gravel roads

The Stettynskloof Pass is a fascinating drive offering a wide range of interesting features. It's a long pass at 18,3 km and the 245m altitude gain is barely noticeable due to the length of the pass. There are five smaller summit points along the route which present as a series of small passes all joined together along one long road.

Essentially this is a service road for the Breedekloof Irrigation Scheme with the double pipes of the irrigation scheme constantly being in one's view. This is the only detraction from an otherwise visually stunning drive, but to be practical, if the pipeline wasn't built, there wouldn't be a road either. The road mainly remains on the south-eastern side of the Holslootrivier which has carved this deep and rugged kloof through the Stettyn Mountains. It is most unusual for the kloof not to be named after its dominant river.

The road is well maintained by the Worcester Municipality and lies mostly on private land owned by the Dwarsberg Trout Hideaway, which is a large commercial farm, which also offers camping and cottages. So the good news is that if you're a guest of the farm, you may drive the pass. Anyone suffering from acrophobia should not drive this pass.

Besides the excellent camping facilities, the route also offers hikes and mountain biking. There is one particularly attractive hike to a waterfall, described in more detail lower down this page. the kloof also gained some fame when a Shackleton crashed there in 1963.

Strykhoogte is something of a mystery with no history available - even from locals in MacGregor. It is clearly an old pass as there are several sections utilising Thomas Bain's dry stone walling method to support the road. The pass runs through an arid area of the Little Karoo and offers wide views over mountains and farms. It forms the western border of the Vrolijkheid Nature Reserve - a favourite weekend destination for birders and hikers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This small 2,7 km long poort drives through the natural gap in the northern-most of the four ridges comprising the Grootrivierberge between Willowmore and Jansenville in the Karoo. Typical of a poort, the road follows the path of the Plessisrivier and there is not much gain or loss in altitude. Both start and end points are at crossings of the same river. The road is generally maintained to a reasonable condition and is suitable for all vehicles.

This steep gravel road pass is located approximately 15 km South west of Matatiele in the Eastern Cape and rises 188 vertical meters over a distance of 4,8 km through rugged mountainous scenery. The average gradient is 1:12, with some of the steeper sections at 1:4. The pass is well designed and presents few dangers, except in wet or snow conditions.

 

The Richtersveld National Park plays host to six official passes and poorts. The Swartpoort is easily the easiest of the six in terms of terrain and gradient and provides a gentle introduction to this stunning mountain desert with its harsh and rocky landscape, sandy plains and absence of plant life - or so it seems to the first time visitor, but to the more astute observer there is a whole world of succulents that thrive in this dry climate, if you take the trouble to look properly.

The Swartpoort is an easy meander along a sandy plain amongst some mountain ridges which display black coloured rocks, hence the name, Swartpoort. The poort starts soon after entering the national park at the Sendelingdrif main gate.

Thyshoogte is named after the Thyskraal farm, through which it passes. This pass precedes Jukhoogte to it's south-west in fairly quick succession on the gravel R356 route between Sutherland and Ceres.. Like Jukhoogte, this pass similarly has a few nasty surprises with negative banking, and some sharp dips and corners. There is one hairpin bend which also hosts the steepest gradient. This pass gets extremely slippery after rain or snow and it has no safety rail on the drop side, where the drops offs are very steep. Drive slowly and with caution.

The pass is 4,5 km long and has an altitude variance of 152m which converts into an average gradient of 1:30, but the steepest section near the summit gets as steep as 1:6

This fabulous poort provides a natural route for the regional R372 road which connects Prince Albert in the west with the tarred N12 north of Klaarstroom and Meiringspoort. The poort traverses two long mountains over a distance of just under 4 kms with a placid average gradient of 1:54, but hidden amongst the gentle gradients are a few desceptively sharp bends. This a lovely, quiet Karoo poort through a barren and wide landscape. A sense of timelessness exists here, which is a good tonic for the unhurried traveller. This is also Angora goat and sheep farming country.

