Latest Mountain Passes added

Escape the busy drudge of the N7 traffic by taking the 15,7 km long Nieuwoudts Pass, known also as the Cederberg Pass. It links the Algeria Valley in the southern Cederberg, with the coastal hinterland to the west via the N7. Lying between the two small farming towns of Clanwillliam and Citrusdal, this gravel road has patches of poor surfacing and is often badly corrugated, which requires requires slow, cautious driving. Despite the rough surfaces, the gradients are seldom worse than 1:10. The views are jaw-dropping - especially on the eastern side along the Algeria valley. Watch your speed as there are some dangerous corners with unprotected and steep drop-offs.

The 4.7 km Uitkyk Pass joins the northern and southern Cederberg Wilderness areas. Of medium length and fairly steep, this pass is true to its name, which translates as 'Look Out' or 'Viewpoint', providing endless vistas of the unique Cederberg mountains, with the Algeria Valley beckoning down below with it's beautiful grassed campsites and refreshing rock pools.

The pass is sometimes listed as the Cederberg Pass on older maps with the old pass (which runs up the eastern side of the ravine) which it replaced, being listed as the "Old Uitkyk Pass". Take your pick! There is another Uitkyk Pass in Mpumalanga, so 'Cederberg Pass' would have been a wiser choice. Some maps also show the Nieuwoudts Pass as the Cederberg Pass.  There is another pass on the Wupperthal Road further to the north-east also called Uitkyk Pass on older maps, which has had a sensible name change to Hoek-se-berg Pass.

The much loved gravel pass was tarred in late 2019.

Travelling on an unmarked gravel road through the Karoo, a seemingly endless herd of Angora goats forced us to stop the car, and allow the ancient farm scene unfolding before us to take us back in time...  Whilst this is not a mountain pass, we have added this page in as a general interest item. This road does not form part of our national passes database.

In this video clip, the entire herd of goats was controlled by the farmer in a 'bakkie' with single Border Collie ensuring there were no strays and at end of this 2 km long goat herd, two goat herders ensured they all entered a gate to a new pasture.

IMPORTANT NOTICE:

THE PASS HAS BEEN COMPLETELY CLOSED TO ALL TRAFFIC, INCLUDING PEDESTRIANS AND CYCLISTS, DUE TO SEVERE FLOOD DAMAGE WHICH OCCURED IN 2023 AND 2024. ON 20TH MARCH, 2025 AN ANNOUNCEMENT WAS MADE THAT AN AGREEMENT HAD BEEN REACHED BETWEEN THE VARIOUS STAKEHOLDERS (INCLUDING THE NATIONAL MONUMENTS COUNCIL), AS TO HOW AND WHEN REPAIRS WILL TAKE PLACE. AN AMOUNT OF R80m HAS BEEN ALLOCATED TO THE RESURFACING OF THE ROAD SURFACE, REPAIRS TO THE PARAPET WALLS AS WELL AS IMPROVED DRAINAGE. WORK IS SET TO COMMENCE BY OCTOBER 2025 AND BE COMPLETED BY AUGUST 2026.

PLEASE DO NOT TRY AND ACCESS THE ROAD ILLEGALLY AS IT WILL BE DANGEROUS AND A WORKING CONSTRUCTION ZONE. ALLOW THE REPAIR WORK TO BE COMPLETED AS EXPEDIENTLY AS POSSIBLE. UPDATES WILL BE POSTED ON OUR SOCIAL MEDIA PAGES.

This was the first road between George and Oudtshoorn. The Montagu Pass was opened in 1848, having taken 3 years to build by some 250 convicts at a cost of 36,000 Pounds Sterling. It lays claim to being the oldest, unaltered pass still in use in South Africa and covers 17,1 kms of magnificently scenic narrow, gravel road driving, ascending from the tiny hamlet of Herold, on the northern side of the Outeniqua Mountains up and over the summit and then all the way down to the outskirts of George.

The road compresses 126 bends corners and curves into its length and gradients reach a maximum of 1:6. The road is suitable for all vehicles in fair weather, but please drive slowly and due to many sections being only single width (especially on the southern side) it might be necessary to reverse back to a wider point to allow passing oncoming traffic.

The pass was built to replace the highly dangerous and extremely difficult Cradock Pass, which still exists today, but as a tough hiking trail. The pass was named after John Montagu, who was the colonial secretary of the Cape at the time.

The mysteriously named Phantom Pass is the final pass on the Garden Route's string of "Seven Passes" between George and Knysna. The 7,4 km of narrow, gravel road descends to the famously picturesque Knysna River Lagoon, and finds its end-point at the N2. The other six passes are listed at the bottom of this page for easy reference and access.