up the lush mountainside, eventually curling back on itself to terminate at the old runway on the top of the mountain. The road is tarred or concreted all the way, so traction is good (even in wet weather) making this drive possible in any vehicle.

The 9.8 km long road has 69 bends, corners and curves to contend with and some fairly steep gradients of 1:5. The views from the end of the airstrip are superb and include a bird's eye view over the Umzimvubu River, the Gates of St John as well as the river mouth itself.

The road was well built many years ago making extensive use of concrete to ensure it would not suffer water damage from the heavy rains that fall in this area. The road has a false summit of 240m ASL which is reached at the 2.8 km mark, where after it undulates and descends until the 5.4 km mark. From this point the gradient ramps up steeply as the road reaches its maximum gradient of 1:6 before reaching the top of the mountain, where you can drive along the tarred runway to the various lookout points.

This easy gravel pass can be driven in any vehicle, although like any gravel pass, things get quite slippery during and after rain. It boasts an impressive hight gain of 730m, which places it in position 20 in the biggest altitude gaining statistics. The 48 bends, corners and curves will keep you busy as each bend reveals new vistas over the citrus farms of the Gamtoos Valley and the densely wooded mountains to the east.

The road services a number of farms and provides an alternative and much more attractive route to Uitenhage. It also is the access road to the 4x4 only Antoniesberg Pass and Steytlerville and forms part of the T3 baviaanskloof Tourism Route system.

The road holds no apprarent dangers if speed limits are adhered to, but normal farming vehicles use the road frequently, so be aware of them.

Note that the videos have been produced in the opposite direction to the text in this article.

This is one of those official passes that barely resembles the normal characteristics of a true mountain pass. It is little more than an easy gravel road along a prominent ridge to the south west of Riversdale.

It is 4.3 km long and takes just 4 minutes to drive with a total altiutde variance of 90 metres. The road has very few dangers with perhaps the biggest being the speed at which the local farmers drive.

However the nearby town of Riversdale is full of history and points of interest. This flourishing farming town is the epicentre for farmers along the coastal hinterland between Mossel Bay and Swellendam.

The short but interesting pass offers gorgeous scenery, twisting and steep curves on a brand new road, but it also has several cautionaries which include two sets of fearsome speed bumps, several schools, slow intersection traffic and livestock on the road,

The pass has a typical inverted vertical profile expected of a pass that descends into a river valley and climbs out the other side. The modern engineering on this brand new road is interesting and almost unexpected considering the humble rural surroundings.

It's only 5 km long and drops 248m to the river crossing with steep gradients of 1:7. The winding R61 is peppered with small passes, some of them unnamed, so it's best to pre-mark the GPS coordinates on your unit, so that you know when it's coming up on your journey to the coast.