N3 MADNESS last night!

Z

zululami

Banned
Joined
Feb 11, 2011
Messages
3,026
Reaction score
30
Location
Pub Near You
My SO and I (and our daughter) decided to drive to Durban on Thursday morning to spend the long weekend with mom and siblings in KwaMashu township. We love road trips because we get time to talk and connect. Awesome weekend!

But yesterday was something else, coming back from Durban. We left KwaMashu at 11:50 and arrived in centurion at 23:45! Traffic backlogs, especially approaching the Wilge plaza. A 5 hour trip turned into a looooooooooong nightmare!

Anyone who was also caught up in the madness?
 
zululami said:
My SO and I (and our daughter) decided to drive to Durban on Thursday morning to spend the long weekend with mom and siblings in KwaMashu township. We love road trips because we get time to talk and connect. Awesome weekend!

But yesterday was something else, coming back from Durban. We left KwaMashu at 11:50 and arrived in centurion at 23:45! Traffic backlogs, especially approaching the Wilge plaza. A 5 hour trip turned into a looooooooooong nightmare!

Anyone who was also caught up in the madness?
Click to expand...

Yoh, I heard there was a massive accident by Wilge plaza.

I, too, was in durban this weekend but I decided to leave around 7am yesterday to avoid what you've just described. I reached JHB at 1:30.
 
zululami said:
My SO and I (and our daughter) decided to drive to Durban on Thursday morning to spend the long weekend with mom and siblings in KwaMashu township. We love road trips because we get time to talk and connect. Awesome weekend!

But yesterday was something else, coming back from Durban. We left KwaMashu at 11:50 and arrived in centurion at 23:45! Traffic backlogs, especially approaching the Wilge plaza. A 5 hour trip turned into a looooooooooong nightmare!

Anyone who was also caught up in the madness?
Click to expand...

Apparently, quite a few people ;)


Driving that route over school holidays = madness...
 
We left the Shell Ultra City near Harrismith at exactly 10am (the one just before the Caltex garages), I was home at 2pm. That's with break stops for the ladies and then dropping off passengers and luggage in Kempton Park.

Zoomed through Wilge and De Hoek, not even waiting for 1 car in a queue, so many toll gates to choose from, you left too late.
 
supersunbird said:
We left the Shell Ultra City near Harrismith at exactly 10am (the one just before the Caltex garages), I was home at 2pm. That's with break stops for the ladies and then dropping off passengers and luggage in Kempton Park.

Zoomed through Wilge and De Hoek, not even waiting for 1 car in a queue, so many toll gates to choose from, you left too late.
Click to expand...

I also figured I left too late - usually if I am travelling alone I leave much earlier. Travelling with the ladies cost me :o ... I will not do it again!
 
supersunbird said:
We left the Shell Ultra City near Harrismith at exactly 10am (the one just before the Caltex garages), I was home at 2pm. That's with break stops for the ladies and then dropping off passengers and luggage in Kempton Park.

Zoomed through Wilge and De Hoek, not even waiting for 1 car in a queue, so many toll gates to choose from, you left too late.
Click to expand...

Yep. Same here.

Left about the same time from the 1 Stop just down the road from the Caltex, got home around the same time.
 
zululami said:
I also figured I left too late - usually if I am travelling alone I leave much earlier. Travelling with the ladies cost me :eek: ... I will not do it again!
Click to expand...

Tell me about it, they like sleeping late and then take soooooo long to get ready in the mornings.

Luckily our accomodations water supply dried up the late afternoon before, so the dishes were dirty (so we couldn't do breakfast at the chalet, stopped the the Ultra City for breakfast) and no showers to be had. Or else I would have left at 10am and joined the N3 about 10:30 at Harrismith.

I think I rode along with the first wave of cars coming up from Durban, they probably left around 7 in the morning. Not much speeding but most going around 130 to 140, the speeders were the ones with custom plates mostly and those with no plates.
 
Last edited:
Friend of a friend was killed in the accident at Villiers :(
 
Yesterday was the first time I left early. Left at 6.30. In jhb 12.30 with 1 stop.
 
Sinbad said:
Friend of a friend was killed in the accident at Villiers :(
Click to expand...

My condolences - I heard that there was a collisions that claimed 3 lives. I think the clearing of that scene took longer and contributed to the backlog. May their souls rest in Peace
 
Last time I travelled over Easter weekend was in 1978.

Then it took me 6 hours to get from Umkomaas to PMB ( 110 km) - never again! :p
 
supersunbird said:
Tell me about it, they like sleeping late and then take soooooo long to get ready in the mornings.

Luckily our accomodations water supply dried up the late afternoon before, so the dishes were dirty (so we couldn't do breakfast at the chalet, stopped the the Untra City for breakfast) and no showers to be had. Or else I would have left at 10am and joined the N3 about 10:30 at Harrismith.

I think I rode along with the first wave of cars coming up from Durban, they probably left around 7 in the monrrng. Not much speeding but most going aroudn 130 to 140, the speeders were the ones with custom plates mostly and those with no plates,.
Click to expand...

Most likely and Yes, I agree, most were travelling around 130/140.
 
Sinbad said:
Friend of a friend was killed in the accident at Villiers :(
Click to expand...

Condolences to family of those killed and the injured too.

I find that most people read the traffic on the way up while I was driving, but you always get those idiots that somehow doesn't see the upcoming truck in the slow lane thats been visible for 100s if not 1000s of meters and at the last minute wants to urgently change lanes...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X