Day 07: Bonniedale Holiday Farm to Knysna

I crossed the N9 and continued to Herold to travel the old Montagu Pass.  Soon after Herold there was a big sign the indicated the pass was closed.  Large concrete blocks were used to block the road and one had been moved and vehicle tracks indicated that people were using the pass.

I had just seen a small white front-wheel drive vehicle enter the pass. I therefore decided to follow the vehicle.  After about 400m the vehicle stopped and a foreign tourist asked me if it was okay to travel the pass - There were 3 people in the car.  I indicated I had no idea.  He said he will continue but let me pass him first.  The pass got considerably worse and at times there were very thin strips of drivable road suitable for pedestrians and bicycles.   Only a 4x4 with good ground clearance and crazy motorbike riders can get through this without damaging their vehicle.  What a beautiful pass - Very scenic and historical.  The road eventually joined the N12 in George and I was back on the coastal side of the mountains and the temperature cooled down a bit.

I turned off the N12 onto Saasveld Drive (Old Seven Passes road), in George.  The first section of the Seven Passes road is tar and the road was blocked off with huge concrete blocks.  I squeezed past the blocks and continued.  It appeared that the damage from the floods had largely been repaired so I was not sure why the road was blocked to traffic.  Eventually I found out.

The last section of the tarred road was blocked off with concrete blocks and there was a huge landslide from the road to the river below.  I could either retrace the path taken or figure out how to get past a 1m gap between the concrete blocks and the fall away that was at leat 30m deep.  I decided to strip all the luggage off the bike, carry it to the other side and take the squeeze.  Thankfully I made it.  I know it was a stupid thing to do, but sometimes stupid gives positive dividends - If I had a passenger or fellow riders, I would not have taken the chance.