Bain's Passes

Katberg Pass

AndrewDocumented

Andrew surveyed and began the pass but could not finish it; Adam de Smidt completed the work. Do not attribute the entire construction solely to Andrew.

R351Route
13.2 kmLength
1625 mSummit
GravelSurface

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Before you go

Not for normal cars. High-clearance 4WD with low range needed on the upper sections; tyres down to about 1.4 bar; travel with two vehicles. Orange for adventure bikes in good weather, red in rain or snow.

Road conditions change with weather, floods, fires and roadworks. Check the latest conditions with the road authority or local tourism office before you leave, and carry offline maps.

About this pass

Between Balfour and Whittlesea, Katberg is gravel and climbs 699 m to 1,625 m. It averages 1:15 and has sections as steep as 1:5. It is not suited to ordinary cars: it needs a high-clearance 4WD with low range on the upper sections, tyres dropped to about 1.4 bar, and at least two vehicles travelling together. Adventure riders get an orange rating in good weather and red in rain or snow.

A Katberg convict station (Stockenstrom) has postal records from 1862 to 1878. Wikipedia says it is named after the Kat River, a tributary of the Great Fish River. The Heritage Portal says Adam de Smidt (b. 1836) completed the pass in 1866 after Andrew Bain's health began to fail. De Smidt's other works include Meiringspoort (1858), Seweweekspoort and Bosluiskloof (1862) and the George–Knysna Passes Road (1867–79), where he and Thomas Bain, brothers-in-law, fell out so bitterly they never spoke again. Ross's chronology: one of Andrew Bain's great ambitions was the Katberg over the Winterberg; he surveyed and began construction in 1860 but took sick leave several times and a year's extended leave in 1864. He died in Cape Town on 20 October 1864 (one source gives 1862). Adam de Smidt finished it, probably around 1866. It was also called the New Katberg Pass. Do not confuse it with Michell's/Klein Katberg Pass near Hogsback (built 1851–52 by Captain Michell), which the Automobile Association rated the steepest in the country at 1 in 4. HIPSA's Bain biography: in 1860, aged 63, Bain started the survey and construction of the Katberg between Fort Beaufort and Queenstown; before it was done ill health forced long leave, which he spent in England. He arrived back in Cape Town too ill to travel home to the Katberg and died there of a heart attack on 20 October 1864.

History

Built by
Andrew surveyed and began the pass but could not finish it; Adam de Smidt completed the work. Do not attribute the entire construction solely to Andrew.
Built
Andrew began the pass in 1854; he did not complete it. Adam de Smidt completed it. Another account gives 1860–1864; the completion year remains disputed/unverified.
Location
R351, Seymour to Whittlesea, Eastern Cape
Notes
The builder attribution is split: Andrew Bain began the work; Adam de Smidt completed it. One account gives 1854, which conflicts with the 1860–1864 given elsewhere. The completion year is not resolved. Wikipedia gives the summit as 1,622 m and the steepest gradient as 1:3, against 1,625 m and 1:5 elsewhere on this card. Completion is 1866 per the Heritage Portal; the 1860–64 alternative remains unverified. The Wikipedia page does not mention Balfour. Ross gives completion as probably c1866 with no source date for De Smidt's finish; Storrar gives no date.

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-32.45606, 26.65472
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