Originally called Grey's Pass (named after Sir George Grey, Governor of the Cape Colony from 1854 to 1859) it was built by Thomas Bain and opened in 1858. The modern pass was opened in 1958 called Piekenierskloof Pass (apparently after a contingent of pikemen who crossed the mountains here in 1675 in pursuit of a band of Khoi, whom they did not catch of course). It is about 150km north of Cape Town on the road to Namibia.