The Huguenot Tunnel is a toll tunnel near Cape Town, South Africa. It extends the N1 national road through the Du Toitskloof mountains that separate Paarl from Worcester, providing a route that is safer, faster (between 15 and 26 minutes) and shorter (by 11 km) than the old Du Toitskloof Pass travelling over the mountain.
An idea for a tunnel through the Du Toitskloof Mountains was conceived in the 1930s but was put on hold due to the outbreak of World War II. The idea developed into a pass over the mountains, the Du Toitskloof pass, using the labour of Italian prisoners of war between 1942 and 1945 and continued with ordinary labour until its completion in 1948. Geological surveys and design started in 1973, and excavation followed in 1984, tunneling from both ends using drilling and blasting.
There were two phases to the tunneling, the first a pilot tunnel to examine the routes geographical obstacles. The second phase bored a 5 m tunnel through granite rock as well as the construction of portals, drainage and ventilation tunnels. The two drilling heads met with an error of only 3 mm over its entire 3.9 km length. The tunnel was finally opened on 18 March 1988.

Hello there Droffarc. Good day and thank you for sharing these information and this wonderful aerial video that you have filmed. Great work and keep flying. .

DJI Stephen Posted at 5-25 01:02
Hello there Droffarc. Good day and thank you for sharing these information and this wonderful aerial video that you have filmed. Great work and keep flying.  .

Thank you Stephen

Very cool footage Droffarc.    Background music was very lively.  That was quite the engineering feat to bore through that mountain with only a 3mm error.  I didn't know that you drove on the wrong side of the road.  

Nice work. Love the viaduct. And the tunnel looks like it might be a long one. Almost 4Kms I read in your preamble.

DowntownRDB Posted at 5-25 02:40
Very cool footage Droffarc.    Background music was very lively.  That was quite the engineering feat to bore through that mountain with only a 3mm error.  I didn't know that you drove on the wrong side of the road.

Njet!  we keep left - it is the right thing to do, right?

Blériot53 Posted at 5-25 03:37
Nice work. Love the viaduct. And the tunnel looks like it might be a long one. Almost 4Kms I read in your preamble.

must be long - or all those truck have been swallowed by a dragon

Droffarc Posted at 5-25 04:13
must be long - or all those truck have been swallowed by a dragon

Do they ever emerge from the far end?

Interesting info: an amazing engineering feat.

Droffarc Posted at 5-25 04:12
Njet!  we keep left - it is the right thing to do, right?

True, depending on the country you are motoring in I suppose.

Have a great day Droffarc.

Blériot53 Posted at 5-25 04:20
Do they ever emerge from the far end?

There is a far end?

Depp Posted at 5-25 04:23
Interesting info: an amazing engineering feat.

Must have been a German involved somewhere

Droffarc Posted at 5-25 06:21
There is a far end?

Maybe not? Have you ever tried driving/riding through it?  

Droffarc Posted at 5-25 06:23
Must have been a German involved somewhere

I heard the Swiss were great at tunnel digging...

Depp Posted at 5-25 07:24
I heard the Swiss were great at tunnel digging...

And making army knives - possibly as tunneling tools, which may have some connection to bank accounts?

Blériot53 Posted at 5-25 06:28
Maybe not? Have you ever tried driving/riding through it?

All too often - I believe there may be a dragon named Smaug in there! When I was there last the ventilation was not good and there was no GPS signal, but fortunatly there are no turn-offs.

Droffarc Posted at 5-25 11:26
All too often - I believe there may be a dragon named Smaug in there! When I was there last the ventilation was not good and there was no GPS signal, but fortunatly there are no turn-offs.

Difficult to get lost then

Droffarc Posted at 5-25 01:59
Thank you Stephen

Hi there Droffarc. Thank you for the reply and you are very much welcome. Have a safe and a happy flying always. .

Now that is one superb bridge.  

Droffarc Posted at 5-25 11:22
And making army knives - possibly as tunneling tools, which may have some connection to bank accounts?

DAFlys Posted at 5-25 23:16
Now that is one superb bridge.

It carries a LOT of traffic

Great footage!

Fred Fred Fred Posted at 5-26 06:32
Great footage!

Thank you Fred x3

Droffarc Posted at 5-26 03:45
It carries a LOT of traffic

I can imagine,

They had on the news today that the crocodile's in South Africa are loosing their teeth,   had you heard that?

DAFlys Posted at 5-26 22:46
I can imagine,

They had on the news today that the crocodile's in South Africa are loosing their teeth,   had you heard that?

The suckers! Also, nothing sucks like a toothless canary

"Unlike people, crocodiles do not clean their teeth to slow down wear and tear. Instead, they get rid of them and replace them with new copies. Having one of the most powerful bites in the animal kingdom, crocodiles must be able to bite hard to eat their food such as turtles, wildebeest and other large prey.
Depending on the species of crocodile, they can have 60 to 110 teeth. During their lifetime, a crocodile may replace 8,000 teeth."

Droffarc Posted at 5-27 02:13
The suckers! Also, nothing sucks like a toothless canary

"Unlike people, crocodiles do not clean their teeth to slow down wear and tear. Instead, they get rid of them and replace them with new copies. Having one of the most powerful bites in the animal kingdom, crocodiles must be able to bite hard to eat their food such as turtles, wildebeest and other large prey.

Seems its lead poisoning is the cause -

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/a ... angling-is-to-blame

DAFlys Posted at 5-28 01:36
Seems its lead poisoning is the cause -

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-25/crocodiles-are-losing-their-teeth-and-angling-is-to-blame

I have seen the enemy, and the enemy is us.

DAFlys Posted at 5-28 01:36
Seems its lead poisoning is the cause -

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-05-25/crocodiles-are-losing-their-teeth-and-angling-is-to-blame

That could be because it has lost it's teeth?



That is far for me, never been there, prefer the sharky chaps

Droffarc Posted at 5-29 05:30
I have seen the enemy, and the enemy is us.

Yes,   very true Droffarc.

Very nice video!

Montfrooij Posted at 5-31 00:48
Very nice video!

I Thank you Peter

Droffarc Posted at 5-31 12:45
I Thank you Peter

You're welcome!

Great cinematic

Dominik__W Posted at 7-13 08:10
Great cinematic

I thank you for your kind words Dominik

Droffarc Posted at 7-14 06:44
I thank you for your kind words Dominik

You're welcome