Port St Johns Airport Road

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.

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[Video cover photo: 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: This is an out and back route, so will only supply directions from the southern start in Port St Johns Village. As you arrive in Port St Johns village, turn right into Westgate Street. Take the second road left into North Street. Turn right immediately after the bridge into Military Base Road. This is the southern starting point of the pass.

Description: The road is steep right from the start and begins winding its way through the outskirts of Port St Johns heading generally into the west. There are lots of trees on the route and on a sunny day you will need to constantly adjust your vision to see into the parts covered by shade. There are lots of pedestrians around, who tend to walk on the roadway, as the pavements are either non-existent or overgrown. Be particularly careful.

At the 2.8 km mark, a false summit is reached of 240m. From this point the road follows a valley and descends gently under the dense tree cover until the 5.1 km, where the road changes name from Airport Road to Caguba Road. Turn right at the intersection which is marked by clear views of the freshwater dam, which will be on your left after you have turned right.

[Video cover photo: Trygve Roberts]

From this point, the real climb begins as the road winds its way up through the undergrowth. At the 5,9 km mark there's a very tightly radiused right hand hairpin, followed by several more sharp bends, before the road suddenly breaks free of the forest at the 7.3 km mark, revealing grassy hillsides, so suited to cattle grazing - and you will more than likely come across cattle on or near the road from this point, based on the high cowpat count!

A single building appears dead ahead as the road makes a final S bend, before levelling off on the mountain top and leading onto the old runway, which is 30m wide and 1100m long. Drive to the end of the runway, where you will be able to enjoy excellent views of the Umzimvubu River, the white bridge, Port St Johns River Lodge, the Gates of St John, Ferry Point and the River Mouth. On both sides of the river ravine are high sandstone mountain peaks: Mount Thesiger (342 m) and Mount Sullivan (304 m), named after two British Military officers.

If you are alone, be aware of your personal safety at all times. If you have a little time to spare take the two spoor track off the runway near the cliff edge. It follows the cliff top for 800m and terminates at a radio mast where more magnificent views await.

When you return, you can turn right at the dam and follow a clockwise loop back to Port St Johns for some different scenery. Just keep turning right at each intersection and you will end up on the main tarred road (R61).

History: 

This town is thought to have been named after a Portuguese ship (the São João), which was actually wrecked at Port Edward. Later seafarers mistakenly identified the mouth of the Umzimvubu River as the site of this wreck.

In the mid 1800s the local Mpondo Chief, Ndamase, allowed a few white traders to settle at the mouth of the Umzimvubu River. When Chief Ndamase died in 1876, the Mpondo Great House in Lusikisiki tried to take over the area.

A typical Wild Coast beach scene / Photo: Archives

On 17 July 1878, Chief Ndamase's oldest son Nqwiliso, reacted by ceding the western bank of the Umzimvubu River to the Cape Colony in return for being recognised as an independent ruler and he and his people were promised protection. The river mouth was used as a port, however this activity was abandoned in the 1940s due to siltation, which caused the river to become too shallow for vessels.

The town was the principal port of the defunct Republic of Transkei (1976-1994).

Tourism: Port St. Johns is known as the centre of tourism on the Wild Coast. It is known for deep sea fishing and shore angling. Near to the town are three beaches.

From Mthatha in the West and Flagstaff in the North the R61 road connects to Port St. Johns. A smaller road leads the last 5 km into town. Port St. Johns has an airstrip on top of Mount Thesiger.

The Pondoland Park is a National park and forested area 500 km² in size, including the Umzimvubu river mouth and stretching north along the coast up to the provincial border with KwaZulu-Natal. Tours targeting world famous "sardine run" are popular as well.

Fact File:

Route Map:

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Route files:

||Click to download: Port St Johns Airport Road (Note - This is a .kmz file which can be opened in Google earth and most GPS software systems)