The Bloukranspas translates directly from Afrikaans into 'Blue Grag's Pass'.
The Bloukrans Pass is a pass through the ravine of the Bloukrans River on the R102 road between Plettenberg Bay and Jeffreys. The Bloukrans River forms the boundary between the Western Cape and Eastern Cape Provinces. The pass no longer serves as the main route, as it has been bypassed by the Bloukrans Bridge which carries the N2 national toll road.
When the government first started considering a coastal road between Port Elizabeth and Plettenberg Bay in the 1880's, master pass-builder, Thomas Bain, relished the challenge of planning a route through both of the formidable obstacles of the Grootrivier and Bloukrans gorges within the Tsitsikamma Forests,
135 years ago, the only route between Port Elizabeth and George, was via the Langkloof and over the Outeniqua Mountains, via the Montagu Pass. Government officials declared the Tsitsikamma forests impenetrable.
Bain's motto, of course, was that nothing was impossible!
In 1869, Mother Nature sent a series of devastating mountain fires, laying vast tracts of forests to waste in the Tsitsikamma zone, providing Bain and his team with the perfect opportunity to plot a suitable route of 185 kms connecting Port Elizabeth with Plettenberg Bay, Knysna and George, via a coastal road which circumvented the arduous journey over the Outeniqua Mountains via the Langkloof.
However, two mammoth gorges blocked Bain's plotted route and, as always, he dived into this as an exciting challenge and not as an impossible obstacle. He set about, with his trademark zeal, in scouting a new route through both the Bloukrans and Grootrivier passes.
The Bloukrans Pass was particularly problematic in that the natural slopes of the terrain were ridiculously steep and, to make matters worse, much of the surface was of unstable shale, which meant very strong retaining walls had to be built to prevent rockslides and the actual roadway collapsing.
Massive falling trees caused detrimental damage to the slippery shale slopes, while unruly troops of baboons caused much madness and mayhem for constructions workers and travellers alike!
The well-known Bloukrans hairpin-bend created major traffic issues in later years as ever larger trucks rumbled along its precarious twists and turns. This hairpin curves through a whopping 135-degrees and, to add to driver's woes, the slope is almost 1-in-5!
In 2011 the Western Cape government, recognising the iconic status of the Pass, set about refurbishing the Pass on “their” side of the Bloukrans River. Unfortunately, the Eastern Cape have yet to find the budget to complete “their” side of the Pass.
The Bloukrans Pass is one of the most revered and respected passes in South Africa. It is a sad indictment that this road has been allowed to degenerate into such a state of disrepair that it is now been declared closed to traffic.
Despite the fact that the Pass is “officially” closed, it is quite navigable by car or motorbike, particularly on the Western Cape side. The Eastern Cape side, from exactly midway across the bridge [!], is passable, if one proceeds with caution.
There are many small rock falls and overhanging branches along the entire route, so one should exercise extreme caution, travelling no faster than 40kph and keeping a careful watch for traffic coming in the other direction.
Alternatively, one can take a good, long walk along this marvellous road, and enjoy a wonderfully memorable journey back into South African history!
The water in the river is potable and there is plenty of shade to have a leisurely picnic under. For cyclists, this is an excellent road to cycle with its absence of traffic.
This pass is surely worthy of National Monument status!
Cache: The container is a small pill bottle with only a log sheet.