NORMANDIEN PASS

After the Easter festivities and all the other goings one over the last month i have finally finished processing the photos of a very rarely used pass these days. It is in pretty good shape and certainly worth the detour in the route from Johannesburg to Durban.
Basically you leave the comfort of the N3 highway just after Villiers and then head off in the direction Vrede and them Memel. At Memel i discovered that a GPS can lead you astray the machine took me on the route very much less well traveled there were parts where i doubted that i was even on the right road. the northern route from Memel to Normandien is the much more adventures route as you need to negotiate the Roodepoort pass as well great fun but not a very well maintained road at all.

The road to Roodepoort Pass this part very deceptive it just gets worse from here.

  I know that these are landscape photos but it is one of the most beautiful places that it is has been my privilege to visit this is what i would call the forgotten parts of the land that time has been kind to and left alone here one can find real piece and quite. If you are not used to it it especially if you live in a large noisy and very busy community. On this road trip once i turned onto the road to the pass for the next six and a half hours i only saw one other person and he was about a kilometer away on a horse.

Cosmos flowers normally found at this time of year in the country

Meadow of Cows and Hay Bales

Gravel Road to Normandien Pass

Start of Roodepoort Pass

 There were times that i was not even sure i was on the correct road. As there was very little difference between the farm road and the provincial road. Quite often the farm road was better maintained, which could be rather confusing.

Roodepoort pass

View back along Roodpoort Pass

View of the road to Normandien Pass

View along The Escarpment

The rock outcrop that you stand on here is called the arc. I must add that one needs to be cautions here as there are no fences guard rails etc and off the edge of the Arc is about a 1000 foot drop straight down.

View from the Ark

A view from the Freestate into Kwazulu Natal over some ancient deciduous forest. Once the whole of This part of the world would have been covered with these trees.

Start of Normandien Pass

Gravel section of pass

Strip tracks on the pass

Jet Trail

Wagon Trail

 I just thought that this was nice contrast that epitomizes the disposable life style we live today, the wagon tracks are 100 plus years old and the jet trail lasted half an hour then was gone.

It is funny what can go through a persons mind when there are no distractions while drinking some coffee and staring at the grooves that were worn on the rock.
I could imagine the wagon groaning under the weight of produce going for sale, with a 16 ox team bellowing as drovers whips cracking and the whistles of the guide as he pulls a leather rope attached to the nose ring of the lead ox.