tarred passes

Soutar’s Hill is an official tarred pass located between Nottingham Road and Himeville on the Lower Lotheni Road in KwaZulu-Natal. It isn’t much of a pass, and it pales into insignificance when compared to the next three massive passes which have to be negotiated before Himeville is reached when travelling from east to west. Despite intensive research, we have been unable to establish the identity of the person after whom this pass is named, but, like some many of the other mountains and hills in this area, it is probable that it originated after an important personage related to one of the Anglo-Boer wars.

This is a minor pass on the N2 between Klein and Groot Brakrivier and follows the coastal hill descending continuously till the termination point at the crossing of the Great Brak River. The pass is named after the small suburb Suiderkruis (Southern Cross) just to the south of the pass. This sector of the N2 offers excellent quality roads through some of the finest Garden Route scenery and includes a number of passes both tar and gravel. For east-bound travellers on the N2, the Hoogte Pass starts where this pass ends, providing one long continuous pass of 14 km of pristine views over sun drenched beaches and Garden Route fynbos.

Soutpansnek translates from Afrikaans as 'Salt Pan Neck'. This 7 km tarred pass is located on the R75, about 15 km north of the small Karoo town of Jansenville. The pass has a stiff gradient on its northern side of 1:14, but other than the one sharp bend at the summit, which is well marked, should present no real dangers. The road is suitable for all vehicles. There are several references to this pass also being called the Ravelskloof Pass. This stems from a sign at either end of the pass marked 'RAVELSKLOOF' which is the name of the kloof over which the Soutpansnek Pass traverses. In reality, there is no such pass as the Ravelskloof Pass.

Strangely there are two Soutpansnek Passes on the R75 just 43 km apart. This was always going to cause confusion, so we have labelled the two passes with a suffix to separate them distinctly. This one is the Soutpansnek Pass (Ravelskloof) and the more southern one is the Soutpansnek Pass (Wolwefontein).

This easy tarred pass is located on the tarred R75 route about midway between Kirkwood in the east and Jansenville in the west. It's of average length at 4,7 km and displays an altitude variance of 135m and an average gradient of 1:35 with the steepest section being near the summit at 1:9.

Strangely there are two Soutpansnek Passes on the R75 just 43 km apart. This was always going to cause confusion, so we have labelled the two passes with a suffix to separate them distinctly. This one is the Soutpansnek Pass (Wolwefontein) and the more northern one is the Soutpansnek Pass (Ravelskloof).

The government administrators of the Northern Cape were very good at the job of naming passes and poorts in an official capacity. This one, although an official 'poort' has absolutely no resemblance to the definition of a poort nor a pass. It is nothing more than a single gentle bend on an otherwise fairly flat, tarred road in the Northern Cape just north-east of Williston. The poort is 3,2 km long and displays an altitude variance of only 32m, which converts into an average gradient of 1:100.

Unless you are a serious pass chaser hell bent on ticking every pass and poort off your list, this one is completely unforgettable. What the Soutpanspoort lacks in scenery and excitement, the nearby town of Williston, more than compensates for.

This pass lives up to it's name in every way, as it's long, packed with corners and steep gradients and more importantly it offers spectacular scenery. It connects the capital town of the Northern Cape (Springbok) with the mining town of Kleinzee and carries the road number P0745 which is a clear indicator that this was once a fairly minor road. It now falls under route number R355, which terminates at Kleinzee in the west at the coast. As Kleinzee is an important diamond mining centre, the road has been upgraded to a high quality standard to carry the heavier traffic associated with mining. At 17,5 km it's amongst the longer South African passes and whilst the average gradient pans out at a mild 1:31, there are several steeper sections at 1:8.

Steenkampsberg Pass is sometimes mistakenly referred to as "De Berg Pass" after the highest peak in the range at an altitude of 2331m. This tarred pass joins Lydenburg in the north-east with the small settlement of Roossenekal in the SSW. It is approximately 30 km to either town. The pass gains 434 vertical meters over 17,1 km producing an average gradient of 1:20. The steepest parts are at 1:7. The scenery along the entire length of the pass is exceptional and well worth any detour you will have made to drive it.

This beautiful pass, which is situated midway between Clarens and Fouriesburg in the eastern Free State, is well-known and much-loved by motorists and motorcyclists alike. The road surface is extremely good, the corners are cambered correctly, and the views over the entire length of the pass, in particular near the summit, are breathtaking. This is also the location of one of the most defining moments of the Anglo-Boer War, after which this pass is named.

The Swaarmoed Pass is located approximately 20 km north-east of Ceres. The name translates from Afrikaans into 'Heavy Courage'. The 16 km long tarred pass descends 629 vertical meters from the summit at 1212 m ASL. It is the favourite access route to the snow fields on the highlands near Klondyke and Erfdeel farms, the latter perhaps better known as Matroosberg with a summit altitude of 2249m ASL - it is also the second highest peak in the Western Cape. (The highest being the Seweweeks Peak in the Swartberg range).

The pass is well engineered with gradients seldom exceeding 1:11 and is suitable for all vehicles. The pass offers excellent views over the Warm Bokkeveld and the vast plains of the Ceres valley surrounded by an amphitheatre of rugged mountains. It does snow on this pass and on the rare occassions that this happens, there will immediately be considerable traffic on this pass and if snow coincides with a weekend, expect chaos as thousands of sightseers flock to the area to see the snow. The pass is the main access route to get to Matroosberg, which is the most popular point to gain access to the snowfields and drive the Grade 3 4x4 route up to the Groothoek Canyon viewsite.

