This attractive and sometimes challenging pass is named after the two river valleys which it traverses on its way to Brandhoek north of Joubertina in the Langkloof. It's a typical farm road and forms a long loop starting just west and ending 10 km east of Joubertina which includes the much longer Brakkloof Pass. Both have to be driven in tandem. Allow about two and a half hours to complete the loop. You will be treated to exceptional mountain views, several river crossings, deep gorges, riverine forests and multiple fruit farms.
This 8,2 km long pass has 42 bends, corners and curves which include two hairpins, of which the second one is severe and requires cautious driving at 20 kph. You will need a high clearance vehicle to drive the route as the road can get rough in places, but a 4x4 is not mandatory, except in wet weather.
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[Video cover photo - by Trygve Roberts]
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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 west (the direction which we have produced it), take the turnoff (to the north) 2 km west of Joubertina at GPS S33.817972 E23.841150. Remain on this road for 11,5 km to arrive at the western start.
To approach from the east, head east on the R62 from Joubertina for 10 km and turn north onto a gravel road at GPS S33.854464 E23.985277. Remain on this road for 11 km to arrive at the southern end of the Brakkloof Pass at the bridge crossing of the Kouga River. Continue heading north and later north-west for 13 km to arrive at the northern end of Brakkloof. Remain on this road for a further 12 km heading west past Brandhoek, to arrive at the eastern start of the pass.
Good views of the Kouga River gorge from the pass
We recommend driving the two passes as a circular route in a clockwise format, which will provide the best views and optimal lighting for photography.
The pass starts at its western end at the crossing of a small side stream at an elevation of 564m ASL. The road hugs the western flank of a long nose in the mountainside and remains at a fairly even altitude for the next 2,3 km. To the left you will have good views over the small valley, whilst to the right the mountains block your view. This section contains 9 bends, corners and curves, but none of them are too severe.
At the 1,7 km mark, the road swings through a wide, but persistent right hand curve of almost 180 degrees as it remains on the contour line around the northern end of the mountain. At the apex of this bend a smaller road can be seen zig-zagging its way down the slope towards the Kouga River. You can drive this road which forms part of the 4x4 route optioons of the Kouga Wilderness, the entrance of which can be found at the second hairpin after the two river crossings.
One of the 4x4 routes as viewed from the pass / Photo: Trygve Roberts
An S-bend comes up at the 2,3 km point, which is the landmark indicating the beginning of the steep descent to the Kouga River crossing. The gradients get steep here at 1:8 and in wet weather, vehicles wiithout 4WD might have traction issues.
The road descends towards the river in a south-easterly heading, but at the 3 km mark, it levels off briefly as the road ducks into a side ravine to maintain altitude, then drops sharply down again. All along this descent there are excellent open views of the Kouga River as the road paralells its western side.
At the 3,9 km point, the road swings abruptly to the left through a sharp corner of 70 degrees as it aligns itself for the river crossing.
The bridge is a great place to pull over and enjoy the riverine scenery and if it's hot, it's a perfect place to take a dip in the clear waters of the Kouga. This river plays a key role in supplying high quality water to the Kouga Dam near Patensie, which irrigates the extensive citrus orchards of the Gamtoos Valley.
Next comes the climb out of the Kouga Valley. This is a very interesting part of the pass as the road has to not only ascend out of the valley, but there is a secondary river - the Kleinrivier, which forms a secondary obstacle around which the road engineers had to find a path. This, they cleverly did, by following the course of the smaller river northwards, where the the gorge is not so steep.
Immediately after the bridge the road turns sharply to the right via a 70 degree bend and heads south-east once more now following the next mountain ridge. If you look a little further downstream, you'll be able to see where the Kleinrivier flows into the Kouga.
[Video cover photo - by Trygve Roberts]
At the 4,2 km mark, the road curves to the left through a wide bend of 130 degrees and levels off as it crosses the Kleinrivier at the 4,3 km point and remains on its eastern side. The gradients along the next section are gentle and the scenery is beautiful as the road remains within the riverine forest as it heads steadily northwards in close proximity to the stream.
At the 5,8 km point, there is a very sharp hairpin bend of 170 degrees. Drop your speed to 20 kph for this corner. This is also the point where you gain access to the Kouga Wilderness farm. Once through the hairpin, the heading is into the south and the road climbs out of the bush line. Like most of the Eastern and Western Cape the invasive black wattle has established itself along this river course, which is a pity.
At the 6 km point, the gradient suddenly kicks up severely to 1:5 as the final part of the ascent begins. Ahead there is another ravine and the road bends evenly through a wide left hand bend into the east to skirt this obstacle. At the end of the side ravine at the 6,4 km mark, there is another sharp right hand bend of 160 degrees, where the gradient eases off considerably, but within 100m picks up again to 1:5.
With the heading now into the south-west, the road climbs up into open grassland and soon reaches a double apex left hand bend with a short straight between the two corners. Together the corners turn through 180 degrees. This section is nothing but steep! As the double bend is exited, the road straightens out and climbs directly up the spine of the ridge into the north-east.
There are only two minor corners left to negotiate before the summit point of 576m ASL is reached at the 8,2 km point.
Continue for a further 12 km past Brandhoek to arrive at the Brakkloof Pass which must be traversed to get back to the R62, otherwise you will need to do a U-turn and retrace your route back to Joubertina.
Fact File:
| GPS START |
S33.764045 E23.844224 |
| GPS SUMMIT | S33.761845 E23.859788 |
| GPS END | S33.751776 E23.874663 |
| AVE GRADIENT | 1:51 |
| MAX GRADIENT | 1:5 |
| ELEVATION START | 564m |
| ELEVATION SUMMIT | 416m |
| ELEVATION END | 576m |
| HEIGHT GAIN/LOSS | 160m |
| DISTANCE | 8,2 km |
| DIRECTION - TRAVEL | East |
| TIME REQUIRED | 30 minutes |
| SPEED LIMIT | 60 kph |
| SURFACE | Gravel |
| DATE FILMED | 01.12.2017 |
| TEMPERATURE | 25C |
| NEAREST TOWN | Joubertina (13 km) |
Route Map:
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Route files:
||Click to download: Kouga-Kleinrivier Pass - (Note - this is a .kmz file, which can be opened in Google earth and most GPS models)
