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I would advice against it
A very long drive
And the status of some of the routes arnt to great these days

Laine and I drove from Rivonia to Shimuwini in February. We left Rivonia at 10:30 and reached Shimuwini (after some serious game viewing along the way) at 17:55.

We also drove back to Sandton in one day. We left Shimuwini at 9:00, did some game viewing and exited Phalaborwa gate at 11:00, Reaching Sandton at 18:30.

We were aware of the roadworks between Tzaneen and Polokwane and thus avoided them by driving through Woodbush Forest (with some quick birding included!)

Mopani is roughly another 45mins additional drive.

We did the route very early on saturday morning. Did the n4, belfast, dullstroom, lydenburg, phala road. I was actually surprised. Almost no potholes to speak of. The worst part was from dullstroom to lydenburg. There were quite a few spots where you could see the road was starting to crumble, but we had no problem with big/dangerous potholes during whole trip. I do however see that the stretch will be a problem in not to long from now. Travelled during the night so there were almost no traffic as well. Also didnt have a single stop and go. Did the route in 5h and 30 min from the east of jhb.

Hope this doesnt confuse you even more!!

Hey Dikkes,

I think the only route you should consider is through Lydenburg, Orighstad R36, R526 and R40 route.

Hi to all,

I'll be travelling from an overnight stop in Middleburg to Satara rest camp in a couple of months (looking forward to it!) and would like to know the fastest route between the 2.

I've had a look at Google Maps for suggested routes / times but if it's anything like Aus G Maps travel times assume one can drive at the speed limit - it has no idea about road surfaces / conditions.

The 3 suggested options are N4-R40-R548-back to R40, N4 & R533 or R555, with travel times from 6 hours 12 to 19 minutes for the 3 options. Are these times about right and is any of these routes likely to be better than another?

Assuming the travel times are accurate which is the most scenic route?

Thanks for your help,

Anna

Hi wildtuinmal,

"Then we thought of going Bethal, Middelburg, Groblersdal, Marble Hall, Roedtan, Zebediela, Pietersburg(Polokwane), Louis Trichardt(Makado), R523, Punda"

We're also from Secunda and did the trip you're discussing in 2006. (Long time ago). We took the route as indicated above. We left after work and only travelled to Pietersburg where we slept over in the Protea hotel. The next day we started very early and headed for the Pafuri gate. We wanted to see as much as possible of the Northern parts of Kruger, therefore we entered right at the top. Had no issues on the road. We had night driving probably from Marble Hall onwards, but once you're on the N1, all is fine. Hope this helps. It's a long stretch to Punda from Secunda - I would do it in two days - especially with kids in the car.

Hello -
We'll be arriving late at night into OR Tambo, spending the night in an airport hotel, and then heading out early the next day for KNP. Our first camp is Berg en dal so it looks like the Malelane gate will be best.

My question is: what is the best route to get from the airport to the Malelane gate (with a stop along the way for groceries, refreshments and lunch)? There seems to be a number of different way to do this (especially getting out of Johannesburg) and I'm a bit confused!

So I'd appreciate your expert advice.

thanks much~
bustergirl

Hi Bustergirl I do hope that you have a brilliant stay.

The first bit of your trip will be the worst bit, which is getting out of the Airport. I hope someone with more experience can help you throught that bit.

I am just going to comment on a coulple of points. There are rather irritating roadworks up until Benoni, but once past those, the road is pretty easy. You will pass road constuction now and again, but never quite so bad.

The toll route is pretty straight forward, but I would suggest that you take the turning to the left after the Machadadorp Plaza. I thinks its called the Schoemanskloof pass. It misses out most of the heavy trucks and is really very pleasant and scenic.

Don't go into Nelspruit, just keep following signs to Maputo. This is a toll road, sometimes frustrating, but very pretty. After the Malalane tolls, keep going until you reach Malelane town.

The shopping centre is slightly off the main route towards the left. It is fairly well marked. Malelane is a small town, so you should have no problem finding it.

I was most impressed with their little shopping centre. You should certainly get all that you need.

I hope others can give you slightly better airport directions.

