Road to Sentinel Car Park

Hi Gerrit - we used the road in Feb, I wouldn't take a polo up there, we used transport organised with the Hotel, and they struggled to get through one section on their Toyota condor, we all got our the condor and waited at the top for him to get through after trying once or twice with us in the condor and then we all got back in again.

I would say you need a 4x4 to get up there comfortably, but in saying this we have historically seen normal cars in the car park so in theory it is possible, but if we went again we would organise the transport again.

Gerrit,

We went up that road in mid Dec 2018, with a Ford Ecosport and I got it up the 'road' due to having done a fair bit of 4x4-ing before, but I wouldn't like to do it again with that car! A Polo doesn't have good ground clearance, and if you don't choose your line carefully you will damage the underside. Normally, on lower sedans you hit the sump at the front (engine oil could then leak out) or more commonly you rip the silencer off at the back.

Rather go for something with higher ground clearance, there is less chance of damaging something. 

It's now June 2019.  Sections of the road from the Witsieshoek Mountain Lodge are incredibly bad.  I certainly would not want to take my front - wheel drive car on the road.  There is a shuttle service (R150pp) from the lodge. 

Went up to the car park the evening of 14 June 2018 .....there is one section of about 150-200 m that is particularly bad took a pic from the drivers seat .....drove a Touareg up and took it slow coming back to the hotel side that was a fairly steep climb with huge rocky surface , wouldn't take a vehicle with low ground clearance up there.....

I was there about 2 weeks ago. I was glad to be driving a bakkie with good clearance. There was a Ford Focus at the upper parking lot so it is possible in a normal car, especially a rental

Hi, has anyone driven along this recently. I've heard we'd need a 4x4 with low range to get to the car park? I was last there 3 years ago. Needed a high clearance vehicle at the time. We'll be in a 4x2 Ranger and AWD soft roader. Any feedback would be great.

The last time I drove it was in April this year. It definitely requires a high clearance vehicle. In wet weather you will need 4wd and in dry weather you may still need 4wd. I'd recommend 4x4. 

When we went, I drove up and my wife drove down after dropping me off. On the way up I used 4L once or twice just to negotiate some of the middelmannetjie boulders more slowly. When my wife drove down I just told her to keep it in low the whole way and take it slow as she was very nervous. Apparently it took her over an hour to do the few km's of dirt  but she was super paranoid. I suppose you can get up there in a 2wd drive with high clearance but at the risk of damaging the undercarriage if not careful, the main reason for this being that a few sections require a slower more careful approach.

It's strange because the bad section of dirt are very bad, then there are good smooth gravel sections...and then of course beautiful brick pavers. The mind boggles at what the decision makers for Sentinal car park had in mind. They've built a hugely expensive and generic multi million rand structure to the replace the authentic characterful stone one and furnished it with 2 toilets that are mostly not flushing and stuffed with rubbish. Not my favourite place and seems to be set up purely to extort tourists through a series of payments that seemingly are not directed to any conservation effort. I digress though. 4wd ideal with low range recommended, possible in 2wd with diff lock and careful driving.

Yes, I have been on the road recently, several times, and it is probably in the worst condition it has ever been in. The bad places are the steep gradients, where rainfall erosion, and vehicle damage to the road are the problem. The flatter sections are generally quite good in comparison. No maintenance whatsoever is being done, and one can't help feeling that Witsieshoek are to blame, and are putting their own financial interests ahead of common sense, because they make money with their 4 x 4 shuttle taking passengers from the lodge to the Sentinel carpark and back.

A 4 x 4 is good, but not essential, and low range is not necessary. I could do the road in my X trail, 4 x 2, in dry conditions, but probably wouldn't want to put the car through that again. Then I also did it several times in a Ford Ranger, sometimes in two wheel drive, other times in four wheel drive (high range), but all on a relatively dry road. A high clearance vehicle is essential. I would say in wet conditions 4 x 4 will probably be essential, and 4 x 4 with diff lock better.

 My friend went up last week in his Ford Ranger (2 x 4), without too much "excitement". 

Hi, wonder if anyone got the latest info on the drive to Sentinel car park? I'm planning to drive there around mid May to camp a night up at the falls.

I'm coming from overseas and considering to rent a Volkswagen Tiguan or similar SUV to drive up. Weather forecast seems fine but if this is not recommended then I might just opt for a cheaper car rental and take the shuttle. My only concern with the shuttle is the timing as we don't want to waste time waiting for it there and back. Would appreciate any advise. Thank you!