The two passes are named Donkies Pass and Donkey Pass, with the former being in KZN and the latter in the Free State. Today's featured pass is the KZN's Donkies Pass and it is technical, steep, rough and dangerous. This is now officially also the second steepest pass in South Africa with an average gradient of 1: 8,55. Like many of its sister passes in this part of the Drakensberg, it also lies on private land, so anyone wanting to drive it, needs to do some homework 'expedition style'. Two land-owners need to give permission to complete the pass, which traverses a double spine of the Drakensberg to the west of Newcastle and to add some genteel spice to this rugged, 4x4 route, you will either start or end at the luxurious Vulintaba Country Estate, so maybe pack the golf clubs as well!
The other (Donkey) pass will be available on this site within the next few weeks and by all accounts looks to be even tougher than the KZN one!
Explore this route right here: DONKIES PASS
Tip of the week: The one word that everyone should use when driving : A N T I C I P A T E !
Trygve Roberts
Editor
Latest News! 14th May, 2015
Written by Trygve Roberts
Drakensburg splendour!
- Photo: Photo - Adventure Spirit
Let it not be said that we dont cover every mountain pass in South Africa! Over the past three years we have had many requests from pass fans as to exactly where the fabled Donkies Pass is. This week we unveil the first of two passes named after the asses. It took a lot of research finding these two passes, but thanks to the meticulous work done by one of our readers, Brits Steyn, who submitted an exceptionally well researched list of passes in KZN and Mpumalanga, we are able to accurately pinpoint these two 'off the beaten track' passes.
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Mountain Passes South Africa is a website dedicated to the research, documentation, photographing and filming of the mountain passes of South Africa.
Passes are classified according to provinces and feature a text description, Fact File including GPS data, a fully interactive dual-view map and a narrated YouTube video.
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