The ultimate road trip route around South Africa has been decided! After months of gathering votes and recommendations from South Africans, the MotorHappy team has collated all the data to create the best road trip route for 2019, including many of South Africa’s most loved destinations.
The Ultimate Journey website, created by MotorHappy, has become one of South Africa’s most important road trip-planning tools. Now in its second year, the Ultimate Journey website has collected 3210+ destination suggestions and 85100+ votes. When it comes to planning a local holiday, knowing what places appeal to South Africans, and why they’re so appealing, can help you map out the holiday of a lifetime!
South Africa’s top road trip route
The main route around the country would require a massive budget and lots of time – which is not available to most people, so we split the route into seven mini routes. These are some of the highlights:
Route 1: Sun City to Kruger National Park, 1032km
After exploring Sun City and Hartebeespoort in North West, visit some of the top destinations in Gauteng, such as Cradle of Human Kind, Gold Reef City and Cullinan. Mpumalanga’s top destinations include a combination of natural beauty attractions as well as man-made delights such as the ever-famous Harrie’s Pancakes.
Route 2: Kruger National Park to Hiberdene, 2395km
Most of this portion of the journey is filled with natural beauty as you explore Mpumalanga and head into Free State, stopping along the way at Sudwala Caves and Golden Gate National Park. Enter KwaZulu-Natal and get really close to Lesotho with visits to Sani Pass and some of the best accommodation destinations in the area. Get to know the KZN North Coast, on a route that includes the famed Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park.
Route 3: Hiberdene to Tsitsikamma National Park, 1627km
With the exceptions of a few detours inland, this route explores KwaZulu-Natal’s and Eastern Cape’s beautiful coastal towns. Arrive in the Eastern Cape with the first stopover being at Msikaba, part of the Wild Coast. Make your way through the Transkei towards Eastern Cape towns that ultimately lead to the Tsitsikamma.
Route 4: Tsitsikamma National Park to Franschhoek, 957km
Take at least 10 days to fully explore this route, with stop overs in Knysna, George and Mossel Bay until you arrive in the southern tip of the African continent, Cape Agulhas. Finally, you’ll arrive in wine country at Franschhoek, a perfect destination for exploring South Africa’s top wines.
Route 5: Franschhoek to Bloubergstrand, 292km
In terms of distance, this is the shortest road trip route on the Ultimate Journey route recommendation. But if you’re talking time, we think you’ll need a fair amount of time to explore the highlights on this route! You’ll start off by driving through wine country and then you’ll arrive in Cape Town, the most beautiful city in the world. You will need some time to explore the fisherman’s villages along the way, such as Kalk Bay and Simon’s Town, and you’ll end up in the suburb of Bloubergstrand, with a beautiful view of Table Mountain.
Route 6: Bloubergstrand to Augrabies Falls National Park, 1753km
Explore South Africa’s west coast, where the water is cold and the landscape is rugged. Much like the Karoo, the west coast has an energy that’s difficult to describe. It’s a soulful place for introspection. Drive as far north as Port Nolloth before heading inland to Springbok, Namaqualand and Augrabies Falls. Plan this holiday for Spring and you’ll be lucky enough to see a carpet of wildflowers as far as the eye can see.
Route 7: Augrabies National Park to Sun City, 2321km
Covering an area of 820km2, the Augrabies National Park is a destination on its own – especially the waterfall, which is about 60m high. This road trip will take you through towns such as Upington, Grootdrink, Kimberley and Christiana before taking you to the Vrederfort Dome, which is the largest verified impact crater on Earth. End your trip with a drive through the Pilanesberg National Park and a cocktail at Sun City!
This is a summary of some of the top destinations on the Ultimate Journey website, but with over 3210+ suggestions on the website, we could never summarise everything on one blog post. Click here to explore the website for yourself, and start planning your trip of a lifetime!
Congratulations to our winner!
Congratulations to the winner of our R80,000 road trip Shireen Schultz. Shireen and her family will be heading off on a road trip of their own in 2019. We’re excited to see where their journey takes them!
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