This tough little gravel road pass has some seriously steep sections, and could present a significant challenge in the ascending mode for both adventure bikers and 4x4 enthusiasts, particularly during or after inclement weather. The pass is located south of Cala on an unnamed dirt road in the backwaters of the Eastern Cape, on the access route between the KwaGoniwe Tyaliti Pass and the Kwaaimans Pass, and takes its name from the river which marks the eastern extremity. It is worth seeking out if you enjoy the peacefulness and beauty of rural South Africa, but we recommend that you make use of a high-clearance or 4-wheel drive vehicle.
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[Video cover by Isiko Tours]
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Note: Google Earth software reads the actual topography and ignores roads, cuttings, tunnels, bridges and excavations. The Google Earth vertical-profile animation generates a number of parallax errors, so the profile is only a general guide of what to expect in terms of gradients, distance and elevation. The graph may present some impossible and improbably sharp spikes, which should be ignored.
Digging into the details:
Getting there: To approach the pass from the east, start off at GPS coordinates S31.895546 E27.839299, on the R61 between Queenstown and Engcobo. Travel along a gravel road through Ncora, via Kwaaimans Pass, towards Cala for 35.8 km to S31.663082 E27.670826, then turn left. Travel for 1.6 km to S31.657026 E27.657484, at which point you will reach a Y-junction. Stay left, continue on for 200 metres, then turn left again. Almost immediately you will reach another intersection – turn right here. Now follow this road for 5.5 km to S31.627944 E27.620387, which is the eastern start point of the pass.
Thatched huts and Nguni cattle / Photo: Tracks4Africa
To approach from the west, start off at GPS coordinates S31.603229 E27.571841, on the R410 between Queenstown and Cala. This is very close to the summit of the KwaGoniwe Tyalita Pass. Travel in an easterly direction along a gravel road for 2.7 km to S31.617253 E27.592550, which is the summit and western start point of the pass.
We filmed the pass from west to east, in the descending mode. The pass begins at its summit, on a bleak and desolate plateau, and almost immediately presents a beautiful view on the left over the river valley far below. The road curves to the right, then straightens up for 400 metres before a few more meandering corners are encountered. There are no safety railings and the road is not in a particularly good condition, so keep your speed low and pay attention. As always in the rural Eastern Cape, watch out for stray animals.
The road continues to descend quite steeply up to the 1.1 km mark, where a 90-degree turn to the right presents itself. The gradient now flattens out and the road straightens up for the next 700 metres, as it follows the ridge along the mountain. A long gradual bend to the left leads into a 45-degree corner to the right, then the gradient decreases again through two more right-hand bends. There is a significant drop-off on the left-hand side throughout this section.
Near the summit of the pass / Photo: Mike Leicester
The road twists and turns left and right as altitude is lost up until the 2.5 km mark, where the road curves to the right and then unexpectedly turns hard left through a double-apex hairpin bend, taking the heading from directly south to directly north. A long and fairly straight section of 500 metres follows as the pass heads towards a small settlement; watch out for rockfalls along this stretch, as well as washaways and loose stones.
At the 3.1 km mark, another hairpin bend of 170 degrees is encountered, this time to the right. There is a road intersecting off to the left on the apex of this turn; ignore this, and continue onwards towards the right. A short straight of 130 metres leads into a left-hand curve, then into a long straight of 550 metres heading down towards the river on the eastern side, which is easily identifiable by the dense vegetation growing along its banks. The pass ends where the road crosses over a narrow single-lane concrete bridge.
The Transkei has a long and convoluted history defined by political struggle. It is the ancestral home of the Xhosa people, an ethnic group established in the area long before the arrival of settlers from Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries. However, first the Dutch and then the British realised the agricultural potential of the fertile Transkei, and from the 1700s onwards conflict over land flared up regularly between the colonial settlers and the cattle-grazing Xhosa tribes.
Hole in the Wall is a popular fishing and holiday destination on the Wild Coast / Photo: Detour Trails
It was only during apartheid that the Transkei became a formally defined area, however. In 1959, it was established as the first of ten Bantustans or black homelands set up under the Bantu Authorities Act of 1951. These Bantustans were areas set aside for members of specific ethnic groups, and in theory, their purpose was to give tribes like the Xhosa political autonomy. In reality, though, they were simply an extension of the racial segregation policies adopted by the apartheid government. The Transkei was one of two Xhosa homelands, the second of which was the Ciskei.
Sublime scenery / Photo: Mike Leicester
After the fall of apartheid in 1994, the area was integrated back into South Africa and became part of the Eastern Cape province. But the region has retained its own identity and culture, and has a unique atmosphere that can't be found anywhere else in the country. It remains a stronghold for the Xhosa people, and has a proud political heritage with many civil rights leaders claiming Transkeian roots, including Chris Hani, Walter Sisulu, Oliver Tambo and former president Nelson Mandela.
Despite the political upheaval of the last three centuries, the Transkei is still largely rural. Subsistence farmers eke out a living from tiny backyard plots, and livestock roams freely across the region’s gently rolling hills. It is a place defined by its unique sights; from the herds of spotted Nguni cattle that frequent the Transkei’s abandoned beaches, to the round Xhosa huts or rondavels painted in shades of vivid green and pastel pink. For the intrepid vacationer, the Transkei offers the chance to escape South Africa’s bustling cities, and experience the pristine beauty of the Eastern Cape first hand.
Text & video footage by Mike Leicester
Fact File:
| GPS START | S31.617253 E27.592550 |
| GPS SUMMIT | S31.617253 E27.592550 |
| GPS END | S31.627944 E27.620387 |
| AVE GRADIENT | 1:12 |
| MAX GRADIENT | 1:4 |
| ELEVATION START | 1545m |
| ELEVATION SUMMIT | 1545m |
| ELEVATION END | 1233m |
| HEIGHT GAIN/LOSS | 312m |
| DISTANCE | 3,9 km |
| DIRECTION - TRAVEL | East |
| TIME REQUIRED | 7 minutes |
| SPEED LIMIT | 60 kph |
| SURFACE | Gravel |
| DATE FILMED | 28.04.2017 |
| TEMPERATURE | 19C |
| NEAREST TOWN | Cala (18 km) |
Route Map:
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Route files:
||Click to download: Kumanzimahle Pass - (Note - this is a .kmz file, which can be opened in Google earth and most GPS models)
