Game reserves

Lenong Pass is a short but very steep pass, situated within the boundaries of the Pilanesberg Game Reserve. It should not be confused with another pass of the same name, located fairly close by in the Marakele National Park near Thabazimbi. It forms the only access route up onto a high plateau, from where visitors to the park are offered fabulous vistas over the surrounding plains and dams from a number of hides and viewpoints. The entire pass has been surfaced with paving bricks and can be driven in all vehicles and in any weather, but some of the gravelled roads on top of the mountain are in a poor condition, and careful driving will be required if you are not in a high-clearance vehicle or in adverse conditions.

Murray's Neck is a straightforward tarred pass rising 116m to a neck where fabulous views over the Pongola Nature Reserve can be enjoyed. The pass forms an integral part of the access road from the N2 to the SA/Swaziland border control point at Golela, where there is also a railway station. The road provides tourism access from the eastern end of the pass to some of KZN's finest game reserves. The pass has a steeper descent gradient, but in general this is an easy pass with a good safety record and comfortable gradients with gentle corners. It is suitable for all vehicles.

Rankins Pass lies in the heart of the Waterberg Conservancy and is rich in game reserves. It lies approximately 180 km North of Pretoria. The road links Thabazimbi in the West with Modimolle (previously Nylstroom) in the south east. The small settlement of Alma lies near the start of the pass. Rankins Pass is not actually a true mountain pass but more of an outpost or toll point as there is no sign of any proper climbing or bends. It is nothing more than a small police station close to the Rhenosterfontein farm. This "pass" will make our unusual and bizarre stats page in that it is the only official pass in South Africa, that is not actually a pass. We have decided to include it on our website for sake of clarification.

This lovely and fairly long poort follows the gorge formed by the Sandfontein river. It is also locally known as 'Tilney Gorge North'. The poort falls within the section of privately owned land of the Sanbona Wildlife Reserve and is only accessible to paying guests. It's 7 km long and follows the natural gorge carved out by the river, which is one of three rivers which feed into the main dam at Sanbona - the Bellair Dam.

The poort presents gentle average gradients of 1:49 and other than severe corrugations, should present no problems for all types of vehicles, regardless of whether 4x4 or not.

*Please carefully read the notes on public access to Sanbona lower down!

With a height gain/loss of just 14 metres, Sandrivierspoort is one of the flattest passes in our database. Located near Thabazimbi, in the north-western region of the Limpopo province, the poort is situated in a wide valley at the confluence of the Sondagsrivier and the Sandrivier. Once referred to as a “remote and pestilent corner of Africa”, the region went through a boom period after the disappearance of the Tsetse and the discovery of iron ore deposits. This gravel poort is just 3.8 kilometres long, and can be driven in any vehicle, weather dependent.