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maclear

Elandshoogte is a long rambling pass on the R396, which connects Maclear with Rhodes. The pass traverses the majestic forested intermediate area between the lower escarpment and the high mountains of the Drakensberg range. The road is usually in a reasonable condition and in fair weather can be driven in most vehicles, but in heavy rain or snow, a 4WD vehicle will be mandatory.

The pass contains 61 bends, corners and curves within its 10.7 km length and of those 16 are greater than 90 degrees and one is a full hairpin of 180 degrees. The road presents as an undulating road with no less than 3 false summits and routes through a commercial forestry zone, so please drive with your headlights on at all times to make your vehicle more visible to forestry vehicles that commonly use this road.

The road precedes the Naude's Nek Pass when driving from south to north and is itself preceded by the Pot River Pass. Cautionaries include dense mountain mists with poor visibility, slippery surfaces in wet weather, forestry vehicles, ruts, wash-aways and corrugations.

Moordenaarsnek (“Murderer’s Neck”) has a very unusual profile, in that the road rises and falls through a series of false summits over its full length of 12.3 km. The road had recently been refurbished at the time of filming in April 2017, and was in an excellent condition. As usual, hazards in this part of the Eastern Cape include pedestrians, livestock and slow-moving traffic. It is also not advisable to traverse this pass at night or in inclement weather, but if this is unavoidable, reduce your speed to below the posted speed restrictions and be prepared to brake suddenly at a moment’s notice.

Pitseng Pass is dwarfed by the nearby Naude’s Nek Pass, but nevertheless it is a substantial pass in its own right. In good conditions the pass can be driven in any high-clearance vehicle, but in wet weather or snow a 4x4 will definitely be required. Together with its sister pass, Luzi Poort, the road is often used as a shortcut by travellers wishing to get from Mount Fletcher to Rhodes or vice versa; it is a much shorter route than going via Maclear, and it is certainly more scenic. Either way, Naude’s Nek still has to be negotiated. There is a significant height gain / loss of 368 metres, and the pass is 8 kilometres in length.

The Pot River sources in the Drakensberg, where the pass of the same name traverses its western flank. It's a surprisingly long pass, initially crossing over the Pot River about 22 km north-west of Maclear. This is a reasonable, gravel road and can be driven by normal cars in fair weather. In wet weather you are best off in a 4x4 or a 'bakkie' with decent ground clearance.

Most of the pass consists of a fairly straightforward ascent along the main spur of the mountain, with the only set of sharp corners, consisting of a set of double hairpins, being near the southern end of the pass. From the summit point at 1783m ASL the road displays an altitude variance of 461m over a distance of 8.9 km, producing an average gradient of 1:19 with the steepest parts measuring in at 1:6.

If you're driving between Rhodes and Maclear this is one of three passes you will traverse along the R396 - the other two being Elands Heights and the major pass is of course, the Naude's Nek Pass.