This is a complex contour road offering four small passes along its 27 km length. The road generally remains at the 2600m contour level and the vast majority of the route comprises contour road driving as it follows the shapes of the hills and buttresses. The route is doable in a high clearance 4x2 with diff-lock, but when things get muddy or snowy, it is definitely a 4x4 route. Although the road gets quite rough in places, these don't last long and most of this route is Grade 1 to 2. The road connects the Tiffindell Ski Resort in the west with the Tenahead Mountain Lodge in the east, and provides a shorter, but slower alternative to the Naudes Nek Pass. Beyond Tenahead Lodge, the road connects at the Naudes Nek lookout point at 2500m ASL.

Although we have named this route the TTT  (Tiffindell-Tenahead Traverse) which aptly describes the purpose of the road, this is a more modern take on its routing. It's also referred to by the locals by three other names: The Cairntoul Road (named after a farm on the eastern side of the traverse); Die Patrollie Pad (The Patrol Road) and Die Grenspad (the Border Road). The road has been used for many years to patrol stock theft into Lesotho. There are several small patrol huts, linked with radio sets, which can be seen along the route. These are occupied by 'young local herdsmen' who keep an eye on the hillsides and relay any suspicious activity to the main SAPS base at Cairntoul, from where the heavyweights are dispatched on horseback or by 4x4.

This short, but scenic poort offers lovely, mountainous Karoo scenery on a very easy gradient of 1:124 with few dangers. The drive along the poort includes two river crossings. It ends in the north at the second crossing of the Kraairivier,the latter which should not be confused with the Kraai River near Barkly East. (Crows River). The little known poort lies on a farm road, the P1864, that parallels the R329 on its northern side for many kilometers and gives access to the well known Timbila Game Reserve as well as two other poorts in the area - Medenpoort and the much bigger Kamferspoort.The road is suitable for all vehicles in fair weather.

The Uitkyk Pass is more commonly called the Uitkyk Road by locals. It lies just 15km to the south of Nelspruit and provides access to several farms as well as the plantations of bluegums and pines for harvesting and maintenance. It traverses sections of the Krokodilspoortmountains in the form of a large V.

The 4.7 km Uitkyk Pass joins the northern and southern Cederberg Wilderness areas. Of medium length and fairly steep, this pass is true to its name, which translates as 'Look Out' or 'Viewpoint', providing endless vistas of the unique Cederberg mountains, with the Algeria Valley beckoning down below with it's beautiful grassed campsites and refreshing rock pools.

The pass is sometimes listed as the Cederberg Pass on older maps with the old pass (which runs up the eastern side of the ravine) which it replaced, being listed as the "Old Uitkyk Pass". Take your pick! There is another Uitkyk Pass in Mpumalanga, so 'Cederberg Pass' would have been a wiser choice. Some maps also show the Nieuwoudts Pass as the Cederberg Pass.  There is another pass on the Wupperthal Road further to the north-east also called Uitkyk Pass on older maps, which has had a sensible name change to Hoek-se-berg Pass.

The much loved gravel pass was tarred in late 2019.

The Van Der Stel Pass is a fairly easy, but long, gravel road pass between Bot River and the Theewaterskloof Dam in the Overberg region. It mainly serves the farming community. The road is generally well maintained and is suitable for all vehicles. This is a fairly long pass at 17 km, but the gradients are very easy at a mere 1:145 with the steepest section near the summit at 1:6

 

This is a minor pass on a gravel road through a neck, north-west of Memel, on a farm road with moderate gradients and no corners. The only time you need worry about driving here would be in heavy rain or snow conditions, as the summit occurs at 1853m ASL and it does occassionally snow here in winter, when temperatures are regularly well below 0C.