An easy tarred pass on the N2 between Wilderness in the west and Sedgefield in the east, offering sweeping views over Swartvlei - a large semi-saline lake forming one of the many lakes in this region with the typical transparent onyx colour. The pass is 5,4 km long and descends 115m to cross the estuary via a low level bridge at sea level. The pass has several corners and some steep gradients at 1:10, but the corners are properly banked, making the road safe. Overtaking is difficult and most of the pass is controlled by double barrier lines.

The low, rocky ridge that separates downtown Johannesburg from the northern suburbs is called Linksfield Ridge. One of the roads that connects these two areas is called Sylvia's Pass. It is on record as being the shortest official pass in South Africa, but is nontheless quite steep along most of its length. The road forms part of the M33 suburban route and conencts the Observatory area with Orange Grove. Many locals prefer this route to the more congested Louis Botha Avenue.

Located along a natural poort through the Magaliesburg close to Pretoria, it forms part of the R80 highway. The poort is short at just over 2 km, but climbs quickly through 76m of altitude producing gradients of 1:10. The road connects many outlying suburbs to the north of the Magaliesberg with the city of Pretoria.

Tienfontein Se Hoogte, also sometimes called Tienfonteinhoogte, is a minor pass located on the tarred R26 road near Zastron in the eastern Free State. This road forms part of the picturesque Western Maloti Mountains Route, which runs from Fouriesburg in the north to Rouxville in the south, following the border with Lesotho. It makes for an attractive and very scenic alternative to the N1 and the N6 when travelling from Gauteng to the Border region of the Eastern Cape, but be aware that some parts of this road are badly maintained.

The Tlaeeng Pass has a fairly minor altitude gain of 140m and only one hairpin chicane section. Other than those, the pass is easy enough to traverse, but what makes this pass stand out from the rest is it's maximum altitude of 3262m which makes it the 2nd highest pass in Lesotho. This road is also known as the Oxbow-Mapholaneng Road.

Together with the Moteng, Mahlasela and Khalo La Lithunya Passes, it forms a quartet of altitude gaining passes on the A1 route between Butha Buthe and Mokhotlong. The main point of interest occurs at the southern end of the pass which is the Letseng Diamond Mine.

This attractive and well-known little pass is situated in the heart of the leafy northern suburbs of Pretoria, appearing as a welcome surprise to those not familiar with the area. The pass is very steep at an average gradient of 1:8, causing some vehicles to labour heavily as they make their way up the pass in the rarefied Highveld air. This is also true for the runners which take part in the Tom Jenkins Challenge, an annual event which features the pass and which finishes at the nearby Union Buildings.

This short pass is located on the R62 just to the north-east of the popular town of Barrydale. It should not be confused with the Thomas Bain built Tradouw Pass to the south of Barrydale, nor with the Op de Tradouw Pass which lies to the west of the town.

The well engineered pass, which has an average gradient of 1:19 and never gets steeper than 1:11, offers lovely views over the Barrydale valley and surrounding farms. Do stop at the viewsite which is about halfway down the descent, but indicate your intentions of turning  off the R62 early as this road often gets very busy.

Watch out for the speed restrictions and the speed changes rapidly from 80 kph to 60 kph just as you enter the final right hand bend into the main road. There are often radar traps set up here. Don't rush through Barrydale. Explore the village and savour the country food, hospitality and history that abounds here.

This pass is well above the national average length at 8.7 km and is one of three back to back passes along the R61 between Lusikisiki and Port St.Johns. There are 58 bends, corners and curves compressed into that length and many of them exceed 90 degrees through tight arcs. It is necessary for drivers to have a high level of concentration on this pass, as it's a busy road and the many courier and delivery trucks and minibus taxis have scant regard for barrier lines.

The pass name is of course taken from the Umzimvubu River which is crossed at the foot of the pass near Port St.Johns. Drivers who do this route for the first time will be in for a few nasty surprises in that here you will find some of South Africa's severest speed bumps. These are unfortunately necessary to slow the wild drivers down - especially near villages and schools. There is one specific speed bump designs which consists of 5 sharp speed bumps, spaced about 1m apart. 

Despite all the dangers, the pass offers fabulous scenery and especially towards the middle of the pass where the Gates of St. John start making an appearance. The Xhosa version of the river and pass exclude the U - so "Mzimvubu" For Western tongues having the M and the Z following each other, make it difficult to pronounce. For purposes of indexing we have used the older version of Umzimvubu.

Uniondale Heights is a 4.6 km long tarred pass on the N9 route between Uniondale and Willowmore. It is located just outside Uniondale and descends from the Karoo plateau of around 820 meters ASL down the mountain to the north of the town via a well-designed, modern pass with easy gradients, good cambers and gentle curves. The pass terminates right opposite the centre of Uniondale at the crossing of the Kammanassie River.

There is not much left of the old Van Ryneveld's Pass with most of it being either under the surface of the new road or under the sparkling waters of the Nqweba Dam. The 'new' pass which forms part of the R63 route, is just  2.1 km long and only displays an altitude variance of 40m. What this little pass lacks in vital statistics, it more than makes up in points of interest and lovely scenery.

You will be able to enjoy shady picnic spots, views over the dam, close up views of the old pass (built by Andrew Bain), a visit to the Gideon Scheepers memorial and gain access to the Camdeboo National Park. Andrew Bain started his road building career in Graaff Reinet where he first worked as a saddler and later gained experience as a road builder. His famous son, Thomas Bain was born here.

This straight forward north/south traverse over a natural neck is 6.4 km long and climbs 193m producing an average gradient of 1:33. It lies on the tarred R36 between Ohrigstad and Lydenburg,  The pass boasts a lofty summit altitude of 1411m but there are no apparent dangers or cautionaries for this pass other than mist at any time of the year and smoke during the fire season. At the time of filming (April 2018) the R36 was in a state of disrepair with patchy tar and many potholes. The pass straddles the border between Mpumalanga and Limpopo.