The week that was...

* Meiringspoort closed (again)

* Trips & Tours

* Wild Coast Day 5

* Pass of the week

More Crazy Weather

Heavy rain, storms, floods and tornadoes have inundated large parts of the interior with welcome rain in the grerater Karoo area as well as the normally bone dry Northern Cape. Gauteng, Mpumalanga and KZN have all had plenty of rain. On the morning of 16th January Meiringspoort was once again closed to traffic as floodwaters had coursed through the poort, overtopping the road and leaving behind mud, debris and tree trunks. The Karoo National Park was forced to close all its tourists routes (except the main road) as the park received a huge amount of rain over a short space of time. In the Western Cape heatwaves have been the order of day with temperatures above the mean average being recorded for January

Trips & Tours

We still have a few spots ope on our two Wild Coast Tours in May, which is a great time to tour with lovely sunny weather being the norm at that time of year. If you want to join us on either of the Wild Coast Tours, you can read the full itinerary and pricing at this link: MPSA WILD COAST TOURS

Wild Coast V3 Tour - Day 5

Coffee Bay - Mapuzi - Hole in the Wall - White Clay

The good weather just kept following us (and we weren't complaining!) Local Xhosa guide, Mzo was ready and waiting to take us to some of the local points of interest. Mzo drove up front with us in the Land Cruiser and we handed the mike over to him. He is quite a character - full of good humour, knowledge and enthusiasm. 

Our first destination for the day was Mapuzi. Its only a few kilometres to the north-east of Coffee Bay, but the road getting there is well - to put it mildly - quite rough. The route traverses a few Wild Coast villages and then suddenly an amazing view opens to the right as a landscape filled with Wild Coast wonders is spread out at your feet. The Mapuzi river lazily flows into the blue waters of the Indian Ocean in the distance, but closer there is a dramatically steep cliff dropping straight down to thunderous surf some 60 metres lower down. The wind was pumping and photography was difficult trying to hold cameras steady in the strong updraft up the cliff face.

[Read more...]

The Nqutu Pass is named after the village at its summit point. This short, tarred pass is fairly steep with average gradient of 1:18 over a distance of 3,3 km. Being close to a busy town, you can expect pedestrians and livestock on the road, minibus taxis and other slow moving vehicles.

The name is of Zulu origin, and is derived from 'isquthu', ‘flat-topped vessel’, descriptive of a nearby hill from which the village takes its name.

Note that the entire pass has double barrier lines, so there is no overtaking allowed.

The week that was....

* More wild weather

* The Misunderstood Dam

* Tours & New Tours for 2022

* Wild Coast Story - Day 3

* Pass of the Week

* New passes added

* Upgraded videos added

Wild Weather

This summer has produced a lot of rainfall with most of the country seeing overflowing dams and some torrential downfalls. Aughrabies has been massive and other videos have surfaced (Karkloof in KZN comes to mind) showing enormous amounts of water flowing in most rivers. All the Vaal and Orange River dams are more than 100% full, as is the Katse Dam in Lesotho.

The Misunderstood Dam

Even more surprising is the Beervlei Dam near Willowmore which never seems to have water in it, is now very close to being full. In fact has filled twice between November and January) This dam has an interesting story which many people don't know about. The dam was built in the 1950's as a flood control dam and it's meant to be EMPTY. When the Grootrivier floods, this is the dam that contains the inflow (it can hold 86 million cu.m.) and prevents flood damage further downstream. As the water in the catchment area is high in salinity, the Beervlei Dam was never designed to store water for irrigation due to the water contamination with salt. When the dam fills up it is quickly released in a controlled manner for irrigation downstream before the salinity has a chance to contaminate the water. 

The dam must be one of the most maligned infrastructures in SA and most people are critical of it as it is mostly empty. Urban legends have flourished about long term droughts, a poorly built dam wall, and bad planning by the DWA. Of course we now know that those stories are all hogwash. Water flowing into the dam is fed by the Grootrivier, which drains a large part of the Karoo.

There's always something new to learn!

Tours Update:

Ben 10 Eco Challenge (5th to 9th March) - Fully booked
Wild Coast V4 Pondoland Tour (6th to 15th May - 1 ticket left)
Wild Coast V5 Mbashe Tour (16th to 24th May) - 2 tickets left)

Garden Route Saunter (NEW!!)

We are busy adding the final touches to a brand new tour - the Garden Route Saunter, which will start in Riversdale and end at Storms River Mouth. This 5 day tour will be open to normal vehicles and include a mix of about 70/30% gravel and tar. The route will cover many passes including all the famous ones in the Garden Route like Garcia's Pass, Robinson Pass, Montagu Pass, 7 Passes Road, Prince Alfred's Pass, Grootrivier Pass and the Bloukrans Pass. Points of interest will include a forest walk, the Big Tree, Spitzkop, Jubilee Creek, Millwood, De Vlugt, World of Birds, Natures Valley, Storms River Bridge and the Storms River National Park.

