Still in daily use, the spectacular passes of the Western Cape offer travellers some of the most spectacular drives in the world.
Until the mid 19th century the mountain ranges along the southern coast were regarded as insurmountable barriers rather than scenic wonders. That all began to change when the Cape became a British colony in 1806, and accelerated with the appointment of John Montagu as colonial secretary in 1843.
Of the passes built, those by
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| |  The haunted tollhouse / tea room on Michell’s pass, Montague | |
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Andrew Geddes Bain and his son Thomas are considered engineering marvels. Here are three of the most breathtaking; and hair-raising because legend has it that each is haunted
The Haunted Tollhouse
Montagu’s most pressing need was for a highway into the interior from Cape Town through Ceres, which necessitated the building of a number of passes. For this he turned to the tall, sturdily built Scot, Andrew Geddes Bain.
Assisted by his son, Bain in 1846 began building Michell’s Pass, which connects Wolseley and Ceres along the course of the Breede River through the Skurweberg range. Completed in 1848, Michell’s Pass was praised by Cape Governor Sir Harry Smith as ‘an undertaking which would do honour to a great nation.’
The old thatched, whitewashed tollhouse, situated under huge oak trees just below the railway crossing is now a tea room. Should you feel a chill while sitting here then you could very well have come in contact with the unidentified resident apparition.
Bain’s Kloof Pass
Notwithstanding the brilliance of Michell’s Pass, Montagu’s vision of a highway into the interior would have remained largely a pipe dream if a way was not found to connect Wellington and the Breede River Valley over the daunting Elandskloof and Slanghoek ranges.
Shortly after work began on Michell’s Pass, Montagu and Bain were riding out from Wellington when they noticed a gap in the mountains. The following Sunday Bain went to explore it, finding a fissure that until then had been known only to Bushmen and escaped slaves.
What Bain had found is what is today known as Paradise Valley. Construction began in 1849 and the pass was opened on 12 September 1853. For many it is the most beautiful in South Africa as Bain incorporated the most striking scenery in the design, including the granite overhang dubbed Dacres Pulpit and the Pilkington Bridge that runs alongside a waterfall.
The Ghost House
Paradise Valley is today a wilderness area popular with hikers, climbers and outdoor enthusiasts. Most of these use the Tweede Toll Picnic and Campsite halfway down the pass as a base. Just above this are the ruins of the mansion Wolkerus (Clouds Rest), which is haunted by the ghosts of a woman and her dog.
Bain’s Kloof Pass is also haunted by Lettie de Jager, who was washed away in a flash flood on 22 May 1895 while climbing the Sneeukop with a group from the Huguenot Seminary in Wellington. And the tollhouse at the summit is also possessed.
Swartberg Pass
If t
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| |  The mountains of the Swartberg pass offer spectacular views | |
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he Bain’s Kloof Pass was Andrew’s masterpiece, then the Swartberg Pass was Thomas’s. Author Lawrence Green wrote: ‘I have travelled only one road in my lifetime more dramatic, and that was the fifteen thousand foot pass beyond Darjeeling that leads into Tibet.’
Connecting the Klein Karoo and the Karoo over the Swartberg range, this snaking pass rises 1585 metres in a 12-kilometre stretch between Oudshoorn and Prince Albert. At times appearing suicidal, it runs through a striking display of reefs, pinnacles and great edifices of twisted mauve and russet rock weathered and carved over millennia by violent storms, blizzards and winds of such ferocity that gusts crack like bullets when screaming through breaches.
There are a number of haunted sites on the pass, all towards the Prince Albert summit. At a hairpin bend, close to the turn-off to Die Hel, there have been sightings of a ghost. Further up is a spot where travellers report a sudden drop in temperature. It is here where nearly 30 people perished during a blizzard over a century-and-a-half ago.
Getting There
Michell’s Pass and Bain’s Kloof Pass are no longer part of the highway into the interior, but are well worth the diversion. From Cape Town take the N1, exit at Paarl and head for Wellington. There take the R303 to Ceres, which includes Bain’s Kloof Pass. At the T-junction turn right onto the R46 and follow it over Michell’s Pass into Ceres. Continue with the R46, which rejoins the N1 just before Touws River.
The spectacular Swartberg Pass has changed little since it was built. From the N1 take the R407 from Prince Albert Road. After Prince Albert take the R328 over the Swartberg Pass to Oudshoorn.
And do look out for phantoms.
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