albertinia

This unusual gravel pass is located on the coastal plateau between Albertinia and the coastal road connecting Gouritzmond and Stilbaai. The pass has a classic inverted profile (High-Low-High) and traverses a riverless valley called Canca se Leegte. It has some very sharp and awkward (incorrectly banked) corners which can be lethal if your speed is too high.

At 2,6 km it's a short pass (well below the national average) but it packs plenty of variety into that distance. Some of the gradients are steep at 1:7 and the pass zig-zags its way past two prominent rocky outcrops called Eilandskop, after which the pass is named. The pass is best driven in a high clearance vehicle or very carefully in a normal car.

This is a long pass on the N2 at 13,3 km which connects Albertinia in the west with Mossel Bay in the east. The western side is fairly straight with few bends and more gentle gradients, but the eastern side is much steeper and includes a set of double S-bends. The road straddles the Gouritz River - one of the major rivers in the area via a high bridge which spans the gorge adjacent to two old steel latticed bridges, which until 2005 were used as a bungee jumping and bridge swing site for the adrenaline junkies.