1. HISTORICAL PASSES OF THE SOUTHERN CAPE
Most of the early ox wagon passes were not constructed as such but early explorers
merely followed game/elephant tracks or foot paths made by the Khoi Khoi people
over the mountains.
The first ox wagon pass across the Langeberg Outeniqua range was the
Attaquaskloof Pass, north of Mossel Bay. This became the main road to the North for
180 years from 1689-1869.
Only with the arrival of John Montagu, the colonial secretary at the Cape from 1843 –
1852, and the expertise of Andrew Geddes Bain and his son Thomas, did proper
road construction begin in the Cape.
The first properly constructed passes over the Cape fold mountains between the
coast and little Karoo were the Montagu Pass (1848) between George and
Oudtshoorn and the Robinson Pass (1869) between Mossel Bay and Oudtshoorn.
Nowhere else in Southern Africa is there such a concentration of mountain passes in
one area, nor such a wealth of variety in there scenery and vegetation as can be
found in the Southern Cape. These passes are a much a part of the little Karoo story
as the ostrich – without them there would have been no access, no settlement of
farms and no way for the farmer to communicate with, and bring his products to the
outside world.
2. THE HISTORICAL OX WAGON ROUTE
2.1 This is a 450km route which takes 4 days to complete. It follows more or less the
route taken by the early explorers, likes of Shrijver (1689), Thunberg (1772),
Sparrman (1775), Swellengrebel (1776), Van Plettenberg (1778), Patterson (1779),
Miller and Holtzhauzen (1782), Gordon (1786) and Van Reenen (1790).
2.2 This route is for 4x4 vehicles only. Should 4x2 vehicles, soft roaders or on/off
road motorcycles wish to, they can do it with 3 diversions, as described in section 5.
2.3 The 3 overnight stops offer camping facilities and guesthouse or self catering
accommodation.
2.4 The entire route is on gravel only crossing 3 tar roads and most of the trail is in
mountainous terrain through pristine fynbos and indigenous forests with magnificent
views of the coastline to the South and the little Karoo and the Swartberge to the
North.
3. PROPOSED ROUTE
3.1 Start at Heidelberg.
3.2 Travel over the Ertjiesvlei se berg into a hidden valley that was known to the
early travelers as “land van Egypten”.
3.3 Enter the Plattekloof Pass to Kanetberg. Turn West and follow the Langeberg to
the farm Welgevonden and the Witblitz Pass, to the Gouritzriver.
3.4 Just before the Cloetes Pass (10kms after crossing the Gouritz) at the farm
Vrederus, turn left into the Attaquaskloof.
3.5 Travel passed the ruins of the old village Woeska to Bonniedale Holiday Farm to
overnight.
3.6 Take on the Attaquas ox wagon pass (a national monument) past a boer war
block house and old hotel to the farm Saffraansrivier.
3.7 At Saffraansrivier the trail turns left and then right passed Minwater to Volmoed.
(Volmoed was known to Patterson in 1779 as Poverty which was changed to
Armoed in the 1800’s and to Volmoed in the 1900’s).
3.8 At Volmoed we turn right and then right again to Kandelaarsrivier where the trail
crosses the R328.
3.9 Travel passed Mount Hope and through Zebra before crossing the N12 to
Heimersrivier and on through Eseljagtpoort to cross the R62 to overnight at Louvain.
3.10 From Louvain the route goes over the Duiwelskop ox wagon pass to Kleinplaas
forestry station.
3.11 The trail then follows the Thomas Bain’s seven passes route (one can take a
slight detour to the historical Millwood gold mine) to the N2 at the Knysna river.
3.12 Just before Knysna turn off through the Gouna forest to the Prince Alfred Pass.
3.13 Travel over the Prince Alfred Pass to De Vlugt to overnight at Katot Meyer’s
Buchell bush camp or at the Outeniqua trout farm.
3.14 On the last day the route follows the Burchell’s ox wagon trail to finish again at
Katot’s bush camp.
3.15 From here travelers can connect with the Baviaanskloof, return to Oudtshoorn
via back roads along the Kammanassie river to Oudtshoorn, or follow the R340
which is alongside the Paardekop ox wagon trail to Plettenbergbay.
4. HISTORY OF THE OX WAGON PASSES
4.1 ERTJIESVLEI SE BERG PASS
This is the first pass tackled on the route and is situated behind Heidelberg. To day it
is a well constructed pass but in the days of the early travelers this was a major
challenge, especially in wet weather due to the clay soils. Many an ox wagon slid
down the Ertjiesvlei se berg into the upper reaches of the Duivenhoks river – even
horse riders had to dismount. Once over the Ertjiesvlei se berg one enters a hidden
valley that was known in the 1700’s “land van Egypten”. One then passes through
the farms Zeekoeigat (where Thunberg almost drowned trying to cross the
Duivelhoks river), Oudewagendrift, Palmyra and Plattekloof, which were established
farms when Thunberg and Patterson passed through in the 1700’s. Patterson
described these farms as prosperous with vineyards, fruit orchards and wheat fields.