The tour is scheduled to take place in July.

The Wild Coast Adventure

Day 4 - Port St Johns to Coffee Bay

The rain forecast didn't materialise, much to everyone's relief. We departed promptly after breakfast from The Spotted Grunter, heading along the new R61 towards Mthatha, traversing three passes in quick succession. These were Isinuka Poort, Butybuse Pass and the Mngazi River Pass, after which we turned south at Tombo. The R61 is in beautiful condition with a wide, smooth surface and adequate emergency lanes. The only negative are the speedbumps (or traffic calmers, as they are called these days), which appear regularly and speed has to be dropped from 100 kph all the way down to 30 kph. The minibus taxis with their very low front clearance have to cross them dead slow - and often at an angle. It makes driving on the R61 a bit frustrating, but with the high number of taxi accidents in the region, I suppose the authorities had little choice but to go that route.

[Read more]

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 week that was

* Goodbye 2021 / Hello 2022

* Tours

* Swartberg Classic Tour - Final chapter

* Wild Coast V3 Tour - Day 4 Waterfalls

* Pass of the week 

Happy New Year!

Just when we all collectively heaved a sigh of relief that 2021 was written into the history books, the very first thing that hit the headlines in 2022 was parliament being set on fire in Cape Town - and that under a bizarre and strange set of circumstances. As you all know we don't do politics here, but it does make one think.

Despite that, we wish you all a healthy and prosperous 2022. May your travel wishes come true.

We have a drawer full of plans for the year ahead with some innovative new ideas which you will see unfold as the year progresses. 

On the social media side we grew our followers by just over 40,000 on Facebook to reach 93,000 by the end of December, 2021. The growth has been phenomenal. Likewise our Instagram followers have increased by a whopping 112%. The formula we have developed of good quality photos coupled with interesting topics seems to have attracted the right audience of likeminded people. The amount of man-hours put into our social media efforts amounts to around 4 hours per day, seven days per week.

Tours Availability

To see the full itinerary, pricing and online bookings click on a link below:

• March 4th to 9th 2022 - Ben 10 Eco Challenge V5 (1 left)
• May 6th to 15th 2022 - Wild Coast V4 Pondoland Tour (1 left)
• May 16th to 25th 2022 - Wild Coast V5 Mbashe Tour (1 left)

Swartberg Classic Tour - The final leg

Uitspan Pass

This was the highlight of the traverse of the P1649 route. There are three passes that traverse the Gouritz River. From south to north these are the Gouritz River Pass on the N2 national road, the Jan Muller Pass (Gravel) which bridges the river some 32 km further north (as the crow flies) and lastly the Uitspan Pass, which crosses the Gouritz River another 16 km northwards. The latter is the pass we selected for the tour.

The Gouritz River is an interesting river which has caused farmers and road and rail builders many problems over the years. Its gorge is deep and wide, yet for most of the year it is dry and dormant, but when the rains come, this river can be savagely lethal.

[Read more...]

This hidden gem of a gravel pass connects Vryheid, Hlobane and Vaalbank with a number of game farms, forestry reserves and nature reserves in northern KZN. The pass has 34 bends corners and curves and displays a respectable altitude variance of 292m over a length of 8,2 km. You will be treated to attractive scenery throughout the traverse. The road provides access to the Loziba Wilderness Conservancy, Mawana Game Reserve and Thangami Game Reserve.

In fair weather this pass is suitable for all vehicles. Cautionaries include 'slippery when wet', livestock on the road and slow moving vehicles. Mountain mists are common in the area which can drastically reduce visibility.

Dassieshoogte is a moderate pass located on the tarred R34 route just south of Vryheid. It's of above average length at 6.1 km and has very easy curves with gentle gradients. It parallels the railway line for much of its length, under-passing it just after the northern start. The pass has its summit point close to the northern end followed by a long undulating plateau in the middle and a lower false summit towards the southern end.

The road is generally in a good condition and has safety shoulders throughout. It is suitable for all vehicles.

The week (and the year) that was....

* 2021 in review
* Tours news
* Swartberg Classic Day 4
* Wild Coast V3 - Day 3
* Pass of the week

2021 in review

For most South Africans 2021 was a difficult one both financially, physically and emotionally. Lockdown regulations decimated the hospitality and tourism industries in particular. Many borderline businesses went under and with it their employees lost jobs and income. Families with plans to see relatives overseas have been put on hold or cancelled. The knock-on effects have been severe. Conspiracy theories have abounded leaving many people sceptical. Covid changed everyone's lives. The secret now is learning to work around it and continue to make a success of whatever you do. At MPSA we studied the graphs where the virus spiked and calculated when not to run our tours.  During an initial spike phase, most people are reluctant to book a tour, but as soon as the initial knee jerk reaction has passed (usually about 4 to 6 weeks) people start planning again and our booking system gets busy. 

