Taking on SA’s High Five Mountain Passes

SA’s High Five is not merely a ride but rather a challenge, to take on the 5 highest passes in South Africa. We joined Mike, from Boulders Offroad Academy in Fouriesburg for this incredible trip. Mike shares the background as to how this trip originated. The idea originated a couple of years ago when on holiday in Tiffindell, I decided to ride to the top of Ben MacDhui 3001 metres high and the highest pass in South Africa, of course this was impossible as there was no road or even footpath to the top so I went as far as possible which was a couple of meters from the top.  It was at this time the idea of the highest passes came to mind and after discussion with a good friend and owner of Tiffindell, the High Five became a reality, thus work began on completing a track to the highest point. SA’s High Five should not be taken lightly and thus rather a challenge than a ride, to complete this, one will need a good riding ability, a sense of adventure and minimum intermediate tyres (preferably knobblies). The 5 passes that we tackled included the following passes, in actual fact we did 7 passes in total: Ben MacDhui Pass - Eastern Cape - 3,001 meters above sea level - we only made it up a part of the way, due to the loss rock and steepness of the track. Tiffendal Tenahead Traverse - Eastern Cape - the highest contour road in South Africa, at 2,720 metres above sea level. This track was one of the highlights of the trip. Naudes Nek - Eastern Cape - if memory serves me correctly this is one of the longest passes in South Africa and sits at 2,590 metres above sea level. Volunteershoek - Eastern Cape, also known as the Warr Trail, it sits 2,581 metres above sea level. Carlisleshoekspruit - Eastern Cape - we went up this pass twice during the trip, nothing to hectic and it's very scenic. The pass sits at 2,563 metres above sea level. Jouberts Pass - Eastern cape - the top of this pass affords you an incredible view down towards Lady Grey, another incredibly scenic pass, sitting at 2,234 metres above sea level. Lundins Nek - Eastern Cape - isn't part of the High 5, but is still one of the highest passes on South Africa, this pass is traversed enroute to the sleepy town of Rhodes and sits at 2,170 metres above sea level. The trip itinerary was as follows: The High 5 is a subset of the Ben 10 Challenge, this map highlights all 10 the Highest Passes: Day 1 - arrive at Boulders in Fouriesburg, the accommodation there is great and Nadine's cooking is even better. Day 2 - enjoy a scrumptious breakfast before heading out towards Zastron, we filled up there and then got onto the dirt at Sterkspruit, the border post to Lesotho. From there's its a scenic ride, over Lundins neck towards Rhodes. We stayed at the Rhodes Hotel, again really comfortable rooms, delicious food, but with overpriced beer (R50 for a Castle Lite) and they can arrange for fuel, but at a premium of R35 per litre - but that's what it'll cost as they need to drive to Barkley East to get it. Day 3 - after a hearty breakfast we headed up Carlisleshoekspruit towards Tiffendal and partyly up the Ben MacDhui Pass. After a break we proceeded along the Tiffendal Tenahead Traverse, again incredible riding and views across to Lesotho and beyond. At the Tenahead Lodge we hit a left and went down Naudes Nek, with a stop at the bottom for some snacks. From there it was back up Naudes Nek back to Rhodes for a well deserved beer, albeit expensive, and another incredible 5 course dinner. Day 4 - included some epic passes as we made our way back towards Fouriesburg. The 1st of the passes was Carlisleshoekspruit, from there it was down Volunteershoek and then a pretty long dirt section to Jouberts Pass, mostly gravel which is always a bonus, and onwards to Lady Grey for lunch. Lunch was great, but the service was incredibly slow, we only got out of Lady Grey at 3pm and still needed to do well over 500km to Fouriesburg. We finally arrived back at Boulders after 8pm, after being hit by a massive hail storm, this was made worse by it being dark and the potholed excuse of a road - but we all got back safely to enjoy more of Nadine's incredible cooking. Day 5 - after another fantastic breakfast, it was time to head back home. Be sure to stock up on some of Nadine's orange marmalade and cherry rusks, they are both delicious. Some Photos from the Trip: Navigation: for this trip I used the Garmin Zumo XT, simply to follow where we were, there were no shared GPX files for this trip, as it was a guided trip. The Garmin Zumo XT was secured with our Garmin Zumo XT Locking Plate, ensuring that passersby can't quickly release the device from the mount. Luggage: Main luggage was 2 x Kriega OS-18 Adventure Pack bags, attached to the Kriega OS Base and then the Kriega OS-6 Adventure Pack bag for my tools, the tools are in the Kriega Tool Roll. The tool bag is attached to the rear rack, a Perun Moto Large Billet Rack, with the Kriega OS Rack Loops. I used the Giant Loop Diablo tank bag to carry a Leatt 1.5l hydration bladder, some basic tools, snacks and the coffee brewing kit. Riding Gear: Helmet – KTM Explorer Helmet (LS2 Explorer MX701) Boots – Alpinestar Tech 7 (Enduro version) Pants – KTM Terra Adventure Pants Jacket - KTM Terra Adventure Jacket Gloves – Five TFX3 Airflow Adventure Gloves Tyres – Motoz Tractionator Adventure on the rear and the Motoz Dual Venture on the front. Tech Used: Cardo Packtalk Edge, in-helmet comms. I primarily use the Cardo Packtalk Edge to listen to music, streamed from Spotify, and take and make the odd phone call to my wife and children, I avoid work related calls when I'm away on the bike. A lot of rides enjoy syncing their comms to chat along the way and stay in touch on the trail, I prefer not t do this as I what to enjoy the "helmet time" as much as possible, to get away from the daily grind. Group Riding - on this trip we used the "Buddy System", with this the lead rider slows down at a turn or intersection and makes eye contact with the rider behind, who acknowledges the rider in front, who then carries on, this continues until the sweep has made eye contact with the rider in front of them. This is great to keep the group moving and dust to the minimum. Some more photos from the trip: Excuse that some of the photos are blurred, my smartphones camera took a beating and wasn't focusing correctly. Thankfully there were no casualties on the ride, barr 2 of the GSA's blowing all there front shock oil out, making for some interesting navigation over some of the more technical sections. This is definitely a ride to tick off from the bucket list.