Bain's Passes

Roodezand (Nuwekloof, Tulbagh Kloof) Pass

ThomasDocumented

Thomas reconnoitred the kloof in 1855 and proposed a new route on the left bank of the Klein Berg River, which he built as the Roodezand (Tulbagh Kloof) pass. An older wagon route existed from the 1750s.

R46Route
5 km(historic Tulbagh Kloof pass)Length
141 mSummit
Tarred(R46)Surface

See it on the mapLog your drive

Before you go

Winding gorge road along railway and river; standard high-speed road caution.

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

The Nuwekloof Pass on the R46 is the modern road through the kloof, opened in 1968. Thomas Bain's older Roodezand pass runs along the other side of the valley and can still be seen from it. A wagon route had used the kloof since the 1750s.

The guidebook says Burchell passed through in 1811, when a toll was charged, and that Thomas Bain rebuilt the pass in the 1860s and it was tarred in the 1930s. It also says a Bain built a railway pass alongside the road in 1874, without saying which Bain. A Nieuw Kloof convict station (Tulbagh) has postal records from 1858 to 1868, and a Winterhoek station (Tulbagh) from 1860 to 1861.

History

Built by
Thomas reconnoitred the kloof in 1855 and proposed a new route on the left bank of the Klein Berg River, which he built as the Roodezand (Tulbagh Kloof) pass. An older wagon route existed from the 1750s.
Built
Bain's Roodezand pass: 1859–1860, widened in 1935. The Nuwekloof Pass that carries the R46 today is a separate, later road, opened in 1968.
Location
R46, Gouda to Tulbagh, Western Cape. Bain's original road lies on the opposite side of the valley from today's R46.
Later work
Replaced.In 1968 a new road, the Nuwekloof Pass, opened on the north-east bank and took over the traffic. Bain's original road on the south-west bank can still be seen across the valley.
Notes
Two roads share this name. Today's R46 Nuwekloof Pass is the 1968 realignment, and the pin, route number and surface on this card describe it. Bain's Roodezand road is the one across the valley. A separate record attributes the 1960/1968 road to Andrew Bain.

Find it

Pin
-33.31817, 19.08346
Open in
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Sources

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