Versfeld Pass

Last updated
Versfeld Pass
Versfeldpas
Photo from the top of Versfeld pass.jpg
Photo from the top of Versfeld Pass
Elevation 689 m (2,260 ft)
First Approach
Average gradient1:12 %
Second Approach
Length6 kilometres (3.7 mi)
LocationSouth Africa
Range Piketberg mountain Range
Coordinates 32°51′22″S18°44′24″E / 32.85611°S 18.74000°E / -32.85611; 18.74000
South Africa Western Cape relief location map.svg
Red pog.svg
Location in Western Cape Province

Versfeld Pass is a mountain pass located to the west of the R366, the pass is used to give access to the top of the Piketberg mountain range where many fruit farms are located. [1] The pass is two lanes wide and often has heavy motor vehicles using it to reach the aforementioned farms. The summit of the pass is 689m high. There is a viewpoint both at the summit, and midway through the pass for vehicles to pull over. [1]

Contents

First Pass History

Sketch of Versfeld pass by L.W First Versfeld Pass sketch by L.W.png
Sketch of Versfeld pass by L.W

The first pass, sometimes referred to as “die ossewapas” (the ox wagon pass) by the locals, was built from 9km outside of Piketberg to the top of Piket-Bo-Berg. [2] The first pass was built in 1889 by Johannes Paulus Eksteen Verfeld (John). Before the pass was built, the journey to the top of the mountain was a dangerous and slow trip, typically taking 4 hours to traverse the mountain. Later it was recorded that John had many close encounters on these trips where his children almost died, which strengthened his belief that a pass was needed. Soon after one of these trips, John went to the local government and petitioned for a pass to be built; when John realised that the government of the time had no intent to build a pass, he set out to build one himself. [2]

Updated 2023 sketch of die ossewapas Versfeld pass sketch 2023.png
Updated 2023 sketch of die ossewapas

As the story goes, John would go out of his house every day near sunset and go sit on a rock overlooking Piketberg in the valley below, he'd sit smoking his pipe until sundown. [3] He did this for about a month. One day he woke up in the middle of the night, looked at his watch glistening in the moonlight and shouted, “That's it… That is what I will do with my pass!”. The shape he saw in the moonlight would later become the distinctive loops on the first pass. [3]

Soon after that John set out to make his pass. He hired 16 workers, and they started working on the first pass. [4] John supervised its building and was present every day from its start to its completion. He only stayed away on one day, which was for the birth of his son. Due to having built the pass incorrectly the first time, the completion time took 3 months in total with a gradient of 1:4, at a cost of £200 or R400 (£32,000 or R750,000 in today's currency). [5]

Second Pass History

The first motor vehicles started to use the pass in 1926 until in 1943 a man by the name of Christopher Armstrong from Heldervue farm realised that the pass was no longer adequate for the standards of a modern pass. He went to the local divisional counsel and advocated for a new pass. [6] [7] Thus, the mountain pass was reconstructed 4km closer to Piketberg, and named in honor of Versfeld for building the first one. [4] Later on in 1958 the pass was widened and then in addition to that in 2017 the pass's third wall was widened again.

Photos from first pass

Photos from second pass

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Barry (surgeon)</span> British military surgeon (c. 1789–1865)

James Barry was a military surgeon in the British Army. Originally from the city of Cork in Ireland, Barry obtained a medical degree from the University of Edinburgh Medical School, then served first in Cape Town, South Africa, and subsequently in many parts of the British Empire. Before retirement, Barry had risen to the rank of Inspector General in charge of military hospitals, the second-highest medical office in the British Army. Barry not only improved conditions for wounded soldiers, but also the conditions of the native inhabitants, and performed the first recorded caesarean section by a European in Africa in which both the mother and child survived the operation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pilatus (mountain)</span> Mountain in Switzerland

Pilatus, also often referred to as Mount Pilatus, is a mountain massif overlooking Lucerne in Central Switzerland. It is composed of several peaks, of which the highest (2,128.5 m [6,983 ft]) is named Tomlishorn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bulls (rugby union)</span> South African rugby union team

The Bulls are a South African professional rugby union team based in Pretoria. They play their home matches at Loftus Versfeld. They compete in the United Rugby Championship, having competed in the Super Rugby competition until 2020. Prior to 1998, the Bulls competed in the then-Super 12 as Northern Transvaal, as in those years South Africa was represented in the competition by its top four Currie Cup sides from the previous season, instead of the modern Super Rugby teams.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharks (rugby union)</span> Rugby team

The Sharks is a South African professional rugby union team based in Durban in KwaZulu-Natal. They compete internationally in the United Rugby Championship and EPCR Challenge Cup, having competed in the Super Rugby competition until 2020. They are centred on the Sharks union, also based in Durban and drawing players from all of KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape. The team plays its home matches at the Hollywoodbets Kings Park Stadium in Durban.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kearsney College</span> All-boys private school in Bothas Hill, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa

Kearsney College is a private boarding, English medium high school for boys in Botha's Hill, a small town between the provincial capital of Pietermaritzburg and Durban, in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">R44 (South Africa)</span> Road in South Africa

