flyingaway2

We're planning a self-drive in SA, starting in Joburg, heading to Blyde River Canyon, down to Drakensberg, through the Wild Coast and then going all away down the Eastern Cape & Garden Route, ending in Cape Town.

I have most of the drive mapped out and have distances (in kms) between each of the major cities. What I'm uncertain of is how many kms on average we can cover in 1 day. I'm not sure what the average speed on the major highways in SA is plus I've heard there is construction everywhere. Those of you who have done self-drives, can you tell me how many kilometres is doable for us to cover in 1 day? Or should I use a guidelline like 500km (?) per day max? This will help me map out where we'll have to spend a night to break up a very long drive. Thanks!

mkhonzo

What a great way to go, glad you have the gumption and time to drive the country.

The speed limit on most highways is 120 km/h, however and since you are travellers I would suggest that you give yourselves a quota of 400 KM's a day. This will be sufficient to build in sightseeing and general exploration stops.

Some places will capture your imagination and you'll regret not adding a few extra days to "stay a little longer", so I'd encourage some free days just for this purpose.

annhig

hi, flying away,

i can only tell you of our own experiences which are limited to the Port Elizabeth -CPT section of your route, and we went the other way.

we did two long[ish] drives. the first was from Grootbos near Gansbai to Hog's Hollow, which is just past plettenberg Bay near Nature's Valley, on the garden route. It's approximately 400km and we stuck to the N2 all the way. on this section there are hardly any road works, or at least that was the case in July '07. on the other hand it's only one land each way too.

it took us about 6 hours, including about an hour's stop at Mossel Bay.

our next long leg was from Plett to paterson, which is on the N10 north of PE. this is about 300kms, and it is mostly dual carriageway on the N2, but is much busier than the other section with more roadworks. i suppose that it took us about 4 hours of driving.

you could drive from the garden route [say plett or knysna] to CPT in one day, but it would take you ALL day. there is not much to see between George and Hermanus.

good luck,

regards, ann

Gardyloo

On the freeways and 2-lane "freeways" it's easy to roll along at 100+ km/h. On the larger N and R roads it's more difficult to average much above 80 or 90 due to (a) potholes and (b) slow moving trucks and taxis that seem to attract each other, making overtaking difficult.

SA drivers have a great habit of pulling onto the hard shoulder to allow others to pass, and drivers are invariably courteous, flashing their lights in thanks as they pass. However it's easy to get lulled into this behavior, and it can be hazardous when the hard shoulder has pedestrians on it, requiring the slower-moving folk to zoom back into the main lane - the one that you're using to overtake them. A few hours of driving like that and you're ready for a rest.

From Joburg to the Blyde Canyon is 4 hours or so on pretty good roads; if by Drakensberg you mean the KZN parks (Cathedral Peak etc.) then that's a long day's drive from places like Graskop or Pilgrim's Rest.

Last year we were planning to drive from Cathedral Peak to Port St Johns on the Wild Coast in a day and were strongly advised by locals that it wasn't a one-day drive; the N2 and spur roads along the Wild Coast are evidently very twisty and sub-par, and at night there are a lot of animals and other hazards to worry about. We ended up driving up and around the top of Lesotho, and through the Karroo down to PE and Addo, overnighting en route on a farm B & B near Colesberg. So still wanting to get to the Wild Coast - next trip I suppose. Accommodations in that area are not terribly plentiful, so a good area to do some more homework.

I think 400 to 500 km a day is an okay figure. It will depend on time of year too; in Aug-Sept (when we go for better wildlife viewing around Kruger) it gets dark early and very suddenly, and I'm not too crazy about driving at night in rural areas - too many one-eyed cars and critters in the road.

flyingaway2

Thanks everyone.
So this is the itinerary we've put together for our self-drive. We know some of these distances are long, but we figure if we get out at a good time in the morning (say 7:30/8ish), we hope to reach our destination before sunset.

Day 1 - drive from Joburg to Graskop and stay overnight in Graskop
Day 2 - visit Blyde River Canyon, overnight in Graskop
Day 3 - Depart Graskop early morning and make the long drive to Winterton via Ladysmith (we know this will be about an 8 hour drive), overnight in Winterton
Day 4 - visit Cathedral Peak NR and overnight in Winterton
Day 5 - make our way down to Himeville, up the Sani Pass and back to stay overnight in Himeville
Day 6 - drive from Himeville to Cinsta (are we crazy for trying to do this in 1 day? Shell's map site shows this to be 501km, approx 7.5 hours to drive). Overnight in Cinsta
Day 7 - day & overnight in Cintsa
Day 8 - drive from Cinsta to Grahamstown (overnight in Grahamstown)
Day 9 - head to Wilderness Bay
Overnight in WB.
Day 10 - day & overnight in WB (visit Knysna, Pletterberg etc)
Day 11 - drive from WB to Cape Town for 4 nights

Questions:
1. Are any of these drives unrealistic or not suggested doing in one day?
2. I have been searching the forum for good places to stay in each city we plan to spend the night. If anybody has any recommendations, esp for the smaller towns, we would really appreciate them!
3. Would you recommend more nights in a certain spot? i.e is 1 day in the Drakensberg/Cathedral Peak too little?
4. Would you recommend any other towns/cities to stay overnight instead of places mentioned above?

Thanks!

longhorn55

We did a self-drive in South Africa this summer although we did not go to any of the places you mention. My suggestions:
1. The driving is very stressful due to potholes, pedestrians and livestock on the shoulders, and slow-moving taxibuses and trucks. Therefore, after 4 or 5 hours of driving, you may be a basketcase.
2. NEVER drive after dark.
3. The speed limits can drop to 60km/hr near towns, so watch for it. There will likely be police monitoring these stretches.
4. Plan to spend more than one day in the Drakensburg. We visited Royal Natal National Park for 2 nights/1 full day and wished we had scheduled more time there. The scenery and hiking were fabulous and we would have loved to have seen more of the Drakensburg.

annhig

hi, f'away,

i can only comment on what you have planned for the garden route bit of your trip. the time you have is very limited - one day effectively is nowhere near enough.

and if you want to see Knysna and Plett, why are you staying in Wilderness? you'll just be going back on yourselves, having driven all the way from Grahamstown the day before. [how far is that, BTW?]

With so little time, IMO you'd be better just picking one of them - wilderness, Knysna, and Plett, and spending the day there or there abouts.

regards, ann

flyingaway2

Thanks everyone for the responses. I think this time around, we're going to pass on the Wild Coast - I think we're trying to cram in too much in one trip. So now, we're thinking of either driving down from Drakensberg to Port Elizabeth (and not having to go far East) or flying from Lesotho to PE.

Has anyone done the latter? Any suggestions?