This very small poort is located in an east-west running mountain range 22 km north-east of Willowmore (as the crow flies). The poort lies on private farm land, but a polite request to drive the little poort will be granted by the farm owner. Please close any farm gates. At 1,2 km, this poort is very short but nontheless displays typical poort characteristics as it crosses the small stream once near the northern end, then follows the western bank till the turn-around point, where you have to retrace your route back to the farmstead. The road is rough and very basic and not suitable for cars lacking ground clearance. This poort will typically only be driven by the more serious pass hunter. For the rest, cyber drive it here and forget about it.

This gravel pass connects the seaside town of Grootbrakrivier (Great Brak River) with the dairy farming coastal plateau to the north as well as being the main connecting road to the region’s biggest fresh water supply – the Wolwedans Dam. We filmed the pass in the descending mode to maximise on the scenic value. The pass carries an alternative official name - Charles Road.

This is a tough, high-altitude gravel pass that connects the Wartrail farming valley with the well-known Tiffindell Ski Resort, close to the RSA/Lesotho border. Relatively long at 9,6 km, it rises from 1916m ASL to 2567m. With its 1:14 average climb gradient, this pass can be called nothing but 'steep'! The first 4 km offers gradients of up to 1:5! This is strictly a 4x4 only route and high ground clearance, as well as low range, are mandatory. The pass is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the Bidstone Pass.

Most of the climbing is done in the first 3,8 km, where after the gradient eases right off to around 1:20 until the 7,7 km point after which the road steepens again to 1:7 till the summit. The road levels off near a small solitary cottage, which marks the end of the pass at the 9,6 km point, but there is still a fairly long pull of 8,2 km before you will arrive at Tiffindell. Allow at least 2 hours to complete both sections, excluding stops.

Expect rapidly changing weather conditions including severe electrical storms, heavy rain, hail, snow and very strong katabatic and anabatic winds. It you break down on this pass, assistance will be either from Tiffindell or from the nearest farm in the Wartrail Valley. Either way, it will be a long walk. Go well prepared with recovery equipment, as well as appropriate clothing and emergency food rations. We recommend carrying a satphone.

This short, but scenic gravel pass traverses the Wadrift farm approximately 30 km north of Heidelberg in the Western Cape. It follows immediately where the Seekoeigat Passends and is flanked to the north by the towering Kanetberg (one of the main mountains within the Langeberg range) and the gentle waters of the Duiwenhoks River can be seen to the south. This is the final of the five access passes for those wishing to drive the historic (and rough) Gysmanshoek Pass, which is accessed where this pass ends.

An easy gravel pass traversing farmlands in the Little Karoo north of the Kammanassie River valley. The going is easy and the condition of the road is generally good. There are very few dangers on this pass, with the only exception being the crossing of the Leeublad farmstead at the end of the pass, where there are a couple of sharp corners and the presence of other vehicles, farming equipment, livestock and pedestrians. Treat the final kilometer with extra caution as the road passes within metres of the main farmhouse. A slow speed also keeps dust levels down for the farmer.

This is a beautiful gravel pass that ascends the eastern side of the Watervalsberg near Wolseley and connects the town with the Suurvlak plantation on top of the mountain. The pass falls under the jurisdiction of Cape Nature as well as the state's forestry arm in the Western Cape (Cape Pine). The road is open to permit holders only - we explain the process of getting the permit lower down on this page. The pass zig-zags its way up the mountain via three extreme switchbacks, at a fairly reasonable gradient and is well designed, offering exceptionally good views over the Tulbagh Valley and the Witzenberg mountains to the east. (Latest news as at Nov 2016 - this pass is now officially closed to the public)

Wesselsnek is a minor gravel road pass located just off the main route between Ladysmith and Dundee in KwaZulu-Natal. It is mentioned in numerous accounts of the Second Anglo-Boer War, and both the pass itself and the railway station occupied key strategic positions during this conflict. The area is perhaps best known for the Battle of Elandslaagte, which is a small village and station located just to the south of Wesselsnek. The road is in a good condition and can be driven in any vehicle, except perhaps in wet weather.