What could be better than a day spent driving mountain passes? On an outing to the Zuurberg Mountains in the Eastern Cape, you can drive several scenic roads. By Inge Triegaardt
From my home in Gqeberha, the quietness of a rugged mountain range is within easy reach. An hour’s drive takes us away from the hustle and bustle of city life – often my partner and I find ourselves on our own. This spring, we took a scenic drive to Zuurberg Mountain Village via two passes before traversing the unfrequented Zuurberg Pass.
The reason for this day trip was two-fold. We have recently entered the Eastern Cape Jimny 20 Passes Challenge. The goal is to explore 20 gravel passes throughout the province and with this outing, we were on our way to tick three passes off the list. But that wasn’t the only reason why we decided on this route. The renowned scones of Zuurberg Mountain Village, on the outskirts of Addo Elephant National Park, proved an added attraction. I’m happy to report that they did not disappoint.
Our route came together only the night before. Doringnek Pass would take us up to the restaurant where our scones and hot chocolate would be waiting. The way down to Ann’s Villa would be via Zuurberg Pass. We were keen to take the scenic route to Zuurberg and soon identified a third pass on the latest Tracks4Africa Cape to Addo Touring Map (Baviaanskloof to Addo).
Trundling through Addo
Addo Heights Pass runs from east to west through the Addo Elephant National Park. Although there are control points on either side of the park, no permits are issued and you are allowed to pass straight through. However, note that you need a permit from either the Matyholweni Gate or Main Camp Gate to traverse the rest of the park.
As soon as we turned off the N2 at Schotia, we took our foot off the pedal. Immediately, some game appeared in the form of zebra, elephant, hartebeest and kudu. Our Jimny crunched over the gravel along Addo Heights Pass and we exited the park on the Addo settlement side. After a short drive along the R342, we turned north just before the Addo Main Camp Gate to take a scenic drive up Doringnek Pass.
The twists and turns of Doringnek Pass were a pleasure thanks to the good road surface. We counted down the markers along the way that indicated the distance to Zuurberg Mountain Village. It was a rainy, cool day and the chance to have a hot drink and stretch our legs was most welcome.
An enchanting mountain inn
Zuurberg Mountain Village Inn is an oasis at the top of the mountain. This historical hotel was built in 1861 when John and Elizabeth Matthews decided to buy a portion of Doorn Nek farm and establish a hotel and sanatorium. This little gem changed hands frequently and unfortunately a large portion of the hotel burned down in a devastating fire in 2008. The new owner, Henri Alant, has reconstructed the inn and these days guests are accommodated in Edwardian-styled garden cottages or in the original 1861 Zuurberg Manor, which was spared from the fire. With pristine lawns and a clear blue swimming pool, this is the perfect retreat from busy city life.
We could easily have spent the rest of the day on the restaurant terrace watching the vervet monkeys play on the roof, but we still had Zuurberg Pass ahead of us.
Zuurberg Pass
Our third pass for the day was a slow drive as the condition of the road deteriorated the further the 27.5km pass cut through the Zuurberg mountain range. As you drive along the plateau after leaving Zuurberg Mountain Inn, spectacular views unfold in front of you. We admired beautiful valleys and mountains slopes with an abundance of flora and fauna.
Once you start the descent of Zuurberg Pass, the road becomes extremely rocky. Because of the recent rains, we were concerned that we might have to turn back as the road was clearly poorly maintained. However, we decided to press on and for the entire duration of our drive over Zuurberg Pass, we didn’t come across another vehicle. A high clearance vehicle is highly recommended as there are some fairly challenging sections with washed-away ruts across the road and a few dongas to navigate.
It took us a total of three hours to complete the full 27.5km, including some stops to take pictures.
This is a part of the Eastern Cape where you cannot be in a hurry – nor do you want to be. The road is washed away in places and the likelihood of getting a puncture is high. It is not often used by farmers anymore, although you will pass through some farmlands on the northern side of the pass before reaching Ann’s Villa (a national monument built in 1864).
We concluded our scenic day trip with the 12km gravel road to the east of Ann’s Villa and towards the N10. As a bonus, we got to drive our fourth pass for the day, Olifantskop Pass, on our way back to Gqeberha via Paterson.