The R44 is a provincial route in Western Cape, South Africa that connects Piketberg with Kleinmond via Wellington, Stellenbosch, Somerset West and Strand. The coastal section between Kleinmond and Gordon's Bay is a very scenic ocean drive. The section between Gordon's Bay and Stellenbosch via Strand and Somerset West is a dual carriageway. The R44 is co-signed with the R46 between Gouda and Hermon in the Berg River valley.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Berg River</span> River in the Western Cape, South Africa

The Berg River is a river located just north of Cape Town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa. It is approximately 294 km (183 mi) long with a catchment area of 7,715 km2 (2979 mi2) and empties into the Atlantic Ocean. About 65% of the Berg River area is under agriculture. The major towns in the Berg River area are Velddrif and Laaiplek near the coast, and Piketberg, Hopefield, Moorreesburg and Darling further inland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laingsburg, South Africa</span> Place in Western Cape, South Africa

Laingsburg is a town located in the Western Cape province in South Africa. It is a relatively large agricultural town in the semi-arid Great Karoo; its economy is based on farming goats, sheep, fruits, and vegetable. The town is served by two numbered road, namely N1 and R323.

Loftus Versfeld Stadium is a rugby union and Association football stadium situated in the suburb of Arcadia, city of Pretoria in the Gauteng province of South Africa. The stadium can accommodate 51,762 spectators.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue Bulls</span> South African rugby team

The Blue Bulls is a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament and the United Rugby Championship. They are governed by the Blue Bulls Rugby Union and are based at Loftus Versfeld Stadium in Pretoria, Gauteng province.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sani Pass</span> Mountain pass in South Africa and Lesotho

Sani Pass is a mountain pass located in the West of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on the road between Himeville, KwaZulu-Natal and Mokhotlong, Lesotho. The pass traverses the Great Escarpment of southern Africa in its highest region, the Drakensberg Mountains, which reach an elevation of over 3,000 meters.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Fold Belt</span> Paleozoic fold and thrust belt in South Africa

The Cape Fold Belt is a fold and thrust belt of late Paleozoic age, which affected the sequence of sedimentary rock layers of the Cape Supergroup in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It was originally continuous with the Ventana Mountains near Bahía Blanca in Argentina, the Pensacola Mountains, the Ellsworth Mountains and the Hunter-Bowen orogeny in eastern Australia. The rocks involved are generally sandstones and shales, with the shales persisting in the valley floors while the erosion resistant sandstones form the parallel ranges, the Cape Fold Mountains, which reach a maximum height of 2325 m at Seweweekspoortpiek.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharks (Currie Cup)</span> South African rugby team

The Sharks are a South Africa rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. The Sharks are the current representative team of the KwaZulu-Natal Rugby Union and they draw some of their players from the KwaZulu-Natal Province. For most of their history, the team was known simply as 'Natal', with a nickname of 'The Banana Boys' or Piesangboere in Afrikaans, until the mid-1990s when they were re-branded as the Sharks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piketberg</span> Place in Western Cape, South Africa

Piketberg is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa, located about 80 km east of Saldanha Bay. The original spelling of the name was "Piquetberg". The town is in the foothills of the Piketberg mountains, a range of low mountains formed from Table Mountain Sandstone.

Cornell du Preez is a South African-born Scottish rugby union player. He currently plays as a loose forward for Toulon in the Top 14 and represented Scotland internationally.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nuwekloof Pass (Western Cape)</span> Mountain pass in South Africa

Nuwekloof Pass, also known as Roodezand Pass or Tulbagh Kloof, is a mountain pass in the Western Cape, South Africa, which crosses the Obiqua Mountains in a kloof created by the Klein Berg River. It allows eastward access from Cape Town and the Swartland into the Tulbagh basin and onwards to the Breede River Valley.

Northcliff High School, commonly known as Northcliff High, is a public English medium co-educational high school located in the suburb of Blackheath in Johannesburg in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is one of the top and most academic schools in Gauteng. The high school was established in 1969.

Jacobus Petrus (Kosie) Marais, was the son of Jacobus Petrus (Kowie) Marais and Catharina Elizabeth (Kitty) Eksteen. He was known for brandy-making.

The Northerns women's cricket team, also known as Fidelity Titans and previously known as Northern Transvaal women's cricket team, is the women's representative cricket team for the South African region of Tshwane. They compete in the CSA Women's One-Day Cup, which they have won three times, and the CSA Women's T20 Challenge.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Piketberg Mountain Range</span> Mountain range in South Africa

The Piketberg Mountain Range is a mountain range located in the Swartland region of the Western Cape in South Africa.

References

  1. 1 2 "Versveldpas · South Africa". Versveldpas · South Africa. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  2. 1 2 Thompson, Molly D'Arcy (1981). Forgotten corners of the cape. South Africa: Timmins Publishers.
  3. 1 2 Yumpu.com. "The History of Piket Bo Berg JOHN PAULUS EKSTEEN VERSFELD". yumpu.com. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  4. 1 2 du Preez, Thys (1994). Die berg Piketberg en sy mense (in Afrikaans). South Africa: M.H.C du Preez.
  5. ↑ "£200 in 1889 → 2023 | UK Inflation Calculator". www.in2013dollars.com. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  6. ↑ "Western Cape - Mountain Passes South Africa". www.mountainpassessouthafrica.co.za. Retrieved 2023-10-11.
  7. ↑ Versfeld Pass (1943) V2 - 2015 - Mountain Passes of South Africa , retrieved 2023-10-11
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.