Prince Alfred Pass.

This mountain pass lies between Knysna and Avontuur / Uniondale. Prince Alfred’s Pass is named after the second son of Queen Victoria, who later became the Duke of Edinburgh.

The pass was urgently needed by the middle of the 19th century as Knysna had grown into a thriving town built on the timber industry. Work on the pass began in 1860. The road would cut through the forest from Knysna. Andrew Baines and his son Thomas were commissioned to build the pass, with a team of convicts.

This pass was one of the highlights of my tour and I will definitely come back and spend more time on the route.

01 the road cuts through beautiful stretches of the knysna forest

02 the trees often formed a thick canopy above the road

03 a truck driver ignored the warning sign that no trucks were allowed on the pass the result was nearly disastrous

04 the narrow road was blocked for a few hours and we had to wait patiently

05 on the uniondale side the terrain is mountainous with beautiful rocky outcrops

06 if one had time and could stop for a swim

07 one of the convicts was killed here by a rock slide and was buried just there next to the road there was no time for a funeral

08 the bridge at the convicts grave

09 on completion of the pass the convicts were given their ticket of leave their freedom on this ridge