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First published by Jacana Media (Pty) Ltd in 2010 10 Orange Street Sunnyside Auckland Park 2092 South Africa +2711 628 3200 www.jacana.co.za in association with Getaway Books (a division of RamsayMedia (Pty) Ltd) 3 Howard Drive Pinelands 7405 Cape Town Š Marion Whitehead, 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or utilised in any form and by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, without permission in writing from the publisher. ISBN 978-1-77009-805-3 Cover and text design by Jenny Young Set in Melior 9.3pt / Vectora 7.6pt Printed by Craftprint, Singapore Job no. 001294 See a complete list of Jacana titles at www.jacana.co.za
Photo credits All photos by Marion Whitehead except for the following by Getaway colleagues: David Bristow pages 122, 124, 126, 127, 135, 137, 139, 145, 161, 164, 165 Robyn Daly pages 133 Narina Exelby pages 55, 162 Justin Fox pages 25, 30, 33 Jazz Kuschke pages 50, 69 Cathy Lanz page xii, 142 & 143 Don Pinnock pages 1, 2, 5, 11&12, 24, 28, 31, 50, 57, 61, 63, 138, 140, 148, 156 & 157, 163, 164 Scott Ramsay page 16 David Rogers pages 37, 115, 116, 117 Gillian Scoble pages 73, 112 & 113, 115, 116, 140 David Steele pages 16 Patrick Wagner pages 71, 72, 74, 75, 76, 90&91, 95, 98, 102 & 103, 162 Alison Westwood pages 158, 163
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Contents
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Introduction: Because they’re there
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Cape Peninsula: Chapman’s Peak Drive
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Cederberg Passes: Piekenierskloof Pass, Pakhuis Pass and other back routes
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The Great North Roads: Du Toitskloof Pass
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The Great North Roads: Bain’s Kloof Pass
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The Overberg Passes: Sir Lowry’s Pass, Houw Hoek Pass and Clarence Drive
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Passage through the Langeberg: Tradouw, Garcia and Gysmanshoek passes
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Swartberg’s Big Three: Seweweekspoort
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Swartberg’s Big Three: Swartberg Pass
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Swartberg’s Big Three: Meiringspoort
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Robinson Pass
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George’s Famous Four: Outeniqua, Montagu, Cradock and Railway passes
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Seven Passes Road: Old George to Knysna main road
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Prince Alfred’s Pass
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Tsitsikamma Passes: Grootrivier and Bloukrans passes
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Recommended reading
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PASSES AND POORTS
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’ , Cape Peninsula: Chapman’s Peak Drive CHAPMAN S PEAK DRIVE
CAPE PENINSULA
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CAPE PENINSULA
Chapman’s Peak Drive What makes this pass special
Chapman’s Peak is one of Cape Town’s most famous scenic drives, winding along the cliffs high above the ocean with views across the bay to Duiker Island in the sea off Sentinel Peak and the little fishing harbour in Hout Bay. Built between 1915 and 1922, the pass is a feat of engineering that would be unlikely to get past modern environmental legislation were it to be proposed as a project today. It’s frequently closed because of the danger of rock falls and is now a toll road. This is one of the most loved sections of the Cape Argus Cycle Tour and the Two Oceans Marathon – probably because the incredible views take the athletes’ minds off the pain of the long climb up the pass from Noordhoek. Recommended route This 11-kilometre scenic drive on the M6 links Hout Bay in the north with the village of Noordhoek in the south and is a convenient short cut which has been a toll road since 2003 (the current fee is R28 a car, R18 a motorbike). If you want to stop and take photos from one of the many view sites, it’s best to drive from Noordhoek so that you don’t have to risk crossing the stream of traffic. It’s also the best option if you don’t want to be stuck behind a tour bus, since they are permitted to drive from the Hout Bay side only. Hikers wanting to take one of the paths up the mountain should drive from Hout Bay and park at designated areas on the left-hand side of the road. Return to Cape Town either along Victoria Road, the section of the M6 which hugs the Atlantic coast from Llandudno to Camps Bay, or up the M63 over Constantia Nek and along Rhodes Drive through the forest on the eastern slopes of Table Mountain and past Kirstenbosch National Botanical Garden. Tip: This route is not recommended for those who suffer from vertigo when faced with sheer drops.
