Phase 1 The tarring of Sani Pass cost R285 Million

The Sani Pass was originally developed as a bridle path in 1913 and was used as a route for trade between South Africa and Mokhotlong during this period. All goods were carried by pack mule. The first vehicle negotiated the Sani Pass bridle path in 1948 when it was no more wide than a boulder littered donkey track. Godfrey Edmonds arrived at Sani Top for the first time by vehicle on the 26 October 1948 in a Jeep. It took three hours and thirty five minutes to reach the South African border post and a further two and a quarter hours to reach the Drakensberg escarpment at an altitude of 2874m. The equipment required for this epic feat was a Basuto labourers, with their ponies, a block and tackle, jerry cans of petrol and lots of rope. Close to the Sani Pass summit, within a couple of kilometres, is the highest peak in Southern Africa, Thabane Ntlenyana, 3482m high.

A young man had a dream of operating a motor vehicle service up this fantastic Pass, using the four wheel drive vehicles he had seen on service in the second World War. His name was David Alexander (Charlie Murless' uncle) and he founded Mokhotlong Mountain Transport in 1955 which is now known as Sani Pass Tours. It has operated on the Sani Pass ever since.

On 30 October 2012 the first 13.6km section of the Sani Pass road between Himeville and the old Goodhope Stores was officially opened by KwaZulu- Natal MEC for Transport Willies Mchunu. The cost of this first and easiest phase was R285 million, almost R21 million per kilometer. The 13.6km was completed in five and a half years. KwaZulu.

Natal MEC for Transport Willies Mchunu. told a crowd gathered at the Himeville soccer field for an Integrated Development Plan feedback meeting that they intend to reach Sani Top by 2018. The second phase of this project, which covers 18 km, has just started. Either the Tour operators that take on average 25 000 tourists up the Sani Pass are going to have many more years of business with the challenge to drivers of 14 hairpin bends on gravel or the first phase was completed in five and a half years to conserve energy for the uphill climb.

The Final Environmental Impact Assessment Report (Final EIAR) for the proposed Sani Pass (P318) Phase 2 project is currently being submitted to the National Department of Environmental Affairs (DEA) for review and decision making.

An electronic version of the Final EIAR is also available on http://projects.gibb.co.za.

The Final EIAR is also available at each of the following venues for public viewing:

Underberg Library; Kwa Sani Municipal Offices;

• Southern Drakensberg Tourist and Accommodation Centre;• GIBB office (Durban).