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Aliwal North

Beestekraalnek is a fairly minor pass located on the N6 between Bloemfontein and East London, close to the southern border of the Free State near Aliwal North. The pass is 5.8 km long and only has four bends along the entire route, all of which have a gentle radius and are easily negotiated at the speed limit of 100 kph.

The road is in an excellent condition with wide shoulders, and will not present any problems in all weather conditions. The scenery along the pass offers wide-open vistas of the Free State plains, with flat-topped koppies dotted randomly about the landscape, and the Drakensberg and Maluti mountains in the far distance off to the east.

Elandsberg Pass is located on the N6 just to the south of the historic town of Aliwal North, which straddles the border between the Eastern Cape and Free State provinces. The road has been beautifully engineered, is in an excellent condition, and should not present problems for any vehicle in all weather conditions, provided that the speed limit is adhered to. The pass is named after the imposing mountain which dominates the skyline on the western side. It is one of at least nine passes which contain within their title a reference to the Eland, the largest of the southern African antelope and which was, and still is, commonly found throughout the country.

The Penhoek Pass is a well engineered, high altitude tarred pass forming part of the N6 highway between Queenstown in the south and Jamestown in the north. The 5.6 km long pass traverses through the aptly named Stormberg to assert itself as one of South Africa's dangerous tarred passes. In earlier days (circa 1846) the original pass was known as the Stormberg Pass and featured some impressive retaining walls with very steep drop-offs. Some of the original lines can still be seen on the satellite imagery. Traversing the old pass was a major event, compared to the easy drive over today's version with it's perfectly banked corners, deep cuttings and easy gradients.