4.2 THE PLATTEKLOOF PASS
The Plattekloof pass was used by farmers from the early 1700’s. Thunberg passed
over it in 1772 travelling from the Klein Karoo Southwards and it was certainly known
in Sparrman’s day, for he mentions it in 1776 as an alternative route to and from the
Klein Karoo. The Plattekloof pass became the main road from the coast to the Klein
Karoo and also linked to the Attaquaskloof pass and the Oudewagensdrift route
(South of Gamkaberg) from 1772 which took travelers further North. This pass was
rendered redundant in the 19th century by the opening of the Tradouws pass in 1873
to the West of it and Garcia pass in 1877 to the East. However on 14-09-1901, the
Boers under Kommandant Jan Theron attacked the British West Yorkshire regiment,
under the command of Col. Burke, at the Masonic hotel in Heidelberg. The Boers
fled through the Plattekloof pass back to the Karoo. The pass is still in use to day
and is used by local farmers and paragliders. The Kanetberg Honeybush tea
plantations are also alongside the pass.
4.3 THE WITBLITZ PAD
Although we do not drive over the Witblitz pad, we do drive passed it. It can now only
be done on foot or on horseback. This pass crosses the Langeberge between the
farms Welgevonden and Bergfontein, West of the Gouritzriver. It was used to
smuggle witblitz from the little Karoo to the coastal towns. At the farm Welgevonden
there also used to be an old hotel, possibly the buildings alongside the road called
Langeberg Halt. This pass was used by narrow 750mm wide wagons and sleighs,
from the early 1800’s and was still in use during the Anglo Boer war to smuggle arms
and produce to the Boers.
4.4 THE ATTAQUASKLOOF PASS
The Attaquaskloof pass was the “N1” for ox wagons traveling North and East and
was used by thousands of ox wagons from 1689 until 1869. The first ox wagon to
use this route was an expedition of 21 men and 2 wagons sent out by Simon van der
Stel, under the leadership of ensign Isaac Schrijver in January 1689. Gouriqua Khoi
Khoi pointed out the old elephant route to them. It took Schrijver 7 days to cross over
the Attaquas mountains from the farm Hagelkraal on the Southern Side to
Saffraansrivier on the Northern side. A list of travelers passing through the Attaquas
pass is a who’s who of celebrated early explorers and boasts names such as
Thunberg (1772 – 1773), Sparrman (1775-1776), Swellengreber (1776), Van
Plettenberg (1778), Patterson (1777-1779), Gordon (1786) and Van Reenen (1790).
In the early 1800’s came Barrow and a host of other travelers. In 1842, the official toll
of wagons passing through the Attaquas was 4280 that year alone. It became known
as “the gateway to the Karoo and Eastern Cape”. Although other passes into the little
Karoo were established before the end of the 18th century, eg. The Plattekloof pass
and the Duiwelskop pass. They did not pose a serious threat to the Attaquas pass.
The establishment of George in the early 19th century and the Cradock (1812) and
Montagu (1847) passes brought about the beginning of the end of the Attaquas
pass, but finally the Ruiterbosch pass (1869) now known as the Robinson pass,
provided a new and shorter route between Oudtshoorn and Mossel Bay, and this
finally ended the 180 year reign of what must be one of the most attractive passes
over either the Langeberg or the Outeniqua mountains. In the late 1800’s Thomas
Bain surveyed a railway line from Albertinia through the Gouritz gorge and over the
Attaquas pass but this was never constructed due to the outbreak of the Anglo Boer
War. During the Anglo Boer War the Mossel Bay town guard built a series of block
houses along the Outeniqua mountains to prevent the Boers from reaching the
coastal towns. One of this well-preserved block houses is situated near the top of the
Attaquas pass overlooking that part of the old wagon road leading to Oudtshoorn.
For todays traveler, the Attaquas pass, which has been declared a national
monument, offers spectacular scenery, pristine fynbos, natural rock pools, relics of
block houses, an old hotel and toll houses, remains of ox wagons alongside the road
and outspans with aloe kraals to hold the oxen.
4.5 DUIWELSKOP OX WAGON PASS
Duiwelskop was described by the early explorers and travelers as the most difficult
pass to cross in the 18th century. Many an ox wagon crashed down the steep cliffs
alongside the pass pulling their oxen down with them. However, Thomas Bain
realigned the pass in 1864 and the present 4x4 track follows this alignment along the
Western slope of the mountain, rather than over the summit. The pass was regularly
used by timber merchants transporting timber to Graaf-Reinet from 1776 to 1869.
