Bainskloof Pass ( af, Bainskloofpas) is a mountain pass on the R301 regional road between

Wellington Wellington ( mi, Te Whanganui-a-Tara or ) is the capital city of New Zealand. It is located at the south-western tip of the North Island, between Cook Strait and the Remutaka Range. Wellington is the second-largest city in New Zealand by metr ...

and

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

in the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

province of

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

. The 18-kilometer (11-mile) pass, opened in 1854, was constructed by road engineer

Andrew Geddes Bain Andrew Geddes Bain (baptised 11 June 1797 – 20 October 1864), was a South African geologist, road engineer, palaeontologist and explorer. Life history The only child of Alexander Bain and Jean Geddes, both of whom died when Bain was still a ...

with the use of convict labour. Originally built for horse-drawn traffic, the pass was later tarred. The pass reaches at its highest point. Here, the road joins the

Witte River Witte (and de Witte) are Dutch and Low German surnames meaning "(the) white one". Witte can also be a patronymic surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Alfred Witte (1878–1941), German astrologer * Carla Witte (1889–1943), Germ ...

, which descends the northern side of the mountains through a precipitous cleft to a stretch of rapids, waterfalls and natural pools. Bainskloof Pass is now a national monument. After roadworks starting in 2018, it finally reopened to the public in June 2022.Getaway Magazine
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References

External links

Passes Index
at Wild Dog Adventure Riding website * Bainskloof histor

{{commons category, Bain's Kloof Pass Mountain passes of the Western Cape 1854 establishments in the Cape Colony

See also

References

External links