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We travelled via van Zylsrus in May this year. More of the road has been sort-of tarred than the map shows, but the stretch from van Zylsrus to Askham is still pretty rough and needs to be taken slowly, even in a big 4x4 bakkie! We went that way specifically to spend the night at van Zylsrus. On exiting the KTP we took the direct tar road to Upington - it is a fast, easy road, with quite stunning views.

As regards visiting the meerkats - I don't know much, but the hotel at van Zylsrus offers tours for people staying at the hotel. We were not there long enough to tke this up.

Enjoy the trip!

It seems that "Good roads" to Upington from Gauteng are scarce. We normally travel to Wolmaransstad and then via Schweizer-Reneke to Vryburg and Upington - last time was June 2009 and the road was fair - some potholes and road works. Friends of ours report that the road from Wolmaransstad to about 30kms other side of Schweizer-Reneke has deteriorated quite a bit since then. We are leaving on 5 Sept. (towing a heavy off-road trailer) and will just have to leave home a bit earlier and travel a bit slower - as usual overnighting at Spitzkop just outside Upington.

In May this year we travelled all the way from Diepsloot to Kuruman (where we turned off for van Zylsrus) on the N14. Not a great road - road works, potholes, slow bits, etc.

Coming back from Upington we took the N14 until the R507 Delareyville-Klerksdorp road. It is well-used with a few potholes but quicker than the other route. We then joined up with the N12 and continued to join up with the N1 south of Johannesburg. For us, living north of Johannesburg, it was maybe a bit longer but was a preferable route.

There don't seem to be any "good" roads going Jhb-Upington, though!!

Just returned from the KTP. Sticked to the N14 all the way down from Pta to Upington, and then the R360 to Twee Rivieren. Road in an excellent condition 90% of the way. Just some roadworks with stop/go control around Delareyville (we had to stop at about 3 of them with an average waiting time of about 8 minutes).

Coming back to Gauteng, we took the N14 to Delareyville and the R507 from there to Klerkdorp and then the N12. The R507 is in a good condition most of the way but there are some potholes. The N12 is VERY busy in comparison with the N14, and we averaged 70-80km/hr because of all the trucks and few opportunities to pass them - I think I prefer the roadworks on the N14.

We are now leaving on Friday 3 Sept. for KTP - will again use the Wolmaransstad/Schweizer-Reyneke road and will report back on its condition when we return, should anyone be interested.
Any other forumites going at that time?
P

check this out PNF

We went from Johannesburg to Kgalagadi and back in the middle of August, took the N12 to Wolmaransstad. Quite slow going due to heavy traffic on the road between Jhb and Klerksdorp. From Wolmaransstad, the road was in very bad condition, in places it was better to drive next to the tar to avoid the worst of the potholes. Between Schweizer Reneke and Vryburg is a bit of bad road, and then it's ok. West of Vryburg there are 3 stop-starts, waiting time between 10 - 20minutes. After that the road is clear and in good condition right to Twee Rivieren.

I will be driving from JHB to KTP on Saturday, leaving in the early hours of the morning. Is there any advice from travellers that have used either the N14 or N12 to get there? It appears as though there are quite a few stop and go's and poor road conditions from Gauteng to the North West provicial boundary on the N14. The N12 seems longer and has a stretch of some 132km on the R507, but overall the N12 sounds in better condition. Has anyone travelled that route?

Hi sgalloway,

Because of the road works, I drive N1 south, join the N12 and stay on the N12 until Wolmaranstad. From there I go via Schweizer-Reneke to Vryburg and join onto the N14 there. From Vryburg all the way to Upington and up to KTP.

This way you miss most stop-'n-go's.

Hi there! We have just come back from a week in the KTP. We travelled on the N14 and can report as follows:

There is a detour between Krugersdorp and Ventersdorp. Thereafter, there are quite a few stop and gos all the way to Kuruman. The delays were not too long, but just so that you are aware of them.

Enjoy your visit!

Rgds

Thanks

@Switcback, so the road from Wolmaransstad to Vryburg is not too bad then? I would assume better than the roadworks, detours, stop n gos and potholes along the N14.

Yip, that road is ok. I think it was a 100 km/h road - but that is a million times better than the stop-'n-go's.

Hi

We live in the south of Jhb and returned from KTP a month ago. We took the N12 to Potch and then went thru to Ventersdorp and picked up the N14 thru to Vryburg. The road was in good condition and we went thru 3 stop/goes, but only had a max wait of 5 minutes. The road from Vryburg to Kuruman was full of roadworks and 3 stop/goes. The problem on this section was the number of heavy trucks carrying ore from the mines around Kuruman, we counted over 90 trucks coming in the opposite direction between Vryburg and Kuruman, and in places the road is very narrow with the trucks breaking up the edges of the road. Between Kuruman and Upington 5 stop/goes goes but very light traffic and very few trucks. The road from Upington to KTP was very good tar all the way to KTP

Most of the trucks took the road from Vryburg to Wolmaranstad so our choice was the very quite N14 to Ventersdorp with the road in good to very good condition.

The owner of the B&B we used in Kuruman said she had counted up to 150 trucks on her trips to Vryburg.

The stop/goes added about 30 minutes to the overall travel time.

Enjoy your trip

Jim

Hi
Well be going to KTP next week Friday, we use to do the Pta- Swartruggens - Mafikeng( detour in town )-Vryburg - Kuruman - Upington. There were stop and goes on the Vryburg, Kuruman road and the Kathu- Olifantshoek road as well as abnormal load trucks x2 which were impossible to pass. that was in March.
in May we did OTambo - ottosdal - vryburg- Kuruman - Upington and once again stop and goes and abnormal load.
We are considering doing Pta- Kimberley N12,N8 - Upington and according to web site that indicates (saexplorer.co.za/south-africa/distance/travel_distance_calculator.asp?) it will only be 60 km longer, isn't that a better option.??
From Kimberley you go via Groblershoop Upington.N8
Has any body done that route and how are the road conditions.
Thanks

My folks are in Kimberley and travell to Upington regularly, that road is ok, notperfect though. The N8 runs between Kimberley and Bloemfontein, from Kimberley you take the R64 which later joins the N10 to Upington.

Aren't there road works as well between Bloemhof and Warrenton on the N12? The last time I drove that road there was, but that was a while ago. The way I drive to Kimberley is: N1 sout and turn off on the R59 to Parys. From there go to Vredefort - Viljoenskroon - Bothaville - Hoopstad - Hetzogville. From Hertzogville I take a gravel road route (S87) to Boshof and from there I catch the R64 to Kimberley which you can continiue on to Upington.