What's Inside?
* Trips & Tours
* Garden Route Tour Day 1
* Podcast
* Pass of the week
Trips & Tours
15/16 October 2022 - Seven Sisters Tour (Fully booked). We will be repeating this tour in 2023 for those that missed out.
30th October 2022 - Grabouw Novice 4x4 Training Day - (Fully booked). This tour will also be repeated during 2023.
15th - 19th November 2022 - Kouga Baviaans Tour (Fully Booked)
10th - 15th December 2022 - Ben 10 Eco Challenge - 2 places available.
12th to 18th March 2023 - Mountain Kingdom (Lesotho) Tour (Fully booked)
9th to 20th May - Wild Coast Tour (Fully Booked)
Cancellations are a normal part of running tours. We are operating cancellation lists for any future tours you might be interested in. Email us your details to be added to the cancellation list to
Garden Route Tour - Day 1 continued (Gondwana to Wilderness)
We departed Gondwana Nature Reserve in steady rain which instantly reduced dust levels to zero. Always look at the brighter side of life!
Our route took us through the Hagelkraal area over very hilly terrain, where each neck in the mountains offered fresh vistas, until we connected with the tarred R326 close to the 8 Bells Inn. Although we didn't stop there (owing to the time spent at Gondwana) this wonderful old country hotel has some fascinating history.
In the year 1816 the property on which Eight Bells stands today, was granted by the then Governor of the Cape, Lord Charles Somerset, to a certain Johannes Petrus Marx. It was some 2322 morgen in extent.
The route taken by travellers and traders between Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn passed through the property and a condition of title was that “a place of outspan be set aside” at the foot of the Attakwas Mountain Pass, (now known as the Robinson Pass). Today only a small piece of the “original outspan” adjoins Eight Bells.
Shaded by one of the largest and oldest surviving oaks in the Cape today – dating back to the 1800’s – with branches spanning in extent of a 20-meter radius, is the billiard room and original homestead with its 45cm thick walls and beautiful yellow wood floor.
The magnificent oak tree at Eight Bells Inn
As years passed by, travellers seeking shelter, as well as the first local school master posted to the area, turned to the small homestead for lodgings. The Bosun’s Whistle Pub stands where the first two rooms were built onto the house to accommodate visitors. It was also the local post office at the time. Situated a kilometre away from the Inn is the Ruiterbos Primary School which celebrated its centenary year in 1998 and continues to serve the local community. Not surprisingly the district was called “Ruyterbosch” – the Dutch word for “riders bush”.
In the 1930’s the farm became a popular spot for visitors, particularly seamen from ships of the Royal Navy docked at Mossel Bay – as well as the Royal Air Force based in Oudtshoorn at the time, as the Little Karoo was considered to be an ideal training ground in preparation for battle in North Africa. In fact Commander Harvey R.N. O.B.E is buried in the cemetery located in the middle of the main horse paddock. There is also a cemetery dedicated to the staff that served this property over many years.
Aerial view of the grounds at Eight Bells Inn
It was the regular presence of the naval folk who influenced the name of the farm “Eight Bells”. At sea, the bell is rung once for each half hour of a four-hour watch. Eight Bells signifies the end of the full watch – the time to rest. In this context it was a fitting name for a resort offering tranquil holidays in magnificent mountain surroundings.
The next pass beckoned. The Robinson Pass is a major pass in every way, with many sharp bends and steep gradients not allowing drivers too much time to enjoy the scenery. The rain continued and got heavier obliterating all the superb views on offer. By the time we were halfway up the ascent, we were well into the cloud base, leaving the whole convoy in a complete white out.
The pass has been rebuilt several times over the past 140 years and offers not only fabulous scenery, but many pages of history around every bend. The pass is subject to heavy rain and frequent mountain mists, which reduces visibility and makes the pass dangerous. It has claimed many lives over the years including a bus full of international tourists and a busload of police officers. Two memorial stones in their memory stand on the left hand side of the road about halfway up the pass.
