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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
The first pass, sometimes referred to as “die ossewapas” (the ox wagon pass) by the locals, was built from 9 km outside of Piketberg to the top of Piket-Bo-Berg. 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.
As the story goes, John would go out of his house every day near sunset and go sit on a rock overlooking
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), View of Voelvalei looking down.jpg, View of Voelvalei looking down
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), Ou Ossewapas sign.jpg, Sign at bottom of pass
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), bottem of pass looking down.jpg, Bottom of pass looking down at Voëlvalei
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), bottem of pass looking up.jpg, Bottem of pass looking up
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), Nooi se Draai sign.jpg, Nooi se Draai sign
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), Esels Draai sign.jpg, Esels Draai sign
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), Esels Draai looking down.jpg, Esels Draai looking down
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), View from Moedverloor down.jpg, View from Moedverloor looking down
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), View from Moedverloor.jpg, View from Moedverloor
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), View from Korentebos looking up.jpg, View from Korentebos looking up
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), View from Korentebos looking down.jpg, View from Korentebos looking down
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), View from Valgrasskop looking up.jpg, View from Valgrasskop looking up
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), Vasvat Draai sign.jpg, Vasvat Draai sign
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), View from Vasvat Draai.jpg, View from Vasvat Draai
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), View from Die Baken.jpg, View from Die Baken
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), Second View from Die Baken.jpg, Second View from Die Baken
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), Third View from Die Baken.jpg, Third View from Die Baken
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), View from Klipoort.jpg, View from Klipoort
File:Ou ossewapas (old versfeldpas), Second View from Klipoort.jpg, Second View from Klipoort
File:Versfeldpas Lower Tourist Information sign.jpg, alt=Versfeldpas tourist sign at the start of the pass, Versfeld pass tourist sign at the start of the pass
File:Versfeld Pass, Piket Bo-Berg, Direction signboard.jpg, Versveld pass direction sign, 500m before the start of the pass
File:Versfeldpas view from rest point.jpg, View from middle view point of Versfeld pass
File:Versfeldpas, view from second stop point.jpg, View from middle of pass
File:Versfeldpas third stop point.jpg, View form small stop point near top
File:Top of Versfeldpas.jpg, View from top of pass
File:Versfeldpas Tourist Information sign.jpg, Versfeld pass tourist sign at the top viewpoint of pass
Piketberg mountain range
The Piketberg Mountain Range is a mountain range located in the Swartland (Black land) region of the Western Cape in South Africa.
The mountain range is made up of low mountains primarily composed of Table Mountain Sandstone. It is a mountain r ...
where many fruit farms are located. 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.
First Pass History
The first pass, sometimes referred to as “die ossewapas” (the ox wagon pass) by the locals, was built from 9 km outside of Piketberg to the top of Piket-Bo-Berg. 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.
As the story goes, John would go out of his house every day near sunset and go sit on a rock overlooking Piketberg
Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) 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 mount ...
in the valley below, he'd sit smoking his pipe until sundown. 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.
Soon after that John set out to make his pass. He hired 16 workers, and they started working on the first pass. 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).
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. Thus, the mountain pass was reconstructed 4 km closer toPiketberg
Piketberg (also sometimes spelt Piquetberg in the past) 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 mount ...
, and named in honor of Versfeld for building the first one. 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
References
{{reflist Mountain passes of the Western Cape