R410

The impressive Cala Pass winds its way up a deep cleft in the mountains north of the village of Cala gaining 335 metres in altitude over 7.3 km, producing a gradient of 1:22 with some sections at 1:9. This a reasonably safe road for most vehicles, but it is a high altitude pass and is subject to winter snowfalls, heavy summer electrical storms and regular mountain mists. It is one of four passes along the R410 between Queenstown and Elliot, forming a set of giant stepping stones towards the high altiude part of the Eastern Cape around Elliot (Khowa).

This relatively unknown tarred pass forms part of four passes along the R410 route between Queenstown and Elliot in the the high altitude region of the Eastern Cape - the others being from west to east the Nonesi's Nek Pass, the MacKay's Nek Pass, this pass and finally the Cala Pass forming a set of huge stepping stones towards the highest region of the Eastern Cape and the gateway to all the major gravel passes close to the southern Drakensberg and Lesotho. The pass offers lovely mountainous scenery and a traverse alongside a river filled with white water during summer. It's modern, well engineered and is suitable for all traffic. It's 12,3 km long and has an altitude variance of 323 vertical metres to summit at 1566m ASL producing an average gradient of 1:38 with the steepest section being at 1:11 The pass is subject to winter snowfalls.

MacKay's Nek Pass on the tarred R410 route between Queenstown in the west and Lady Frere in the east, is a fairly short, but dramatic pass that can surprise unwary drivers with its steep gradients and very sharp bends. It's only 3,8 km long, but crammed into the first 2,5 km are two full horseshoe bends and one ninety degree right hand curve. The gradients are steep on the western side of the pass, reaching 1:7 and when added to an already high altitude of over 1200m ASL, many vehicles will experience a sensation of feeling underpowered.

This tarred pass is located between the Eastern Cape towns of Queenstown and Lady Frere on the tarred the R410 route. The pass descends through 216 vertical metres over 5,6 km producing an average gradient of 1:26 with the steepest parts presenting at 1:10. The pass contains 15 bends, corners and curves, one of which exceeds a radius of 90 degrees. This is a safe, well engineered road and is suitable for any vehicle. We do however issue a cautionary for bad weather as this is a high altitude pass and is subject to winter snowfalls and heavy thunderstorms in summer. Always adjust your speed according to conditions and watch out for livestock on the road.