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I prefer the stop-and-go's on the N14. Yes they are there, especially one stretch of road, but the wait isn't long - most only a few minutes. One long one was about 12 minutes. And most of the N14 is in a great condition. I found the heavier traffic on the N12 more of an obstacle than the stop-and-go's on the N14 - very difficult to get past slow moving trucks when there is constantly traffic from the front, which means driving at 80km/hr for loooong stretches of road! I'd rather do 120 km/hr on the N14 with a few minutes stop now and again. The stop-and-go's add less than an hour (probably about 40 minutes) to the travelling time from Gauteng to Upington.

Hi
Sorry to "hijack" this post , do one have to drive to Upington to get to KTP or can you go Straight from Kuruman to KTP and in what condition is the roads from Kuruman(if you can take this road) to KTP.(are they caravan friendly). If I have to go from Upington to KTP do I take the R306 and same quiestion is it caravan friendly

Thanks

So you want to travel from Kuruman to Van Zylsrus to KTP via the R31? From Kuruman to Van Zylsrus is not too bad, but from Van Zylsrus to the junction with the R360 is not that great. I've travelled this road last year August so it may be better, but at that stage it was definitely not caravan friendly. I travelled with my Double Cab and even I wouldn't consider travelling that road again.

From Upington to KTP you take the R360 and yes, this is a tarred road and definitely caravan friendly!

Thanks Switchback

Hi there,

I have tried and find out regarding the state of the Van Zylsrus road and everybody advised me that the road is not in a good condition and definitely not caravan friendly.

I can not comment on the caravan friendlyness but I travelled that road twice in April (return trip to KTP) and the road was in a fairly good condition. It is tarred up to 20km from Van Zylsrust (from Kuruman). I would suggest you phone Van Zylsrust Hotel (Willie is the owner and also a forumite). He will give you first hand info

We are back from our 7 night trip to KTP. From Sandton I decided to travel via the N14. We left at 3am and apart from a approx 6 stop and go's, the trip to Upington was fine. After a stop for diesel and s shopping trip in Upington, we arrived in TR about 12 hours later. Overall the roads were in pretty good condition.

On our way back, as we did not need to visit Upington, I decided to return via Vanzylsrus. It is dirt road all the way to about 20km from Vansylzrus and the way to Hotazel. We have a VW Touareg and apart from a few shortish stretches, the road was pretty good and we managed to travel between 80-90 km/h. We then travelled along the N14 to Vryburg and the decided to go via Schweitzer Reneke and Wolmaranstad onto the N12 home. The road between SR and Wolmeranstad is atrocious. the potholes in some parts are 50m long. Thankfully it is not a long stretch but it was pretty challenging. The N12 was OK but slow travelling through Klerksdorp and Potch on sa Saturday afternoon. Our trip back was about 130km shorter and we did it in 10.5 hours.

I cannot comment on the caravan friendliness as I have never towed one.

The KTP website says that the route to TR from JHB via vanzylrus is a badly corrugated gravel road. How bad is the road or should we travel via upington on the tarred road? I am driving a defender 90. Is there a big time difference between the 2 routes?
Thanks for the feedback!

See post on this topic - Kgalagadi: getting there via Vanzylsrus - Last Posted April 20.

I will always drive via Vanzylsrus with your type of vehicle. Deflate the tyres pretty good when leaving Vanzyls for Askham.

Joao,

I drove that gravel route end last year with my D/C, and yes, our vehicles can handle that road easily, but it wasn't pleasant, the fine, powdery dust got in everywhere in my canopy and trailer. I was in a hurry though, so if you take things slower you may have a better experience.

When we returned, we went back via Upington and there was no time difference really and the ride back home was much smoother. My personal view is that, you're going to a park with corrugated roads which your are going to travel on all the time, enjoy the tar while you can.

Accoring to Mapsource, via Vanzylsrus is about 150km shorter, but almost no time difference.

Joao an,

I agree with Switchback that the Van Zylsrus road will not save you any time, but might cause delays. We always take the Upington road and at 120 km/h you easily catch up on the guy doing the less pleasant but shorter ride driving at 80 km/h. Another factor is the greater chance for a flat tyre and the dust.

One can argue you will travel on the same type of road in the park why not start off earlier, but remember in the park you travel at 30 - 40 km/h resulting in less dust. Some do not but thats the reason for corrugation in the park. I still want to pursue my SO to go past VanZylsrus just to see what we missing (his twin brother stays in Hotazel), but so far its a NO.

Currently there is some roadworks on the N14, so it will be interesting to see other mites response on that section. We normally take the N12 to Klerksdorp and then to Delareyville (very bad sections on the R507) followed by Vryburg Kuruman and continue to Upington.

I did this stretch last year June so it will good to hear the latest update.

Hi Joao an
I returned from KTP on the 9th of July 2011.
I took the route Songodin mentioned. Poth , Klerksdorp , Delareyville ant then on to Vryburg , Kuruman and Upington. I left Urikaruus at 7:30 am and was home by 9pm.
The road condition is not bad. The bad sections on the R507 was mostly fixed. Much better coming back than going on the 22nd of June. Between Kuruman and Vryheid there are 2 stop and goes and between Kuruman and Upington 2 more . If I had to go back anytim soon this is the road I would use again

But whatever you do Travel safetely and enjoy the ride and the rest of te trip.

3 weeks ago some mates and I did the Fish River Canyon trail in Namibia. We drove the N14 all the way from Muldersdrift to Upington, both there and back. The road is pretty good surface wise, and the traffic wasn't too bad. The stop n goes are still in operation, but were more of a nuisance than a big delay. There is also a small detour I think about 2 hours out of Jo'burg, but I think the extra time is no more than 20 minutes or so.

Just returned from a 3 week trip to Kgalagadi and the southern part of Namibia - feedback on the road works between Kimberley and Upington:

On our way to Kgalagadi (Saturday 10 March 2012) - about 10 stop and go's of 10min each between Kimberley and Groblershoop. Another two stop and go's between Groblershoop and Upington.

On our way back (Saturday 31 March) - 3 stop and go's between Groblershoop and Kimberley and none between Upington and Groblershoop.

Will be back in the Kgalagadi very soon.

We travelled to Kgalagadi and back last week using the Van Zylsrus road. I was pleasantly surprised at the condition of the road. The first 140 km after Kuruman is tarred with a few pot holes on the last stretch. The rest is a sand/gravel road with very little corrugation at the moment. Only tricky part is a short building site with a large amount of sand. Any vehicle with a reasonable clearance should not have a problem though. There was also very little traffic on the road which made for a comfortable ride. We managed the stretch between Kuruman and Twee Rivieren in about 4.5 hours.