Pretoria to Cape Town - Road Works

[oxydog]

We're leaving for CT on Friday and I was hoping to avoid some of the roadworks if at all possible. Any suggestions?

[GI Jane]

Sjoe... good luck with that... Have driven CT/ Jhb and back a few times this year and the roadworks are hideous... don't know if they are going to stop over the festive season... but the stop goes were almost continuous... From Joburg to colesburg there were quite a few.. I have been told by someone that tried Jhb, Klerksdorop, Kimberley that they are even worse on that road... so would suggest you stick to Jhb Bloemfontein, because at least there are quite a few areas that have dual lane... This last trip back from Jhb, I turned off to the PE road at Colesberg thinking I would miss the roadworks between Colesburg and Beaufort West. There were some roadworks immediately after Colesberg, for a short while, but the road is single lane all the way... It is longer but you avoid most of the heavy trucks on the N1... one of the biggest issues on the N1 is the trillions of heavy trucks on the road... and they drive in convoys which is a mission for overtaking... and lots and lots of speed traps.. if you have cruise control use that or else you will be using your bonus for speeding fines...

The alternate road is picturesque and there are some great little towns on the way... if you are not in a hurry to reach CTown you can stop over, we did at Willowmore... the route is Colesburg, noupoort, Middelburg, graaf reinet, aberdeen, willowmore, uniondale then George... and yes there are roadworks just after mosselbay on the N2 as well...

Don't know if any of this is any good to you... alternative to fly of course...

[Family_Dog]

I have been told by someone that tried Jhb, Klerksdorop, Kimberley that they are even worse on that road...

Hmmm... I was told the opposite. I believe there are Stop/Gos between Bloemhof & Christiana - cannot vouch further South than that, but from then on all the way to Klerksdorp - Potch is fine, and there are (were?) Stop/Gos between Potch and Carletonville 4-way stop. I travelled that road a week ago but detoured that section (tar road all the way, ±10km longer) so I cannot vouch for that.

Interestingly, a Disco 4 that was in front of me remained on the N12 as I took the detour via Fochville, and when I rejoined the N12 just before Potch, he overtook me again, so I guess there must have been a 10-15 minute delay at the Stop & Go on the N12.


Anyway, a cuppa coffee or whatever will await anyone passing thru' Klerkies, just shout! :)


-F_D

[oxydog]

OK, thanks everyone for the advice. After much debate, we decided to stick to the N1, and what a good move that turned out to be! Perhaps it was because of the long weekend, but we had NO stop/go's, just a little bit of roadworks near Ventersburg and apparent roadworks near Three Sisters (with no-one to be seen), and that's it! 10 hours to the minute from Pretoria to Beaufort West, with very little traffic on Friday. Even less traffic on Saturday from BW to CT, with lovely weather.

Oh yes, I can highly recommend a stay-over at the Karoo National Park in Beaufort West - just as one would expect from the National Parks Board. And the rain in the Karoo was something special!

Now for a couple of days in Cape Town, 30 C today!

[oxydog]

OK, so we had a FANTASTIC holiday down in the Western Cape (Cape Town and Riebeeck West).

Our trip summary:

14 Dec: Pretoria to Beaufort West
• No road works, no stop/go's, only slowly through Ventersburg.
• Karoo National Park = Fantastic camping facilities

15 Dec: Beaufort West to Cape Town
• No road works, no stop/go's, some slight bumps 60km/h after Three Sisters.
• Matjiesfontein highly recommended - lots of character!

24 Dec: Cape Town to Riebeeck West via N7 and a couple of fermented grape tasting stops
• Beautiful scenery, no bad roads or road works.

28 Dec: Riebeeck West to Springfontein via Ceres, N1 and a quick visit to Gariep dam
• Road quiet all the way to the N1, and even after that not too bad at all. Again no road works, no stop/go's.
• Overnight at Boschrand guest farm near Springfontein is brilliant value for money - and nice farm roads for a quick mountain bike ride.

29 Dec: Springfontein to Pretoria
• Road a little busier with trucks here and there, but nothing much.
• Pity about the Valies becoming more and more frequent as you near Gauteng, what with their impatient driving style and all - dangerous overtakes etc.

Thanks for the feedback beforehand, I guess we got really lucky with the road works, which I am very grateful for.

I hope all of you guys staying down there appreciate the privilege of staying amidst such beauty! A "Weskus" trip is definitely on the cards - made a short trip to Jacobsbaai one day - marvellous.

As for the 'Lux, well, I'll probably never have the same compassion for the Vigo as I do for the SFA, but man is it a pleasure on long trips! Feels like it cuts the driving time in half!

[GI Jane]

Jarus so glad to hear you did not have to endure the road works I had on my 3 trips to and from Gauteng last year.... And as for the trucks... well it was holiday season so everybody had probably stocked up before hand... Must say I do appreciate living in this most beautiful part of the world, and glad you enjoyed your time in our part of the woods. West coast definitely worth a visit, both in and out of flower season.. actually I prefer out of season (less tourists), that area does not need to have flowers to be awesome...

[Family_Dog]

Too late for your trip now, but a mate of mine from another forum travelled from Roodepoort to CT along the N12 a couple of weeks ago (Dec 2012) and I asked him his opinion of the road:

"@F_D
The N12 was a real pleasure. I put the car on cruise control and very seldom had to take it off again. In comparison to all the trucks on the N1 it was great. I still have to confirm again, but the distance is not a real issue, and no toll roads."


-F_D