tarred passes

This is a safe and easy pass that descends from the coastal plateau down the eastern flank of the Goukou River towards the coastal town of Still Bay. Everything about the pass is moderate but the views to the west are lovely over the river and valley. This is a safe all weather pass with very few dangers and is suitable for all vehicles. On the day of filming there were extensive road works with lengthy delays, so we have yet to film this pass.

The pass only has 5 easy corners and displays an altitude variance of 134m producing an average gradient of a mild 1;29, but there are some steeper sections near the summit area of 1:9

This is another major pass in Lesotho located on the A4 main route in the south-western corner of the Mountain Kingdom. It's long at 13.4 km and climbs 576 vertical metres producing some stiff gradients of 1:6. It connects Mount Moorosi with Qacha's Nek and a string of smaller villages along the way.

The pass has 61 bends, corners and curves to contend with of which only 2 are greater than 90 degrees and one of those is a 160 degree hairpin at the 4.3 km mark (measured from the western start). With a summit height of 2464m you can expect snow and ice on this pass on a regular basis.

The pass is tarred and under normal conditions is quite safe for any vehicle.

This steep, mixed surface pass has the classic low-high-low profile rising 262m over 6 km producing an average gradient of 1:23, but many parts of this pass are at a stiff 1:7. The road, which has a summit altitude of 1351m ASL, connects Vryheid with the Black Umfolozi Valley. The pass is a mix of tar and gravel with all of the western ascent being tarred and most of the eastern descent being gravel, except for three short tarred sections on the steepest sections most prone to water damage. The name Leeunek translates into Lions Neck.

Cautionaries:
1. Livestock on the road

2. Mountain mists

3. Barrier lines almost invisible

4. Some deep potholes

This big pass is located on the A3 main route between Maseru in the west and the much smaller village of Fosi in the east. It displays an altitude variance of 487m over a distance of 11.9 km producing an average gradient of 1:27, but there are several very steep sections at 1:5.

The pass is also commonly known as Bushman's Pass or Bushmen's Pass. Most maps use the spelling Bushman's, but the official sign at the summit is spelled as Bushmen's Pass.

The pass has 65 bends, corners and curves compressed within its length and with a summit height of 2277m ASL it receives regular snowfalls. During very cold conditions ice might be present on the roadway, which is extremely dangerous - even for 4WD vehicles. Being one of the main routes in Lesotho the road carries a steady flow of traffic. Be wary of large trucks and buses that need the whole roadway to negotiate the sharper bends.

This lovely pass has two unusual features. Firstly its indigenous name is very long at 21 letters and secondly it has the English name of 'God Help Me Pass', which conjures up instant images of fear and alarm. The reality is that today's version of the pass is actually quite easy to traverse along the tarred A3 main route compared to the original gravel road which was much steeper.

The pass is one of several big passes on the A3 between Maseru and Mohale. It has a summit height of 2332m and like most passes in Lesotho is subject to winter snowfalls and ice on the road. It has 31 bends, corners and curves of which 8 are greater than 90 degrees and of those 8 there are 4 bends of 180 degrees.

This is one of the longest passes on the tarred A3 route between Maseru and Mohale at 19.3 km. Although the average gradient is a mild 1:40, those numbers are diluted by the long plateau section in the middle. The reality is that the gradients get steep at either end - as steep as 1:6.This is another high altitude pass reaching a maximum of 2639m ASL. The pass is also commonly called the Blue Mountain Pass. This is one of the coldest parts of Lesotho. There are plenty of bends, corners and curves to keep you busy - a total of 95 of them and of those 12 are greater than 90 degrees, which include two full hairpin bends.

The road is in a good condition and can be driven in any vehicle, but the usual Lesotho cautionaries apply of ice and snow on the road in winter, free roaming livestock, slow moving trucks and the ubiquitous herdsmen. The area can be subject to severe electrical storms in the summer months.

Lombardskop Nek is an easy tarred traverse along the east/west axis just outside Ladysmith in KZN with a minor change in altitude of just 53m. The road routes between a series of peaks and hills which have great historical value and in this instance the peak called Lombardskop takes us back to the Battle of Lombardskop in 1899. We spend most of our research into the history of the Anglo-Boer war, rather than the technical side of this very easy drive.