Things to do
- Enjoy game viewing on Addo Heights Pass (do not take the southern or northern turn-offs into Addo Elephant National Park without a permit).
- Visit Zuurberg Mountain Village Inn (they serve Sunday lunches for pre-bookings) and have a cup of tea and scones on the terrace.
- Take pictures of Ann’s Villa, an elegant old home in the middle of nowhere.
Things needed for the road
- High clearance vehicle for Zuurberg Pass (low-range might be needed when road conditions deteriorate after rains)
- General toolkit, jack and puncture repair kit
- Extra food and water in case of emergency as the road is isolated
- Binoculars (plenty of birdlife on Doringnek Pass)
- Warm clothing (the weather changes suddenly in the mountains)
Looking for more road trip inspiration? Check out the Tracks4Africa YouTube series on the Cape to Addo maps.
The Cape to Addo series of touring maps is ideal for road trips, overlanding adventures and day drives. To make planning a pleasure, the maps highlight mountain passes, scenic routes and attractions. The eight detailed maps cover the area from Cape Town and all along the Garden Route to Addo Elephant National Park. Buy them as a bundle or as individual maps covering four regions.
In doing my research I came across this very interesting Sale Document Anne’s Villa Auction / Sale
…..https://cms.saauctiongroup.co.za/Files/Froala/416c8552-636f-49c7-bc33-cc9c53e33f9a.pdf
Good evening . I came back today from doing the suurberg pass road from south from the hotel side to exit north at Anne’s villa. Very scenic route. Very nice route up to the hotel form addo side.Then a ruff but ok gravel road from the hotel up to the addo barefoot lodge junction were you can split left to go to the anne villa side over the suurberg mountains or right to do the escape route down in the valley
to the N10 . NOW FOR THE WARNING ! If you dont have a hi clearance vehicle with 4×4 LOW RANGE. Think twice. Low vehicles will damage at this part over the last part of the mountains down to Annes villa. I took the last part today with my ford ranger 4×4 and very slow driving was needed. You have a few deep ruts after the recent Rains a few weeks ago so a low vehicle will damage and struggle here. A good 4×4 with high ground clearance, low range is the best and very slow going. There is alot of very sharp rocks that will take out tyres so drive with caution in that northern last part of the route. A tip for that last part of the route. Know your vehicle and know your abilities as a driver offroad. There is high drop offs and tecnical sections on the last part of the route . So use with caution this road is not maintained any more and not alot of farmers use this road anymore. We did not once get traffic today on the route so make sure you have a good puncture kit and basic toolkit. Dropping tyre pressures is a good idea. I went down to 1.5 bar . Take a compressor if you have one to re inflate your tyres after the pass. Travel safe enjoy the senic routes and always know your vehicles capability and your own. JOE.
We appreciate this latest update on the condition of Zuurberg Pass following the rains. It is indeed important to research a route beforehand to match your vehicle, experience and expectations to the requirements of the track.
Preparing our next adventure to South Africa, Namibia, Botswana and Zimbabwe in march and april next year we are very happy with the Zuurberg Mountain adventure document. In our routeplan are already many 4×4 tracks mentioned in your mail.
We visited Southern Africa already 7 times and travelled always 4×4. (went 14(!) x to Australia and always hired a 4×4. At home we also have a 4x4camper). All our maps are the tracks for Africa
It sounds like you have a wonderful adventure planned! Thank you for travelling with Tracks4Africa.
Would a Subaru Forester be competent enough to traverse these passes?
I did the Kalmoesfontein Pass in a Suzuki hire Car! The only real problem was the exit gate (abandoned) at the Riebeeck East side of the pass…. Even with 280mm clearance I managed to tear off the protective plastic membrane on the belly of the car!
Based on her experience of the route, Inge reckons a Subaru Forester should be fine as long as you take it slow between Zuurberg Mountain Inn and Ann’s villa. It’s important to have the correct puncture repair kit! Doing it with low profile tyres would not be advised.
Thank you for your advice. I am already researching the best All Terrain Tyres….. I am sure you will have lots of helpful advice on which tyre is best!