East Fort
Chapman’s Peak Hike
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PASSES AND POORTS
What you’ll see Travelling from Noordhoek, the first lay-by offers great views of the long sandy beach stretching south to Kommetjie. There are not many places to pull over between here and the crest of the pass and most are on the seaward side of the road, with space for just a couple of vehicles. The road clings to the cliff face, winding around rocky buttresses with almost vertical drops to the churning sea below with just low stone barriers for protection. The gullies and cliffs above the pass are festooned with rock-catch fences, an ever-present reminder of the danger posed by falling rocks. In one particularly precarious spot, you drive under a cantilevered shelter where the road cuts under a rocky overhang. This is followed by a half-tunnel which has been built over the road to protect vehicles. The viewpoint below Chapman’s Peak is at the highest point of the pass. This is where the road runs through a gap hewn out of the cliff face. A plaque commemorates the opening of the pass in 1922 and the views stretch across to Duiker Island and Sentinel Peak right round to Hout Bay harbour and the sandy beach at the far end of the sheltered bay. Beware of straying beyond the railing as there have been incidents where people have slipped or been blown to their deaths by strong winds. The road descends steadily towards the suburb of Hout Bay from this point. Hiking routes contour across the fynbos-covered mountain slopes above the road and the seaward slopes are less sheer than the first section. There are a number of picnic spots beside the road, two with waterless toilets. All offer fine views from where you can watch yachts, sailboards and kayaks paddling across the blue ocean, sometimes accompanied by seals, dolphins and whales (in winter).
Northern section of Chapman’s Peak Drive
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Rock of ages
This is a good place to see the layers of rock laid down at the Cape Peninsula over millions of years. The road was cut into the soft, pink Graafwater sedimentary rock as it was easily bulldozed. For most of the pass, the line of the road follows the junction between the Graafwater rock and hard granite. Much of the granite is decaying and loose, which results in numerous rock falls. The top layer is Table Mountain sandstone, which is clearly visible as bands of rocky cliff faces about halfway up the mountain.
Floral wonderland Fynbos covers the steep slopes of the mountain and you’ll see plants in bloom, even in winter. Look out for the large white Protea nitida (waboom), the black-fringed Protea lepidocarpodendron, loads of pink Erica abietina, dense stands of the wind pollinated Erica hispidula, Brunia nodiflora changing from knobs into fluffballs, the delicately marked brown-and-yellow Gladiolus hyalinus (bruin Afrikaner), the whorled pink trumpets of sorrel or Oxalis purpurea and the tiny Euphorbia tuberosa, which will delight sharp eyes.
Erica abietina
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CAPE PENINSULA : CHAPMAN ’ S PEAK DRIVE
Strategic spot The remains of East Fort, on the Hout Bay side of the toll booths, are a reminder of the strategic importance of the Cape Peninsula, with its commanding position on the sea trade routes between the eastern and western hemispheres of the globe before the Suez Canal was opened in 1869. Ships on this route stopped in at the Cape for repairs and to replenish supplies of fresh food and water. Because of its strategic importance, Cape Town was heavily defended, with more gun batteries and fortifications per square kilometre than anywhere else in the world. For invading forces intent on seizing it, Hout Bay represented a ‘soft underbelly’ where they could land without running the gauntlet of the guns in Table Bay. East Fort was built by the French for their Dutch allies in 1783 to keep out the English. The ruins of the officers’ quarters and block house can be seen above
Military Road, as this section of the pass is named. Below the road is a battery of eight 18-pounder Finbanker cannons guarding the entrance to the bay. These have been restored and placed on new wooden carriages built by the Hout Bay and Llandudno Heritage Trust, which maintains the site. This body of volunteers keeps the big guns in working order and fires them on special occasions. The biggest event is the annual commemoration of ‘The Battle of Hout Bay’, an incident in 1795 when HMS Echo sailed into the bay on a reconnaissance mission for the first British invasion of the Cape. East Fort and West Fort, on opposite sides of the bay, both fired on the vessel and she took flight without loss. The event takes place in September each year on the Saturday before Heritage Day and includes the Hout Bay Cannon Race, in which competitors race from the beach to East Fort and West Fort and back. The first
athlete to reach each fort gets to fire one of the cannons, igniting up to two kilograms of gunpowder. The road race has been expanded to include swimming and surf-skis. Tel 021-7902008, e-mail dcowley@zsd.co.za, web www.capeofgoodhope.org.
The toll booths are just before the ruins of East Fort, a pleasant spot where you can examine the historic cannons which were used to guard the entrance to this strategic bay. The houses on what is known as Military Road command premium prices, thanks to their position on this beautiful coast. There are a host of restaurants and coffee shops as you drive into Hout Bay and the Sunday craft market on the Village Green is popular with locals, as well as visitors.