Lundy's Hill is a major pass located on the tarred R617 trunk route between Howick and Bulwer. It's 21 km long and contains 35 bends, corners and curves, most of which are easy. The altitude variance of 505m converts into an average gradient of 1:41 with the steepest parts measuring in at 1:9. This pass is unkindly referred to a "hill". During our research of this pass, we could not uncover any meaningful history on the naming of Lundy's Hill.

The pass has a classic inverted vertical profile, typical of a pass that descends down to a river and ascends up the other side. The river in question is the Umkomaas River (Mkomazi). The pass provides access to several rural villages, where the scenery is fabulous, especially during the summer months. 

The pass lies along the footbhills of the Drakensberg at an elevation of roughly 1400m ASL and is subject to electrical thunderstorms in summer and possible snowfalls during winter. Watch out for slow moving and erratic local drivers, pedestrians and livestock plus dogs on the road - and of course the ubiquitous minibus taxis, who write their own rules.

This minor 4 km long pass lies close to George Airport and is essentially the drop down into the gorge of the Maalgate River (Whirlpool River) and back up the opposite side. It forms part of the modern George bypass system on the N2. There are only three minor curves on this pass, but the gradients are as steep as 1:15. The road is in good condition and there are two lanes with wide safety shoulders in either direction. There are no appartent dangers and the pass is suitable is suitable for all vehicles. Watch out for accasional cross-winds at the bridge itself and slow moving trucks on the ascents.

This lovely tarred pass with its sweeping curves and grand views is located midway between Sabie and Graskop on the R532 and also provides access to the renowned Mac Mac Falles as well as the Mac Mac Pools just a few kilometres further south. The road is in a good condition and is suitable for all vehicles, on the proviso that barrier line restrictions and speed limits are adhered to. It's not a major pass in the greater scheme of things but it does provide magnificent scenery in a picture perfect Lowveld setting.

The entire area around Graskop and Sabie is prone to heavy rainfall and frequent mountain mists. In such low visibility conditions, adapt your speed according to conditions, put on all your lights (in daylight hours) including your hazards. At night switch your main beams off and use your fog lights to reduce glare.

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.

Mafika Lisiu Pass is without question one of the most dramatic and beautiful tarred passes in Lesotho. It was built ahead of the construction of the Katse Dam to provide an all-weather road suitable for the large trucks carrying fly-ash and cement from Ficksburg to the Katse construction site. It won an international engineering award for its design and engineering excellence.

The statistics of this pass are impressive. Firstly its a very long pass at 26.2 km with a summit height of 3091m and an altitude variance of 1104m. It snows regularly on the pass, making it dangerous for non 4WD vehicles. Black ice occurs on the pass too, rendering a highly dangerous situation; even for 4WD vehicles.

The scenery is breathtaking, especially on the western side, offering a smorgasbord of deep valleys, gullies, waterfalls and burbling streams, towering cliffs  and in winter it's a snowy wonderland.

It connects Hlotse and Pitseng in the west with Ha Lejone in the east. Allow an hour to drive the route and more if you want to stop for photos. There is a large, safe and well constructed viewing point at the summit (12 km mark) with magnificent views down the valley to the west, as well as the famous built-up hairpin bend near the summit.

The N4 is a national highway that stretches across the entire northern section of South Africa, from the Botswana border in the west, through Pretoria, to the Mozambique border in the east. Astonishingly, there are only four official passes on this road, and Magatasnek is the only one located on the western half. The pass lies just to the west of Rustenburg.

The N4 is heavily tolled, and has a reputation as a dangerous road, in particular the section between Brits and Rustenburg, where there is only a single lane in each direction for much of this route. Impatient motorists tend to overtake slow moving traffic without any regard for the road markings and signs, resulting in a number of injuries and fatalities.

Malanshoogte is a smallish tarred pass just north of Cape Town that connects Adderley Road in the north with the Contermanskloof Road in the south. The pass is 4.3 km long and presents an altitude variance of 110m producing an average gradient of 1:40 with the steepest sections, being on the northern side at 1:11. This is a fairly safe road with no apparent design dangers, but it should be noted that there are no safety shoulders (danger for cyclists) and some of the corners are quite sharp, so comply with the speed limits. A further hazard are many trucks accessing the quarry near the summit.