I work in the area of the Airport. The N12 around Benoni has a few roadworks and lane restrictions, but nothing too serious. The only time you'll be affected is if you travel between 16h00 and 18h00. Even then it's not THAT bad.

I would also give Nelspruit a miss. Went to KNP about two weeks ago and stopped at the SPAR in Malelane
You will find everything you need there. I do'nt know how long it's been open , but it looks brand new. There is also some very nice pictures of Duke inside the SPAR

What's best route to Lydenburg after N4... via Belfast or Machadorp on the R36?

We always go via Belfast as we find it to be more direct and the road is better. Mostly near Belfast and Lydenburg (now called Mashishing), there are sometimes potholes to look out for, but we have taken to drive it in the daytime now, and so seldom have problems.

Our latest Kruger trip in confirmed and we are now looking for the latest advice on travel routes. We (8 of us) will be arriving in Jo'burg after a 31 hour flight with 2 layovers (Lufthansa decided to cancel a flight adding 8 hours to our schedule). We are scheduled to land at 0830 on 22/11. I figure that by the time we clear immigration and get the rental cars it will probably be pushing 1030 before we hit the road.

We will be spending Saturday night at the Madi a Thava Mountain Lodge outside of Louis Trichardt. It looks to be a little over 5 hour drive up there if we go straight up the N1. The bigger question is the route to the Punda Maria Gate the next morning. Should we take the 524 through Thohoyandou to Punda Maria or should we go around and through Giyani? This route seems to be a bit longer but from several trip reports it seems like this may be the preferred route. Any advice on more recent travel conditions is much appreciated.

10 nights in Kruger
Shingwedzi 25-27/11
Olifants 28,29/11
Satara 30/11-1/12
Malelane 2-4/12

Deamole, firstly, I hope that you have a wonderful holiday.

I always go via Giyani, for many reasons. I have not done this route for a long time. Canon's trip report seems to suggest that the road through Thohoyandou was a nightmare for him.

As a result of all the new Highways in and around Johannesburg I thought I should update these directions
From O.R.Tambo airport to Southern gates
Follow signage in the airport complex to Boksburg/R21 South
Once on the R21 south take the 2nd off-ramp to Benoni/ eMahlaleni N12 east.
Be careful through the roadworks around Benoni, but these clear about 40km from the airport
The N12 joins the N4 just outside eMalahleni
Continue along the highway through the toll gates at Middelburg and Machadadorp
Once through the 2nd toll gate you have choice of 2 passes down into the Lowveld. My personal preference is the Schoemans Kloof pass, but the other pass is also OK. I prefer Schoemanskloof as it is more scenic and avoids the smelly paper mill at Ngodwana
The 2 routes join again at a T junction once you are down the passes
Just before Nelspruit there are still roadworks, so watch the signage , but keep to the N4 option

Crocodile bridge & Malelane gates
Stay on the N4 through Nelspruit and through the next toll plaza
Go through the town of Malelane (where shopping for groceries can be done at either the Pick 'n pay on your
left or the Spar on your right at the 1st traffic lights)
Malelane Gate is well sign posted just outside the town
Crocodile Bridge gate: Continue on the N4 to Komatipoort and turn left into the town. Go straight through the town and the gate is about 10 minute drive

Kruger & Phabeni Gates
Take the White River/ Nelspruit turn off off the highway and follow the signs very carefully There are some very confusing traffic circles as you come off the highway
I am not familiar enough with the area to give you exact directions here, but follow the signs to White river
Once in White river Take a left turn at the 1st traffic lights and right turn at the next lights
Stay on this road till you see the big shopping centre on your left and turn left
Stay on this road till you reach the T junction just outside Hazyview
Turn left and go into the town of Hazyview
At the Spar & Pick 'n Pay centre turn right... There is also a KFC on this corner
For Phabeni gate you will have to make a right turn about 10 min drive out the town
For Kruger gate. Stay on this road until you reach the gate, Be careful of speed limits, stray farm animals and people on this road. Personally I prefer to go in at Phabeni as it takes almost the same time to get to Skukuza as it would on the road outside the park, with the added benefit of the possibility of a great sighting