The opening of the Montagu pass (1847) and the Prince Alfred pass (1867) was the
final knell to this pass. On 3-11-1778 the first recorded wagon crossing was made by
governor Van Plettenberg, traveling South from the Langkloof. For todays 4x4
travelers the Duiwelskop pass features magnificent views of the Garden Route and
the Indian Ocean, the original tracks of ox wagons and the unparalelled beauty and
characteristic smell of mountain fynbos. The 30km trip starts at the farm Louvain and
ends at Bergplaas.
4.6 THE SEVEN PASSES ROUTE
From Bergplaas the ox wagon route joins the seven passes route but by passes the
Swartrivier, Keimans and Touwrivier passes but does cover the Hoogekraal,
Karatara, Homtini and Phantom passes. From 1863, Thomas Bain and his brotherin-law Adam de Smidt, who was the local district engineer, battled through dense
forests and deep river gorges, to survey a route. They argued so seriously over the
route to take that they never spoke to one another again. Work started in 1867 – de
Smidt from the George end and Bain from the Knysna end. The great fire of 1869
made work easier, but still the seven passes route took 20 years to complete and
was handed over to the district council in 1887. This was the “N2” until 1952 when
the coastal national road was built. This route highlights the engineering genius of
Thomas Bain if one considers the obstacles he faced with dense forests, steep river
gorges and an annual rainfall of up to 2540mm per year. An interesting short de-tour,
is to visit the Millwood gold rush town high in the Outeniqua mountains. In 1886 this
was a bustling town with shops, banks, hotels, a police station, a post office and
several news papers. Today there is little left but one can stay in an original 1800’s
corrugated iron self catering guesthouse, visit the small museum or even take a
guided tour down one of the old mines.
4.7 THE PRINCE ALFRED PASS
After coming down the Phantom pass the route follows the present N2 for a few
kilometers over the Knysna river, then turns off before Knysna through the Gouna
forest to the Prince Alfred pass. This fine pass, still in much the same condition as
when it was originally built, is one of the most spectacular mountain crossings in
Southern Africa. Andrew Geddes Bain surveyed the route of this pass by following
elephant trails which took these old creature to the drier Langkloof when the forests
were to wet and cold. In 1856 his son, Thomas Bain, began construction with 270
convicts and completed the pass in 1867. The cost of the 70km new road was
£10632, which was amazing considering the amount of blasting required and the
kilometers of stone retaining walls, some 16 meters high, not to mention the clearing
of indigenous forests on the Southern side. It was named after Prince Alfred, the
Duke of Edinbourgh, who in the company of the Rex family, had hunted elephant in
the area. It is a classic example of the work of Andrew Geddes Bain and his son
Thomas, two of the greatest road builders who ever worked in Southern Africa. At De
Vlugt the route turns Westward to the start of the Burchell’s ox wagon trail to
overnight there or at Outeniqua Trout Farm.
4.8 BURCHELL’S OX WAGON TRAIL
In November 1998 a fire started at De Vlugt and swept Westward, destroying many
hectares of fynbos but exposing a track from the farm Pietersrivier, over
Skuurbeknek near De Vlugt. This track was described by the botanist William John
Burchell (1814). From Skuurbeknek Burchell traveled to Romanskraal, Jaggakamma
and Knoetskraal and joined up with the Paardekop trail to Plettenberg Bay. This is a
fascinating trail for 4x4 enthusiasts, especially if accompanied by the owner, Katot
Meyer, a Southern Cap 4X4 legend. His wife Ilsa has published an interesting
booklet on the area and the Prince Alfred pass. From here travelers can follow the
old Paardekop ox wagon route via the R340 to Plettenberg Bay or connect to the
Baviaanskloof or return to Oudtshoorn via the Kammanassie river route.
5. DIVERSIONS FOR 4x2, SOFT ROADERS OR MOTORCYCLES.
5.1 In stead of going over the Attaquas pass after Bonniedale Holiday Farm, follow
an old wagon trail via the farm Hagelkraal (1729) to Ruiterbos, over the Robinson
pass (1869) to Saffraansrivier to connect with the ox wagon route again.
5.2 The Duiwelskop pass can be done with 4x2, soft roaders or motorcycles but it is
a challenge for these vehicles. An alternative route would be to take the Montagu
pass (1847) and then onto the seven passes route.
5.3 Burchell’s ox wagon trail is definitely only for 4x4 vehicles with low range.
Alternative routes from De Vlugt would be:5.3.1 Take the Paardekop route (the R340) to Plettenberg Bay.