The pass is obviously named after the Mkomazi River (Umkomaas) and displays a typical inverted vertical profile associated with a pass that drops down into a river valley and ascends up the other side. This is a fairly long pass at 11.8 km and has an altiude variance of 521m, which translates into an average gradient of 1:23.

There are 34 bends, corners and curves to contend with, most of which have gentle arcs, but there two sharp 90 degree corners on the northern side, which require careful driving. In earlier times the river was known as the Umkomaas, mainly to suit the Western tongue better, but today the spelling has reverted back to the original Zulu version.

The pass is part of the R56 and connects Ixopo in the south with Richmond in the north. The road is currently (2021) under refurbishment and is generally in a fair condition.

The short but interesting pass offers gorgeous scenery, twisting and steep curves on a brand new road, but it also has several cautionaries which include two sets of fearsome speed bumps, several schools, slow intersection traffic and livestock on the road,

The pass has a typical inverted vertical profile expected of a pass that descends into a river valley and climbs out the other side. The modern engineering on this brand new road is interesting and almost unexpected considering the humble rural surroundings.

It's only 5 km long and drops 248m to the river crossing with steep gradients of 1:7. The winding R61 is peppered with small passes, some of them unnamed, so it's best to pre-mark the GPS coordinates on your unit, so that you know when it's coming up on your journey to the coast.

This short, steep tarred pass on the N2 sweeps down a long hill as a bypass to the bustling seaside town of Mossel Bay, providing perfect views of the bay via a sharp left hand bend of 90 degrees as the direction switches into the north and drops down to the outlying suburb of Hartenbos. The pass is fairly dangerous for heavy duty vehicles in that the descent is long, steep and momentum gaining. Any issues with braking systems and lack of driver skills will come to the fore on this pass.

This major pass is located between the Afriski Resort in the north and Butha Buthe in the west, in the northern quartile of Lesotho. It has a huge altitude gain of 896m that stretches over a distance of 15.3 km which converts into an average gradient of 1:17, but don't be fooled by that figure as it includes the descent. Most of the descent from the eastern approach is between 1:5 and 1:8.

The 91 bends, corners and curves will require your full concentration. Amongst those there are 11 extreme hairpin bends and two full horseshoes and a further 16 bends in excess of 90 degrees. The A1 road is the major route across the northern sector of Lesotho and as such carries a fair volume of traffic including some very large trucks. These need the full width of the road to negotiate the hairpin bends, so be fully aware of this as you proceed along this pass.

The pass has been the scene of numerous accidents, mostly involving trucks and buses. All the passes in Lesotho are above the snow line, so driving here in winter invariably means having to deal with snow and ice, which is to be avoided if possible - and especially so if you are not in a 4WD vehicle.

This short pass of 3,2 km connects Hlobane/Vaalbank in the north with the village of Bloemendal in the south. It has a classic low-high-low profile with a summit height of 1350m. What sets this pass apart from it's peers is the number of potholes (at the time of filming in September, 2021) that have to be avoided. It's probably one of the worst in South Africa and results in drivers weaving onto the wrong side of the road.

The good news is that the average speed is relatively low, so avoiding collisions is quite easy. The probable cause of the poor road condition is the constant presence of coal mining trucks which service several mines in the immediate area. Other dangers include heavy mountain mists and livestock on the road.

The Mpageni Pass, together with it's tandem pass, the Bouldersberg Pass forms the bulk of the old Nelspruit-Kaapmuiden road. It is a narrow tarred road [D286] that traverses the Crocodile Poort Nature Reserve. It climbs 472 vertical meters over a distance of 10,2 km to produce an average gradient of 1:22, with some sections as steep as 1:8.

The pass terminates 2,5 km before the western starting point of the Bouldersberg Pass (after the summit plateau). Watch out for wild animals, especially at night and it should also be noted that there are two control booms, where you have to sign in and out. There is no charge for entry into the reserve, but you will be required to produce your drivers licence and it will be scanned as will your vehicle's licence disc. This is an anti-poaching initiative.