Sani Pass, 1956
Posted: Tue Mar 02, 2010 6:33 pm
In November 2003 I posted this pic on TheSamba, after I had scanned it from a magazine article by John Lemon in some classic car magazine. It basically said that this Beetle was the first 4x2 vehicle ever to cross the Sani Pass between South Africa and Lesotho (then Basotholand), in 1956. I had always wondered about the full story behind the pic, but in the past 7 years have never heard anything more about it.
Early this morning I got a text message from a friend that there is an interesting article on an old Beetle in the 'Beeld' newspaper of today. I bought it this afternoon, and there was the full story, plus a new pic of the Beetle!
As the article was published in Afrikaans, I'll try to translate it into my best English for those 'souties' here on ACVWSA
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Early this morning I got a text message from a friend that there is an interesting article on an old Beetle in the 'Beeld' newspaper of today. I bought it this afternoon, and there was the full story, plus a new pic of the Beetle!
As the article was published in Afrikaans, I'll try to translate it into my best English for those 'souties' here on ACVWSA
-Beetle first to conquer Sani Pass in '56
by Ben van Rensburg
(translation by Pine)
It is not only an expensive Rolls-Royce that mastered the rugged mountains of the Sani Pass back in the days, as recently reported in Buite ('Buite' is weekly outdoors/lifestyle supplement to the 'Beeld' newspaper). The very first affordable everyday automobile with back-wheel drive to accomplish this feat, was a humble Volkswagen Beetle on the 1st of June, 1956, travelling from Himeville in the province of Natal to Mokhotlong, the capital of Basotholand at the time.
This was done mid-winter by Leicester (Sy) Symonds, a legendary motoring journalist, assited by the Springbok rally driver Ewold van Bergen, as well as Martin Harper and David Preiss.
Symons and his wife, Marion, used the very same Beetle later that year in the Pretoria to Lourenco Marques (today called Maputo) Rally, in which they accomplished a second overall place. The previous year, 1954, they had won the Rally with a 1952 Beetle.
It is believed that Symons read somewhere about the Sani Pass that was built over the Drakensberg mountains for mules (donkeys) to carry loads from Natal to Basotholand. At the time, only Willys Jeeps and Land-Rover vehicles were allowed on the pass.
Accompanied by an operator of a Transport Service, namely Mountain Travel Services, Symons drove to Mokhotlong with a Land-Rover, and soon realised that it would be quite a challenge to attempt to cross the pass with a VW Beetle, but he decided to proceed with his plans.
Back in Johannesburg, Symons and his three friends started preparation for the icy journey. They bolted plates below the engine to protect it against the rocky road, which was also destined to be frozen and very slippery. On the road to the summit they had to push the Beetle in certain places, and the planks that were mounted on the roof were used to cross the numerous dongas on the road.
The most difficult part was near the summit, when they struggled for 14 hours to get to the top, and it is said that they caused quite a stir in the end when they drove into Mokhotlong with an 'ordinary' car!
The District Commisionner invited the four for supper, and they slept over at his house.
The next day, they returned downhill on the same road, which was even more difficult. The door on the drivers' side was removed, and a length of rope was tied to the driver, van Bergen, to pull him out should the car started heading down the cliffs. In certain areas they struggled to keep the car on the road, clinging for dear life onto the roaps!
The Sani Pass was built in 1913 for mules, to take goods and merchandise to Mokhotong, and it was only in 1949 that four-wheel drive vehicles started using the Pass.