Contour hike
Sentinel Peak guards Hout Bay
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PASSES AND POORTS
The building of the pass As motor cars became increasingly popular, government put forward a grand plan in 1913 for an ‘All Round the Cape Peninsula Road’, which included linking Hout Bay and Noordhoek along a seemingly impossible route of almost sheer rock faces above the ocean. The engineers involved in the project came up with a solution: the road would be built on top of a lower layer of hard Cape granite by bulldozing the soft, sedimentary rocks of the Graafwater formation that lay immediately on top of it. A force of 700 convicts was allocated to do the hard manual labour, and work started from the Hout Bay side in 1915 and from Noordhoek in 1916. The section from Hout Bay to the highest point below Chapman’s Peak was completed by 1919, but it took another three years to build the tricky section where the road had to be chiselled into almost sheer rock face in places. When the pass was opened in 1922, it was hailed as an engineering achievement of the highest order. It was one of the last sections of the ‘All Round the Cape Peninsula Road’ to be completed and the route has remained much the same for nearly a century. Upgrades included tarring the road and moderate widening and curve improvements in 1959. After heavy rains in 1980, a large section of the road was washed away and was replaced by a bridge-like structure which you drive under on the sheerest part of the pass. Rock falls were anticipated from the beginning and provision was made for clearing debris from the road. After a tourist was killed in 2000 by a rock falling on his car, the road was closed for three years for extensive reconstruction. This included the erection of rather unsightly high-energy-absorbing rock-catch fences, two 80-metre concrete cantilevered rock shelters, a 155-metre half tunnel, improvements to drainage and retaining walls, the installation of a seismic monitoring system and toll booths. Despite all of these improvements, rock falls regularly cause the pass to be closed, particularly after a wet winter. Best trails in the area The hike up Chapman’s Peak offers a great half-day outing with stunning views over Hout Bay, so take a camera. Park at the last lay-by on the left-hand side of the road before the checkpoint if coming from Hout Bay. The first section is steep but the path is well maintained by Table Mountain National Park, with much of it comprising rocky steps. Once you get to the contour path, turn right and continue towards Chapman’s Peak. The ascent is gradual in the beginning, then gets steeper. Tip: Ask for a free hiker’s pass at the toll booth.
ABOVE AND MIDDLE RIGHT:
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Chapman’s Peak Drive
BOTTOM RIGHT:
Brunia nodiflora
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CAPE PENINSULA : CHAPMAN ’ S PEAK DRIVE
HIGHLIGHTS Best picnic spot: On the Hout Bay side, the main seaward area has place to pull off under trees, and waterless toilets are provided. Best view point: At the highest point of the pass below Chapman’s Peak, you get views both ways along the route as well as across the bay; it’s also a good spot for whale watching. Best hike: Chapman’s Peak Best farm stall: The Food Barn at Noordhoek Farm Village. Tel 021-789-1966. Best horse ride: Noordhoek beach. Tel 021-789-2341, web sleepyhollowhorseriding.co.za. For more information, see www.chapmanspeakdrive.co.za.
Shorter options Start at the same spot, but when you get to the contour path, turn left towards Hout Bay. This traverse is not very steep and takes you back along a rough contour, crossing small, refreshing mountain streams and then down to the toll booths via Blackburn Ravine. You’ll get a bird’s-eye view of the remains of East Fort and pass an interesting, exposed rock face of pink Graafwater sedimentary rock. A variation for the adventurous is the route up Blackburn Ravine, which offers awesome views of waterfalls cascading off the mountain after winter rains. The section from the lower contour path to the upper one is steep but worth the effort. If you take the top contour path back towards Hout Bay, the descent is more gradual, but at one point you pass beneath a small waterfall, which could be a problem after winter rains. Tip: In summer, it’s best to do this walk in the morning as the sun bakes the west-facing slope in the afternoon. Where to eat and drink Noordhoek Farm Village is a family-friendly spot which offers a number of options. Tel 021-789-2812, web www.noordhoekvillage. co.za. Noordhoek Food Barn combines its restaurant with a deli and bakery. Tel 021-789-1390. Café Roux borders the village playground, has its own toddlers’ corner with toys and a child minder, and offers special menus for kiddies and pets. Tel 021-789-2538. In Hout Bay, there are plenty of choices around the harbour that serve fresh fish straight off the boats. On a Sunday, it’s worth visiting the craft market on the Village Green off Main Road as the food stalls serve fruit smoothies, falafels and plenty of snacks and decadent cakes. Where to stay Chapman’s Peak Manor, in Noordhoek, has four self-catering units with mountain and sea views, plus two single units beside a pool. Tel 021-789-2553, e-mail info@chapmanspeakmanor.co.za, web www.chapmanspeakmanor.co.za. Monkey Valley has thatched wooden chalets nestled in a coastal milkwood forest a short walk from Noodhoek’s 8-kilometre, whitesand beach. There’s a bar and restaurant on site and guests can selfcater or choose a B&B option. Tel 021-789-8000, e-mail reservations @monkeyvalleyresort.com, web www.monkeyvalleyresort.com. If you have a bulging wallet or resilient credit card, Tintswalo Atlantic Lodge is a stunning spot on the edge of the bay below the pass, soon after the Hout Bay toll booths. Tel 087-754-9300, e-mail atlanticreception@tintswalo.com, web www.tintswalo.com.
ABOVE:
Hout Bay Craft Market
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