Driving to Richards Bay from JHB

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Syzygy78

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Hi All =D

I am making a road trip to Richards Bay from JHB. What is the safest and most leisurely route to take?

I am thinking of driving straight to Dbn and head north from there to Richards Bay along the coast. Is this the best route?

I have not been to Richards Bay via Pongola, how are the roads?

Thanks in advance ^^

Syzygy
 
Last time I travelled via the Pongola route, there were loads of road works. Our trip ended up taking 12 hours instead of 5.
 
That Pongola-Piet Retief road is the problem - but check. I am pretty sure somebody mentioned recently that it is now up and running - no more stop-n-go sections. Guys who are into their diving will know - it is the sodwana road from Joburg. I love it myself, despite the delays. That Fever Tree forest, the elephants on the river, the sweet green valleys and the Wagon Wheel in Piet Retief. What a pleasure.
 
GreGorGy said:
That Pongola-Piet Retief road is the problem - but check. I am pretty sure somebody mentioned recently that it is now up and running - no more stop-n-go sections. Guys who are into their diving will know - it is the sodwana road from Joburg. I love it myself, despite the delays. That Fever Tree forest, the elephants on the river, the sweet green valleys and the Wagon Wheel in Piet Retief. What a pleasure.
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No more road works, altough it can get a bit hectic with trucks. But it is a very nice road, far more interesting than the N3
 
Thanks a lot for the feedback. I am tending towards taking the Pongola route. Just uncertain about some of the roadworks, hopefully everything has been completed
 
Forgot - the Leandra / Ermelo road was also pretty bad last time I was on that stretch. Dunno about now but still worth that drive that awaits from Piet to RB.
 
1 year ago i drove JHB -> RB on the pongola route, no problems. sorry cant give u more up to date details.
 
poffle said:
1 year ago i drove JHB -> RB on the pongola route, no problems. sorry cant give u more up to date details.
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My drive was about 3 years ago so yours is newer and a better experience. So the road seems great. Whooohoooo for OP.
 
Have done 3 trips in 3 months and the roads are perfect, not a pothole in sight. You won't regret going Pongola way.
 
Thanks a lot for all the awesome replies. I will take the Pongola route and report back =D
 
Used to work in RB, commuted to Jhb every second weekend, Safest quickest route is down to Dbn then N3
 
I decided to take the toll road. There and back to Richards Bay is +- R900.00. The roads are pretty clear and safe to use at night
 
Syzygy78 said:
I decided to take the toll road. There and back to Richards Bay is +- R900.00. The roads are pretty clear and safe to use at night
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Watch out for those speed cameras - really bad is PMB to Pinetown, then after you swing onto the N3, North, watch out for all the cameras upto Gateway.

Safe trip.
 
Hello peeps, compliments of the season.

I'm going to RB tomorrow and want to here views about Pongola and the sodwana road. Would like a nice curvy road with mountain passes, my first trip using my opel so want to have a bit of fun as well :)

Hope to get a reply soon
 
ngwenyas said:
Hello peeps, compliments of the season.

I'm going to RB tomorrow and want to here views about Pongola and the sodwana road. Would like a nice curvy road with mountain passes, my first trip using my opel so want to have a bit of fun as well :)

Hope to get a reply soon
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Fun?

I really hope you mean that in the sense of views, not the sense I think you mean...
So glad I'm driving to Zeerust today and not the coast :o
 
ngwenyas said:
Hello peeps, compliments of the season.

I'm going to RB tomorrow and want to here views about Pongola and the sodwana road. Would like a nice curvy road with mountain passes, my first trip using my opel so want to have a bit of fun as well :)

Hope to get a reply soon
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Do be careful of trucks and livestock on that road. Sorry, can't tell you much about the view. The few times we used that road, I just remember the trucks and the cows.
 
TEXTILE GUY said:
Watch out for those speed cameras - really bad is PMB to Pinetown, then after you swing onto the N3, North, watch out for all the cameras upto Gateway.

Safe trip.
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Isn't the easy way to avoid speeding traps/fines just to obey the speed limits?

Drove from CT to the garden route recently, stuck to the various limits religiously, fck me if I didn't have dwis's every 10mins tail gating me wanting to pass.

Left them to mind their own business(got a few flashed lights), I don't drive in the emergency lane unless I'm in a donkey cart or an emergency vehicle is in fact behind me.

Still I'd like to smash those stupid cnuts in the jaw for driving like hooligans, same fools probably floek taxis for breaking the law yet feel entitled to break the speed limit themselves, damn fools.
 
The people between George and Knysna are impatient loons who drive like so because they know where all the traps are. I'm like, you live in holiday dorps, what's the hurry?
 
ChocolateBadger said:
The people between George and Knysna are impatient loons who drive like so because they know where all the traps are. I'm like, you live in holiday dorps, what's the hurry?
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That stretch of single lane N2 with 100km/hr limit in most bits some dropping to as low as 60, if you respect the limit you get harassed/tailgated. I let those suckers fume!! Schmucks

Anyway no one knows where all the speed traps are as the garden route traffic police are very fond of setting up hidden traps, like in the 60 zones where it's easy to be clocking over 100 if you aren't careful.

I've learnt to chill, it's actually nice to be forced to slow down and relax, speed kills and there's enough crazy drivers in Sa to not need your own excessive speed to exacerbate the situation.
 
Thanks. My GPS took me to the N3 then off ramped to the R34, beautiful road with no traffic and a few mountain passes. Thoroughly enjoyed it :)
 
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