"It is,
perhaps, not just the journey that counts, but also the road that is
travelled. And it's not necessarily the high road or the low road that
matters, but rather the story behind the road that's important."
From early days a need for a link between the coast and the interior existed. With the arrival of white settlers at the Cape, the need for a route between the Cape and the interior enjoyed a high priority. But it was a time before great road builders like Bain came along and traveling over the mountains of the Southern Cape was all but impossible. It took a special kind of person, a pioneer, explorer and adventurer all in one, to look for and navigate new routes over these treacherous mountains.
Today when we travel on the routes these remarkable individuals opened up, we do so in luxury with little effort and in a fraction of time. They did it with great danger to themselves. We do it as a pastime or a holiday. But lets never forget the remarkable achievements of those that has gone before. We honour them by keeping the history alive.
The Ox wagon Route in the Southern Cape is a modern day route, connecting various historic passes and routes that the ox wagons of old had to conquer.
The route travels over various mountain ranges and 4x4 tracks following in the footsteps of the first Pioneer Trekkers. The area is blessed with amazing natural beauty and that in itself makes it worth traveling, but if you do not travel informed you miss out on so much as it's rich history truly makes this a route to remember.
I have done portions of this route before on my motorbike, but some areas on this route is off-limits to motorbikes for various reasons. Having access to vehicles of all kinds I decided to tackle this route again on four wheels, like the ox wagons of old did.
This report will be divided up in sections and will be updated as I go along. Hopefully it will be of some use to 4x4 enthusiasts visiting our wonderful area.
(Click on Map to enlarge)
Map from Katot Meyer's website here.
Gysmanshoek Pass
Attaquaskloof
Attaquaskloof Pass
Duiwelskop Pass
Kaaimansgat and the Seven Passes
(Coming Soon...)
Searching for the Big Feet
(Coming Soon...)
Burchell route
(Coming Soon...)
From early days a need for a link between the coast and the interior existed. With the arrival of white settlers at the Cape, the need for a route between the Cape and the interior enjoyed a high priority. But it was a time before great road builders like Bain came along and traveling over the mountains of the Southern Cape was all but impossible. It took a special kind of person, a pioneer, explorer and adventurer all in one, to look for and navigate new routes over these treacherous mountains.
Today when we travel on the routes these remarkable individuals opened up, we do so in luxury with little effort and in a fraction of time. They did it with great danger to themselves. We do it as a pastime or a holiday. But lets never forget the remarkable achievements of those that has gone before. We honour them by keeping the history alive.
The Ox wagon Route in the Southern Cape is a modern day route, connecting various historic passes and routes that the ox wagons of old had to conquer.
The route travels over various mountain ranges and 4x4 tracks following in the footsteps of the first Pioneer Trekkers. The area is blessed with amazing natural beauty and that in itself makes it worth traveling, but if you do not travel informed you miss out on so much as it's rich history truly makes this a route to remember.
I have done portions of this route before on my motorbike, but some areas on this route is off-limits to motorbikes for various reasons. Having access to vehicles of all kinds I decided to tackle this route again on four wheels, like the ox wagons of old did.
This report will be divided up in sections and will be updated as I go along. Hopefully it will be of some use to 4x4 enthusiasts visiting our wonderful area.
(Click on Map to enlarge)
Map from Katot Meyer's website here.
Gysmanshoek Pass
Attaquaskloof
Attaquaskloof Pass
Duiwelskop Pass
Kaaimansgat and the Seven Passes
(Coming Soon...)
Searching for the Big Feet
(Coming Soon...)
Burchell route
(Coming Soon...)
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