Franschhoek Pass

Know What's around the corner of South Africa's Best Roads

From the wild and magnificent to the nostalgic and picturesque, Avis Rent a Car has announced the launch of its South Africa’s Best Roads campaign. Following the success of the Avis Best Roads campaign launched globally, Avis South Africa has adapted the concept for the South African consumer.

With some of the most unrivaled scenery, traveling by road is one of the best ways for local drivers to experience what the country has to offer. There are a plethora of kilometers of open roads within the country and some of these provide incredible views of the surrounding landscape.

Rainer Gottschick, Chief Executive of Avis southern Africa says, “A great road challenges everyday notions, replacing the dull grind of everyday commuting with the epic turns and landscape that adjust our perception of the country. But most of all, it elicits a thrill. This notion has paved way to finding the country’s most beautiful roads to further prove that sometimes the journey is much more exciting than the destination.”

The Avis South Africa Best Roads campaign encompasses the identification of the country’s top 10 roads through a 10-part YouTube series presented by TV personality, Sasha Martinengo. While driving each route at the wheel of an Avis-supplied vehicle and narrating key information, Martinengo will appraise each road highlighting its beauty, elevation, number of corners, history and heritage of the road and the driving experience.

Avis will evaluate the 10 roads using a scientific approach aptly termed, Avis Driving Ratio (ADR), which is a scientific formula, calculated by the radius of bends, acceleration and the length of straits. Together with the review-based scoring system done by Martinengo, it will ultimately culminate in the announcement of South Africa’s Best Driving Road.

“Driving an Avis Best Road, is more than getting from point A to point B. It’s about an experience, the journey. Our vision has always been to exceed customers' expectations at every interface. We have maintained the position of South Africa's leading car rental company through our ongoing commitment to give our customers a memorable and happy experience,” continues Gottschick.

Avis has confirmed that the top 10 best roads include the Chapman’s Peak and Franschoek Pass in the Western Cape; Long Tom Pass and Robber’s Pass in Mpumalanga; Magoebaskloof Pass in Limpopo; Spektakel Pass in the Northern Cape; Naude’s Nek in the Eastern Cape; Golden Gate Pass in the Free State, the Sani Pass in Kwa-Zulu Natal and Johannesburg Ring Road rounding off the list.

“We are excited to kick start this campaign and we look forward to bringing rich content that is fueled with meaningful aspects for our customers. The roads we travel on are often taken for granted, but they shouldn’t be. There is not one specific thing that makes a road wonderful, instead it’s all of the unique qualities our roads possesses wrapped up into one wondrous ride,” concludes Gottschick.

Follow the campaign on Avis’ Facebook, Twitter and Instagram pages using the hashtag #SABestRoads

Franschhoek Pass

The Franschhoek Pass, also known as Lambrechts Road, follows the path of least resistance along the Middagskransberg, tracing the northern edge of the Franschhoek Mountains between the Wemmershoek Mountains and the Franschhoek Valley.

It is one of the more heart-stopping of the passes for views and vistas of the surrounding valleys, gorges and mountains, particularly the drop down to the Franschhoek River from the summit. The entrance to the Mont Rochelle Nature Reserve is located on this pass.

Franschhoek Pass is also called Lambrechts Road, though – more poetically – a hundred and fifty years ago it was known as Olifantshoek (“Elephants Corner’) after the now mythical herds of elephant which once roamed these valleys and mountains. This long, steep and dramatic pass with its variety of scenery was South Africa’s first properly engineered road. Popular attractions along this pass include the Franschhoek Motor Museum located at the beautiful L’Ormarins wine estate, the renowned Vrede en Lust Winery, nestled at the foothills of the Simonsberg Mountains as well as the Huguenot Memorial Museum which is set at the end of the main street through Franschhoek.