The Western Cape 50 Passes 1,000 Mile Route

 The Western Cape 50 Passes 1,000 Miler is the 3rd 1,000 Miler route to be added to the Miler Club's repertoire….and its a truly stunning one. 

It is a 1,628km “round trip” route, which as the name suggests is full of passes and thus anything but flat. The majority is gravel road, although there are significant tar sections, and it has 23,390m of vertical ascent over the entire route.

The loop/round trip format to the route means that one can start and finish this Miler at any point, as long as the start and finish are the same point, and do it in a clockwise or anticlockwise direction. This makes the logistics significantly easier than a point to point route.

Click on link below for route map and downloadable GPX file

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/43199552

Click on link below for a detour option at the 838,8km mark for potential Kamanassie River Flooding:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46287566

Click on link below for the detour option at the 1,052km mark, while Montagu Pass is temporarily closed for repairs:

https://ridewithgps.com/routes/46313127

Click on link below for an introductory video:

https://youtu.be/2fjQ_XGSks0?si=lFM0Qa-BMpB-glF2

The aim is to take the rider through some of the Western Cape's most popular mountain areas with the focus on key mountain passes in the province. Notable mountain ranges include the Cedarberg and Swartberg, areas with some of the province's finest passes, and some popular tourist destinations.

Although we round off the name to “50 passes”, From what we count on the Mountain Passes of South Africa website, our route actually has 53 official passes. The most significant of these, for various reasons, are:

- Bainskloof: Historic, as one of the early constructed passes connecting Cape Town with SA's upcountry hinterland...built by famous pass builder Andrew Geddes Bain in 1854

- Franschoek Pass: Historic, as the the oldest properly engineered pass in SA

- Montagu Pass: Historic, as the oldest unaltered pass in SA, taking the rider up from George over the Outeniqua Mountains into the little Karoo

 - Prince Alfred Pass: The longest pass in SA at 68.5km

- Swartberg Pass: One is SA's most popular passes, built by famous pass builder Thomas Bain, Swartberg Pass has a vertical ascent of 838m. This is the pass with largest vertical ascent of any pass on the route, and the 9th biggest vertical ascent in SA.

- Seweweekspoort: The pass through a mountain cutting next to the Western Cape's highest peak, i.e. Seweweekspoort Peak

- Rooiberg Pass with a vertical ascent of 509m

-  And many more

The route also takes the rider through some of the Western Cape's finest tourist attractions, including:

- The main road through the middle of the Cedarberg, past the mountains where the Wolfberg Cracks, Maltese Cross and Wolfberg Arch are found, and are popular hiking and camping areas

- The Tankwa Karoo

- The historic Lord Milner Hotel at Matjiesfontein

- Seweweekspoort Pass and Seweweekspoort Peak, the highest peak in the Western Cape

- The Knysna Forests

- Seven Passes Road from Knysna to George

- The ostrich farming capital of the world, Oudtshoorn in the Little Karoo

- And the beautiful winelands towns of Franschoek, Stellenbosch and Paarl

The route starts and finishes at the NG Church in the centre of Wellington.

However, being a loop means that riders can complete this Miler challenge by starting anywhere on the route, as long as they finish at the point where they started, and can also choose either a clockwise or anti-clockwise direction.

The route distances between towns and significant resupply points are as follows, going in a clockwise direction from Wellington:

Town/Village                        Distance from start (distance from previous town in brackets)

-  Wellington                                        0km (0km)

- Ceres                                                 56km (56km)

- Prince Alfred Hamlet                        66km (10km)

- Dorp Op Die Berg                            100km (34km)

- Citrusdal                                           172km (72km)

- Cedarberg Algeria Campsite            216km (44km)

- Hartsnek Farm Accommodation     338km (122km)

- Tankwa Padstal Turnoff                   340km (2km) (approximately 2km off the route)

- Matjiesfontein Lord Milner Hotel      470km  (130km) (1km off route)

- Laingsburg                                       514km (44km)

- Zoar                                                  606km (92km)

- Calitzdorp                                        632km (26km)

- Prince Albert  (5km off route)          714km (82km)

- Klaarstroom                                    761km (47km)

- De Rust                                            784km (23km)

- Uniondale                                         886km (102km)

- Avontuur                                           897km (11km)

- Knysna                                              973km (76km)

- Rheenendal                                       991km (18km)

- Karatara                                            1,007km (16km)

- George                                              1,051 (44km)

 - Herold                                              1,072km (21km)

- Oudtshoorn                                       1,116km (44km)

- De Hoop                                            1,135km (19km)

- Van Wyksdorp                                   1,209km (74km)

- Suurbraak                                          1,330km (121km)

- Buffeljagsrivier                                   1,342km (12km)

- Swellendam                                       1,351km (9km)

- Riviersonderend                                1,426km (75km)

- Greyton                                             1,462km (36km)

- Franschoek                                        1,537km (75km)

- Stellenbosch                                      1,569km (32km)

- Klapmuts                                           1,593km (24km)

- Paarl                                                  1,604km (11km)

- Wellington                                         1,627.5km (23.5km)

A list of the passes located on the route:

Wellington to Ceres:

1. Bainskloof

2. Mitchell’s Pass

Ceres to Citrusdal:

3. Gydo Pass

4. Buffelshoek Pass

5. Middelburg Pass

6. Elandskloof Pass

Citrusdal to Algeria:

7. Nieuwoudt Pass

Algeria to Tankwa Padstal:

8. Uitkyk Pass

9. Grootrivierhoogte Pass

10. Blinkberg Pass

11. Klein Cedarberg Pass

12. Katbakkies Pass

13. Peerboomskloof Pass

Laingsburg to Calitzdorp:

14, Rooinek Pass

15. Witnekke Pass

16. Kouveld Pass

17. Seweweekspoort

18. Huisrivier Pass

Calitzdorp to Prince Albert:

19. Kruisrivierpoort

20. Huis se Hoogte Pass

21. Doringkloof Pass

22. Swartberg Pass

Prince Albert to De Rust:

23. Kredouw Pass

24. Meiringspoort

De Rust to Uniondale:

25. Wapadsnek Pass

26. Kammanassie Pass

Uniondale to Knysna:

27. Uniondale Pass

28. Prince Alfred Pass

29. Kom se Pad

30. Gouna Pass

Knysna to George (vie 7 Passes Road):

31. Phantom Pass

32. Homtini Pass

33. Karatara Pass

34. Hoogekraal Pass

35. Touw River Pass

36. Silver River Pass

37. Kaaimansgat Pass

38. Swartrivier Pass

George to Oudtshoorn:

39. Montagu Pass

40. Paardepoort

Oudtshoorn to Van Wyksdorp:

41. Rooiberg Pass

42. Assegaaibosch Pass

Van Wyksdorp to Swellendam:

43. Kliphoogte Pass

44. Gysmanshoek Pass

45. Wadrift Pass

46. Seekoeigat Pass

47. Doringkraal Pass

48. Boosmansbos Pass

49. Moodes Pass

Swellendam to Riviersonderend:

50. Stormsvlei Poort

Greyton to Franschoek:

51. Franschoek Pass

Franschoek to Stellenbosch:

52. Helshoogte Pass

Stellenbosch to Paarl:

53. Jan Phillips Mountain Road

For info on these passes, see Mountain Passes of South Africa website. Click on link below:

https://www.mountainpassessouthafrica.co.za/