Klein Visrivier Pass (R335)

This pleasant gravel pass is located along the R335 route between Somerset East (Kwa Nojola) and Addo.  It's 6.2 km long and has a modest altitude variance of 233m with the steepest gradients panning out at 1:11.

It has 12 bends, two of which exceed 80 degrees and are quite sharp. The scenery is Karoo to the core, with dun coloured hills and dusty farms sporting the ubiquitous windmills synonomous with the region. Hunting is prolific in this part of the Eastern Cape. The sport generates employment and income and has overtaken sheep farming at quite a rate.

Game farming is much kinder to the environment, requiring less resources than conventional sheep farming. the Karoo is well suited to game farming.

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Digging into the details:

Getting there:

We filmed this pass from north to south.

1. To approach from the north, take the R335 southwards out of Somerwset East for 19 km to arrive at the start pf the pass.

2. To approach from the south, start from the the little settlement of Bracefield and take the R335 which is tarred for some distance and later becomes gravel for 37 km to arrive at the southern end of the pass.

Description:

It starts at a small stream crossing and ascends into the south at a gentle gradient via a double set of S curves and upon reaching the 1.8 km mark, changes into the west, where it remains until the summit point of 866m is reached at the 4.3 km mark.

There are fgood views up for grabs from the summit, making it good spot to stop and linger awhile.

The descent is much shorter and at a very similar gradient to the ascent, as the drops down to the wide plains ahead via a wide left hand curve. The pass ends at the 6.2 km mark at an altitude of 767m near a small intersection.

Somerset East - Why visit?

Gill College Old Main Building / Photo: By Morné van Rooyen - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=34124737

This lovely little town lying under the Boschberg Mountain is steeped in history; and has something for everybody – from gentle strolls along Paulet Street with gracious old buildings, heritage roses, and the Walter Battiss Art Museum and Old Parsonage Museum, to hunting, fishing, hiking and mountain bike routes and Wild Fly Fishing in the Karoo.

The mountain holds many treasures for birding, plant, and tree enthusiasts, with over 325 different bird species recorded. The beautiful nine-hole golf course hosts events throughout the year, and the Bowling Club’s greens are utilised by locals and visitors.

The town of Somerset East in the Eastern Cape was founded in 1825 under the direction of Lord Charles Somerset, then Governor of the Cape Colony. The site was originally the “Somerset Farm”, a government-experimental farm established in 1815 at the foot of the Boschberg mountains as part of a frontier settlement strategy. 

The early settlement grew out of the farm and several settler farmers such as Willem Prinsloo and others who settled nearby in the late 1700s.  By 1825 the drostdy (local administrative centre) was proclaimed and the town officially established.  The “East” suffix was added some thirty years later in order to distinguish it from Somerset West in the Western Cape. 

In the 19th century, Somerset East developed as a small frontier town, serving both agricultural purposes and as a local centre for the surrounding rural communities. The presence of institutions such as Gill College, founded in 1869, underscored the town’s growing social and educational importance. Over time, the town’s built heritage grew, with a number of 19th-century buildings still evident and recognized as provincial heritage sites.

Throughout the 20th century, Somerset East remained relatively small but maintained its character as a rural service town. In recent decades it has leveraged its natural environment—the backdrop of the Boschberg mountains, forests and bird-life—to draw tourism and heritage interest. Today, Somerset East stands as a town rich in history, a mix of colonial settlement, agricultural development and natural setting, reflecting broader patterns of Eastern Cape frontier settlement while retaining its own local identity.

Fact File:

Route Map:

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Route files:

||Click to download: Klein Visrivier Pass - (Note - This is a .kmz file which can be opened in Google earth and most GPS software systems)