We have also been fortunate that many of our clients that would normally have travelled overseas, decided to go local and in a bizarre twist of fate, worked out favourably for us. We are grateful.

Plans for 2022 are forging ahead with a very positive outlook. Already the first three tours are close to being fully booked. Two additional tours will be added over the next two weeks. 

We wish all of you a prosperous, healthy New Year filled with travel, love and happiness.

Tours Availability

To see the full itinerary, pricing and online bookings click on a link below:

March 4th to 9th 2022 - Ben 10 Eco Challenge V5 (4 tickets left)

May 6th to 15th 2022 - Wild Coast V4 Pondoland Tour (1 ticket left)

May 16th to 25th 2022 - Wild Coast V5 Mbashe Tour (1 ticket left)

Swartberg Classic Tour - Day 4

Day 4 - Thursday 14th October, 2021

After a hearty breakfast at the Patat Restaurant at the Swartberg Country Manor, it was time to prep the convoy for the last day and the easiest in terms of technical driving and distance.

We chose a different route this year, due to the fact that we had several 4x2 vehicles in our group. After leaving Swartberg Country Manor, we headed west, back over a section we had driven two days before via the Doringkloof and Huis se Hoogte passes.

At The Kruisrivier Valley, we turned left - destination Coetzeespoort.

[Read more...]

We chat about the dangers of travelling over the festive season and we close the chapter on the Swartberg Classic Tour.

Listen to the interview:

The week that was...

* Season's Greetings

* New Tours

* Wild Coast V3 Tour (Day 2)

* Swartberg Classic Tour (Day 3)

* Pass of the Week.

Season's Greetings

On behalf of the Mountain Passes South Africa we wish you and your family everything of the very best for a joyous festive season and may 2022 bring you good health, happiness and enough prosperity to make life easy. The past year was not an easy one for most of us, with Covid being the main culprit, but we are strong and resourceful. Our plans for 2022 are forging ahead with pass production (there is still a long way to go) and to offer our favourite tours like Ben 10, Wild Coast, Swartberg, Bedrogfontein, Baviaanskloof and one or two new tours to add some spice to the menu - and as Simon and Garfunkel said: "Keep the customer satisfied!"

Be careful on your journeys. This is the silly season and people will not only be silly; they will be downright stupid too. Stay sharp!

Tours added for the first half of 2022

We have carefully evaluated the time frames available and how best to fit into the Omicron puzzle without exposing ourselves or our clients to the virus and have just opened bookings for the newest Ben 10 V5 Tour. This time around it will be a little different - with the Rhodes Hotel having reopened for business in 2021, we will be basing ourselves there for the last 2 days of the tour, which will drastically reduce some of the tedious travelling and allow more "feet up" time. Sales for the ever popular Ben 10 got off to a roaring start yesterday. Are you ready for some adventure? Swiftly flowing rivers, waterfalls, mud, spectacular scenery and miles of smiles? Take the link below and book your spot. Earn the badge!

BEN 10 TOUR V5  (4th to 9th March, 2022)

There are only 2 places left on both the Wild Coast Tours scheduled for May 2022. You can read the full itinerary and do online booking via the links below:

WILD COAST TOUR V4 - PONDOLAND (6th to 15th May, 2022)

WILD COAST TOUR V5 - MBASHE (16th to 25th May, 2022)

Wild Coast V3 Tour Day 2

We all left Resthaven a little heavier thanks to Elrita's delicious cooking and bade our farewells to Philip and Elrita Rawlins as we headed east on the tarred R56 towards Kokstad. The first little town on our route was Cedarville - a proper little South African die-cast farming dorpie - where we turned right onto gravel and blissfully away from the impatient traffic on the R56.

This part of the route is special in many ways. The high altitude traverse is mainly hilly grasslands flanked by tall mountains and keeping just west of the Mzimvubu River. The first pass of the day was the Nungi Pass. It's named after the mountain of the same name which forms the western portal of the Umzimvubu River valley. The pass traverses tribal trust land and connects Cedarville in the north with Mount Frere in the south. It's of above average length at 8,7 km and packs 39 sharp bends, corners and curves into it's length and displays an altitude variance of 335m with a classic high centre point profile. It received a major rebuild two years ago and is now a wide road, but it is steep in places and it must be a nightmare in a 4x2 and especially front wheel drive vehicles during or after rain.

[Read more...]