Robinson Pass near the summit
Thomas Bain had just completed Prince Alfred's Pass north of Knysna and used parts of both the Ruytersbosch Road as well as the Attekwaskloof Road, to build a feasible road over the mountains. It was opened in 1869 and then rebuilt and re-routed between 1958 and 1963 making it a much kinder pass to travel, but in the process losing some of its dramatic charm and allure. The new pass was named after the Commissioner of Roads in the Cape at that time, Mr. M.C.Robinson.
Not surprisingly after the summit, the clouds and rain vanished, leaving us with good visibility once more. Our route went north towards Oudtshoorn, but on our tours we bypass big towns for a number of reasons, the most important one is not getting any of our vehicles lost. We routed through a really pleasant farming area south of Oudtshoorn and rejoined the main George-Oudtshoorn road close to the junction of the N12/N9.
This rockfall near the summit of the Outeniqua Pass occurred in 2011 after heavy rain
The rolling cloud bank of the Outeniqua range was a sure sign that we would be descending the Outeniqua Pass in rain and low visibility. The pass is a relatively modern pass, having been built in 1942 - 1951 to provide an alternative to the narrow and steeper Montagu Pass. It has been widened and modernized several times since then and today carries the bulk of the traffic flow between George, Oudtshoorn and the Langkloof. Rockfalls and trucking accidents close the pass from time to time. The higher reaches of the pass are subject to heavy rainfall and dense mountain mists which can reduce visibility to a few metres. Under such conditions, this pass is dangerous especially due to the volume of commercial traffic that it carries.
With no scenery to gaze upon, we called no viewpoint stops, heading directly to George. We called for radio silence as we coached the group through George, regrouping again just before the N2. The final pass of the day was the dramatic Kaaimans River Pass.
The Swartrivier waterfall can only be seen by taking a canoe or abseiling down from the top from the Kaaimans River
The Kaaiman's River Pass boasts several records. Although a fairly short pass in terms of distance, the curves are extremely sharp and the gradient is steep. The pass connects George in the west with Wilderness in the east and traverses magnificent scenery with steep mountainsides, where the amber coloured waters of the Kaaimans River are crossed via the first curved bridge built in South Africa in 1952. The pass provides perfect views of the famous rail bridge at the mouth of the estuary and plays host to Dolphin Point - a perennial favourite with tourists offering 270 degree views including one of the best panoramas of Wilderness beach. When commissioned in 1952 it ended a 70 year period where the Old Cape Road (including the 7 Passes) became much less used.
Kaaimans River Pass and the old rail bridge / Photo: Galemcall Photography
When the wind is from the south-east many colourful paragliders can be soaring above Dolphin Point. Our venue for our second night was at the Wilderness Hotel - a large, ageing hotel right at the epicentre of the village. We were booked in for two nights and all guests agreed, this was the venue with the best breakfasts on offer. It rained hard for most of the afternoon and into the evening as our group took a walk to the Blue Olive Restaurant for dinner.
Next week: Montagu Pass, Voortrekker Pass and Woodville.
PODCAST: We chat about Map of Africa, the 7 Passes Road and the history of Knysna. Click here to listen.
PASS OF THE WEEK
The Kaaiman's River Pass not too long ago sported an MPSA tourism sign at the Dolphin Point lookout. An inebriated motorist driving a VW Polo (no surprises there) missed the turn at the viewpoint (travelling from the Wilderness side) and crashed directly into our sign. The sign, the Polo and the driver went straight over the cliff ending up on the railway tracks some 30m lower down. The driver escaped with minor injuries, but our sign and the Polo were consigned to the scrap metal yard. This sign will be the first of five signs to be replaced when we start our crowd funding project in the coming weeks.
* * K A A I M A N S R I V E R P A S S * *
Trygve Roberts
Editor
"Don't take life too seriously - you'll never get out of it alive"
