Mountain Passes News

How is it possible to publish a public statement this week without paying tribute to Madiba? The doomsayers predicted a crash in the currency and the failure of the JSE. Instead the currency improved and the JSE gained several points. The population have somehow been reinjected with Madiba's value system - a time to refocus on positive things, on forgiveness, understanding and "holding hands with the enemy".

With television programs covering every possible recorded part of his life this week, perhaps the most touching and  poignant scene (for me), was him shaking hands with Betsie Verwoerd in Oranje. He was a true statesman and will probably go down in South African history as the greatest South African of all time.

Speaking of greatness on a different scale, this week we have produced a 2 part video series on the Naude's Nek Pass - built by 2 farmers in the late 1800's with only pick and shovel, they completed the well planned pass of over 30 kms,

Google Milestones
Mountain Passes South africa has just passed the 4000 page views per week target. That is over 200,000 page views a year. Our Google ranking is soaring and we now rank in position 3171 amongst all South African websitesWe are the number 1 website for mountain passes in South Africa. For those not "into" internet statistics, this is a remarkable achievement for a website that is less than two years old. We would like to thank all our viewers and especially our subscribers for your support. For subscribers, we have something super lined up just in time for Christmas!

There is plenty of new material to view this week. The hyperlinks are provided when you expand the page.  I have received a personal phone call from Lesotho's Minister of Tourism. He has given an unreserved apology for what happened to us and he has informed me that the two policemen who took the bribes have already been identified and that "suitable action will be taken against them". I have been invited to return to Lesotho to complete our flming work. The minister assured me that he would keep me updated via email. He also said that he has launched a national campaign amongst law enforcement officers and educators going right down to school level that tourists should be welcomed and not harrassed. That includes stone throwing. Maybe I have made a small difference after all?

As the year of 2013 winds its way inexorably towards the Christmas season, we have been very productive in the production of a range of videos following our Lesotho/Eastern Cape trip. Of interest is the enormous popularity of the Lesotho Police Corruption video, which has just passed the 5,000 view mark this morning. That is 5000 more people who know how best to deal with Lesotho road blocks. The video has drawn wide attention and I have had been informed that government officials in Lesotho are taking it seriously - despite the fact that they have not yet made any contact with me. A large hotel and lodge group within Lesotho have contacted me and promised to escalate the issue high up in local government. So, it would seem that the pen is indeed mightier than the AK47.

We have produced a range of videos covering some interesting places. Hyperlinks are provided below (scroll down) : There's lots more to look forward to over the next few weeks with some major passes waiting in the wings for your enjoyment.

On our last day in Lesotho, we got stopped at one of three road-blocks near Leribe, which is on the outskirts of Maseru. All the goodwill over the previous days, where we had smiled and waved to hundreds of thousands of locals, was instantly negated by the greed of four corrupt Lesotho police officers. This is how they snag innocent tourists into their web of corruption:

They set up a small temporary stop-sign in the middle of the road. The officers then stand about 30 meters away. As you slow down for the stop sign, they beckon you to come forward, where you roll down your window for the standard "show me your driver's licence" routine. The officer then asks why you did not stop at the stop sign. Clever!

View the video at the bottom of this page. >>>>>>>

Even the best laid plans go wong. Our 57 passes we scheduled for filming were not to be, but we did get 30 done, including, Moodies Pass, Gysmanshoek, & Muiskraal in the Heidelberg/Riversdale area.  The culprit was unseasonal rain. After an overnight stop in Port Elizabeth where we were able to see a privately restored 1937 Bentley Tourer.

The Land Cruiser is packed and the Mountain Passes team is ready to roll on our biggest pass filming expedition to date. We are planning to film 57 passes in 13 days - travelling 4500 km through the Western Cape, Eastern Cape, KZN, and Lesotho. If we get sufficient good footage in Lesotho, we might open a new tab on the website under LESOTHO, as we get many requests from viewers about conditions in the high altitude land-locked kingdom. Keep a look-out for our convoy of six 4x4's and the specially branded Land Cruiser in pic. We have the expert 4x4 enthusiast and experienced offroad biker Geoff Russell with us. I probably have the best job in the world!

There will be no updates to the site until early November due to the expedition, but we promise lots of high quality HD footage and new material during November and December. Our target was to have the site 100% complete by December 2013, but.......?????

We would like to welcome all our new subscribers on board. We promise you the most comprehensive mountain pass website in the world and it's made right here in sunny SA!

For those interested in the details, the following passes are on our to do list: (Some nice obscure ones amongst that lot that we dug up from our 1:50,000 maps.)

The French missionaries were a tough and resourceful bunch in the 1700 & 1800's. Some failed and went back to France, but a few stuck things out in this water scarce, mountainous region at a small (and often unreliable) natural spring, where they set out to bring Catholicism to the local San people. They called the spot Pella. Two of these missionaries, with no building skills and armed only with a photograph of a similar church in France, set about building a cathedral no less, in the dusty little village using their bare hands, local products and cement carted in by ox-wagon. The result is truly astounding and has been there for 150 plus years.

There is a wondereful book for mountain pass fans called "The Romance of the Mountain Passes of the Cape". It was written by retired roads engineer and 'padmaker' Graham Ross and is now in it's 5th edition. It contains wonderful stories about South African history and the role the passes played in the development of our nation. I call Graham from time to time for guidance and technical advice. This week he sent me this lovely old black and white photo of his family on a camping excursion circa 1950, which shows the family car - an Austin A70 Station Wagon, with an Andy sailing dinghy on the roof and the trusty sloped roof Gypsey caravan in tow.

Today, Cape Town has had it's first taste of summer! At last!!!!

Researching the history of the Piekenierskloof Pass was almost as enjoyable as driving it. Only recently opened to traffic after a 2 year revamp, the commercial  importance of this big pass on the main N7 route between Cape Town and Namibia cannot be underestimated. It started life as an elephant track over the neck in the mountains, then graduated slightly into a wagon route of extreme proportions, known as the Breakneck Pass.