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 m ...
and
Ceres 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 southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...
. 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, 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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See also
* 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 ...
* Bainskloof moss frog
* Bain's Cape Mountain Whisky
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