Itinerary

1. Geology Road Tour

   • 07:30 am - Meet your South African guide at and depart from either Cape Town or Stellenbosch.

   • Travel to the town of Paarl to visit the Granite outcrops and boulders at the Paarl Mountain Reserve with your South African guide.

   • Travel towards the town of Wellington to enjoy an amazing trip up and along the historic Bainskloof Pass. As you drive up the pass, initially travel through weathered Granite exposures. After a couple of kilometres, enter rocks and soils of the overlying Malmesbury Shales.

   • Continue the tour, following the pass along the Witrivier as it cuts through the spectacular Limietberge and Slanghoekberge. These mountains are part of the Table Mountain Group that overlies the Malmesbury Group and/or Cape Granite.

   • From Bainskloof Pass, travel on to the town of Ceres through Mitchell's Pass. Have a few stops to investigate the exposed geology along the way.

   • Travel through the town of Ceres and on the historic Gydo Pass, to explore the fantastic exposures of the Rietvlei Formation of the Nardouw Subgroup, Table Mountain Group, as well as the Bokkeveld Group.

   • 12:30 - Lunch (Either picnic lunch in the Gydo Pass, or lunch stop in Ceres).

   • 13:30 - Travel back to Paarl via Worcester and to the Du Toitskloof Pass. The route through Du Toitskloof Pass offers more fantastic views and exposures of the Table Mountain Group with its high mountain peaks and steep ravines. Exiting the pass, move past the town of Paarl and turn east to the town of Franschhoek and the Franschhoek Pass. 

   • Up along the pass, briefly stop at another exposure of the Malmesbury Shales that underlies the towering Table Mountain group of the Franschhoek mountains. At the top of the pass and at the entrance to the Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve, have a quick coffee break.

   • Following the Franschhoek Pass, stop at another two interesting geo sites. The first stop is at an excellent viewpoint of the unique Pakhuis tillite and the famous overlying fossiliferous Cederberg Shale.

   • By 16:30, head to the town of Grabouw and follow the N2 back to Stellenbosch or Cape Town.

   • On route, travel past the famous Theewaterskloof Dam to have a quick stop, to explore its history and the surrounding area's geological setting.

   • Move to the town of Grabouw through the Viljoen's Pass and back on the N2 to Cape Town or Stellenbosch.