5.3.2 Continue with the Prince Alfred pass to Avontuur, then over Potjiesberg, via
Buffelsdrif and along the Kammanassieriver to Oudtshoorn.
6. SHORT HISTORY OF THE ALTERNATIVE OX WAGON PASSES
6.1 ROBINSON PASS
Ruiterbos is the start of the Robinson pass and was constructed between 1867 and
1869 and was named after the then commissioner of roads, M.R. Robinson.
Previously there was a bridal path over the Outeniqua mountains and it was named
the Ruiterbosch Pad. The pass was realigned and tarred in the 1950’s but signs of
the original pass constructed by Thomas Bain are still to be seen next to the tar road
on both sides of the pass. At the top of the pass, on the Western side of the road is a
monument to M.R. Robinson and directly opposite, the original road curves down the
mountain side away from the present road in the direction of the Mooihoek farm
homestead.
6.2 MONTAGU PASS
Due to the shocking state of the Attaquas, Cradock kloof and Duiwelskop passes,
John Montagu, the colonial secretary of the Cape, commissioned colonel Charles
Mitchell to survey a better route through the Outeniqua mountains. Henry Fancourt
White, an experienced engineer was brought to South Africa from Australia for the
construction of the new pass. He set up a construction camp at the foot of the pass
and a little town sprang up which was named after him. As “White” sounded rather
strange they called it “Blanco”. Here too, White later built his residence which he
named Fancourt, to day a site of a world renowned Golf Estate. Work on the pass
began in 1844 and was completed in 1847. The total cost was R71 598 and was
named after John Montagu, the colonial secretary. At the foot of the kloof a tollhouse
was built and you can still see an old tollhouse alongside the road, but this is not the
original building which was burnt down in a bush fire of 1855 and rebuilt. Half way up
the pass is a ruined stone building which was a blacksmith’s shop. From the
Southern end of the Montagu pass it is easy to see the route that the Cradock kloof
ox wagon pass followed as it is clearly marked by white washed cairns erected
during the time of the Voortrekker centenary. The Cradock kloof pass was built in
1812 in honour of the governor, Sir John Cradock, and was built by the first
magistrate of George, Adrianus Van Kervel. It was an appalling 8km long climb and
required 26 oxen to pull a wagon over this pass. The Afrikaans saying “net n
bobbejaan met n kierie kan daaroor” originated from the Cradock kloof pass.
6.3 THE PAARDEKOP PASS
For those who wish to continue the ox wagon route to the coast there is another ox
wagon trail over the Paardekop mountains to Plettenberg Bay. This is another of the
passes that became an ox wagon route from a bridal path which followed elephant
trails. It was in use in 1772 when Thunberg traveled over it. The original trail went
straight over the top of the Paardekop mountain and was extremely steep. The link
from the Prince Alfred pass to Plettenberg Bay via the Bitou bridge (now the R340),
replacing the old Paardekop route was constructed in 1888 by P.H. Ferreira along a
line chosen by the surveyor Charles Lennox Strech in 1858. As this was an
engineered road, it was no longer necessary to go over the Paardekop peaks. The
scars of the old wagon trail can still be seen on the South Western side of the R340.
7. REFERENCES AND RECOMMENDED READING
7.1 Jose Burman describes the passes in 3 of his books:- So high the road, Towards
far horizon, and The little Karoo. (Human & Rousseau, Cape Town).
7.2 The work of Thomas Bain is recorded in Patricia Storar’s A colossus of roads
(Murray & Roberts, South Africa).
7.3 The recordings of early travelers are detailed in Prof. V.S. Forbes (1965) Pioneer
travelers of South Africa (A.A. Balkema, Cape Town/Amsterdam).
7.4 The romance of Cape mountain passes by Graham Ross (David Phillip, Cape
Town) gives an interesting account of all the passes, especially from an engineering
point of view.
7.5 The Bartholomeu Diaz Museum in Mossel Bay have also published two
brochures on the subject titled The passes of the Langeberg and Outeniqua
mountains and Drives through historical places, Mossel Bay district.
7.6 The diaries of early explorers i.e. Barrow (1801), Burchell (1822), Patterson
(1789), Sparrman (1776), Swellengrebel (1776) and Thunberg (1772-1775) make
interesting reading and are available at the Cape Archives or the Van Riebeeck
society Cape Town.
7.7 Various old maps are also available at the Cape Archives (Old Roland St Jail).
For more information please contact Nico and Danette Hesterman of
Bonniedale
Holiday Farm on 044-6953175
E-Mail: bonniedale @mweb.co.za
Website: www.bonniedale.com