Four Passes. Through the Cape Winelands - 140km

Photo © Struik Publications

SIR LOWRY’S PASS

The route into the Cape interior across the Hottentots Holland Mountains initially followed a game trail known to the Khoikhoi as the Gantouw, a name meaning ‘elands’ path’. The route, about 2 km northeast of the summit of Sir Lowry’s Pass, followed a steep, narrow kloof; the deep ruts carved by the thousands of wagons that crossed the mountain can still be seen in the rocks.

At nearby Kanonkop, the Dutch East India Company sited two cannons to signal the arrival of ships in Table Bay and to warn of impending Khoikhoi attack. The Gantouw was replaced in 1828 by a new route named in honour of Sir Lowry Cole, the Cape Governor at the time. At the top of the pass there is a splendid view over False Bay.

HOTTENTOTS HOLLAND MOUNTAINS

The name Hottentots Holland was originally given to the mountainous area between False Bay and the Palmiet River, but in time the whole mountain range came to be known by that name. An entry in Jan van Riebeeck’s diary for 6 June 1657 states that the name was given to the area by the Khoikhoi, who called it their Holland, or fatherland. The Hottentots Holland Nature Reserve covers 42 000 ha and provides protection to some 1 300 species of mountain fynbos.

The reserve stretches from Sir Lowry’s Pass in the south to the Franschhoek Pass in the north and from the Stellenbosch Mountains in the west to the Groenland Mountains in the east. There are several day walks and overnight trails along which the reserve can be explored.

GRABOUW

...is the centre of one of the country’s most important apple-producing regions, and is also a major producer of pears, plums and nectarines. Situated on the banks of the Palmiet River in a sheltered valley between the Hottentots Holland and the Groenland mountains, the town developed around a trading store opened by Wilhelm Langschmidt in 1856. He named it Grabau, after his birthplace in Germany.

ELGIN

When the railway reached Grabouw in 1902, the station had to be built on more level ground as the gradient above the village was too steep. Land was made available on the farm Glen Elgin (named in honour of the 9th Earl of Elgin, the Colonial Secretary at the time) and the station was named Elgin. In time, the name was also used to refer to the whole valley. The first apples were planted in the area in 1905 by Sir Antonie Viljoen, and today Elgin is famous world-wide for its Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Starking apples.

The story of the apple industry is told in the Elgin Apple Museum (open daily during summer), one of only two apple museums in the world. Several local farm stalls tempt travellers to buy fresh fruit and vegetables, as well as homemade farm produce.

VILJOEN’S PASS

After meandering through a mosaic of apple and deciduous fruit orchards, the route reaches Viljoen’s Pass. The original pass wound along the mountain slopes east of the river, but was replaced in the early 1900s by a route cutting through the Groenland Mountains along a gorge carved by the Palmiet River. The name of the pass honours local apple pioneer Sir Antonie Viljoen.

THEEWATERSKLOOF DAM

...was built along the course of the Riviersonderend in the 1970s, primarily for irrigation, but also to provide water for domestic use to the Cape Town metropolitan area, Stellenbosch and Paarl. Covering an area of approximately 52 km, it is the seventh largest dam in South Africa and has a capacity of 483 million cubic metres. It is linked to the Assegaaibos Dam on the Berg River by a 11,7-km-long tunnel, and by a 20-km-long tunnel to the Jonkershoek Dam.

During the dry summer months, water is pumped from Theewaterskloof through the tunnels into the two dams, and in winter excess water is pumped into Theewaterskloof. The large dam is a popular destination with water-sport enthusiasts.

FRANSCHHOEK PASS

The original route over the Franschhoek Mountains followed the tracks of the San and migratory herds of game – hence the original name of Elephant Pass. It was not until the completion of the Cats Path in 1819 that wagons could make the journey over the mountains. Building of the present pass began in 1823 on the instructions of Lord Charles Somerset and was completed two years later. From the 750-m-high summit there are splendid vistas over the Franschhoek Valley.

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...was established in 1688 when 207 French Huguenots, who had fled France because of religious persecution, arrived at the Cape. The French origins of the town still persist in the surnames of many residents and the distinctly French names of many of the ...

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