Kliphoogte (MR00322)

Kliphoogte is a minor pass on the Barrydale-MR00322 road, but it should not be taken lightly as there are several dangers lurking on this road to catch unwary drivers. The pass is short at just 2.4 km and displays a classic middle summit profile with an altitude variance of 65m and a maximum gradient of 1:8

The pass falls within the main road between Barrydale and the tarred R323 to the north of Garcia's pass, providing travellers with a lovely, scenic route which is about 50/50 gravel and tar. The road also provides access to the Gysmanshoek Pass (northern end) and the Brandrivier Pass (southern end)

Regardless of which direction you are driving the pass the major bend towards the western side is where things become tricky. The road is poorly engineered on this bend, as not only does it reach its steepest gradient here, but there is reverse camber present as well. To add to this this, the bend is almost always badly corrugated and a loss of traction is highly likely to occur even in a 4WD vehicle. If tyres have not been deflated this corner is waiting for an accident to happen. Slow right down to about 30 kph and gear down.