The main house at Balloch Valley Guest Cottages
The main house at Balloch Valley Guest Cottages - Photo: Gavin Taylor

This very scenic pass is located on a minor gravel road - the P3222 - that connects farms in the Wartrail and New England areas with Rhodes and the R393 in the east and Barkly East and the R58 main road in the west. It has an unusual inverted vertical profile with a steep drop down into a valley bisected by a river, followed by a climb up the eastern side, which is a false summit. Despite it being a remote country road, the pass is well designed and has fairly easy gradients of 1:10 and higher. It will always be driven in tandem with the Wintersnek Pass a few kilometres further to the west. The pass is suitable for all vehicles in fair weather, but like all gravel roads, it can deteriorate rapidly in heavy rain or snow conditions.

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