The R61 is a long

provincial route A state highway, state road, or state route (and the equivalent provincial highway, provincial road, or provincial route) is usually a road that is either ''numbered'' or ''maintained'' by a sub-national state or province. A road numbered by a ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

that connects

Beaufort West Beaufort West (Afrikaans: ''Beaufort-Wes''; Xhosa: ''eBhofolo'') is a town in the Western Cape province in South Africa. It is the largest town in the arid Great Karoo region, and is known as the "Capital of the Karoo". It forms part of the Beau ...

with Port Shepstone via

Graaff-Reinet Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province. It is also the sixth-oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was the ...

Komani Queenstown, officially Komani, is a town in the middle of the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa, roughly halfway between the smaller towns of Cathcart and Sterkstroom on the N6 National Route. The town was established in 1853 and is curr ...

(previously Queenstown),

Mthatha Mthatha , formerly Umtata, is the main city of the King Sabata Dalindyebo Local Municipality in Eastern Cape province of South Africa and the capital of OR Tambo District Municipality. The city has an airport, previously known as the K. D. Matanz ...

and Port Edward. The R61 is co-signed with the N9 for 103 kilometres from

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

through Graaff-Reinet to Bethesdaweg, and with the N6 for 18 kilometres near Queenstown.

Route

KwaZulu-Natal

The R61 begins in Port Shepstone at an interchange with the

N2 Highway The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of makes it ...

from

Durban Durban ( ) ( zu, eThekwini, from meaning 'the port' also called zu, eZibubulungwini for the mountain range that terminates in the area), nicknamed ''Durbs'',Ishani ChettyCity nicknames in SA and across the worldArticle on ''news24.com'' from ...

(at the Oribi Toll Plaza). As the N2 leaves the freeway at an off-ramp and becomes the road westwards towards Harding and

Kokstad Kokstad is a town in the Harry Gwala District Municipality of KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. Kokstad is named after the Griqua chief Adam Kok III who settled here in 1863. Kokstad is the capital town of the East Griqualand region, as i ...

, the R61 takes over as the freeway south-south-west through the KwaZulu-Natal South Coast. As the 1st section is maintained by

SANRAL The South African National Roads Agency SOC Ltd or SANRAL is a South African parastatal responsible for the management, maintenance and development of South Africa's proclaimed National Road network which includes many (but not all) National ("N" ...

, the R61 is a

toll road A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road (almost always a controlled-access highway in the present day) for which a fee (or ''Toll (fee), toll'') is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically ...

for 22 km from the N2 Interchange, through Shelly Beach,

Margate Margate is a seaside town on the north coast of Kent in south-east England. The town is estimated to be 1.5 miles long, north-east of Canterbury and includes Cliftonville, Garlinge, Palm Bay and Westbrook. The town has been a significan ...

and Ramsgate, up to Southbroom. At

Southbroom Southbroom is a coastal village in Ugu District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It is located 143 km south-west of Durban, and 213 km south of Pietermaritzburg. The village was officially founded in 1933, an ...

, it stops being both a toll road and a highway. From Port Shepstone to Southbroom, the R61 is followed by the R620. From Southbroom the R61 resumes south-south-west for 25 kilometres to Port Edward. Just after Port Edward, the R61 leaves the KwaZulu-Natal Province and crosses the

Mtamvuna River Mtamvuna River is a river that forms the border between KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape Provinces in South Africa. The river has a wide mouth and flows into the Indian Ocean just south of Port Edward. The Mtamvuna river is approximately 162&nb ...

via the C. H. Mitchell Bridge into the Eastern Cape Province.

Eastern Cape

From the provincial boundary (Mtamvuna River), the R61 heads north-west for 50 km to the town of Bizana, which it bypasses to the south. From Bizana, the R61 continues westwards for 25 kilometres to reach a junction with the R394 Road, where the R61 turns southwards and heads 110 kilometres, through Flagstaff and

Lusikisiki Lusikisiki is a town in the Ingquza Hill Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. The name is onomatopoeic, derived from the rustling sound of reeds in the wind, named by the local Xhosa people. Lusikisiki is 45 kilometers ...

, to cross the Mzimvubu River and bypass the town of Port St. Johns to the north. Just after crossing the river, it continues westwards for 87 kilometres, bypassing Libode, to the city of

, where it crosses the

Mthatha River Mthatha River or Umtata River ( xh, 'mtathe Bawo) is a river in the Eastern Cape Province in South Africa. The river flows into the Indian Ocean in an estuary located near Coffee Bay. The Mthatha river flows in a southeastern direction and is app ...

and meets the N2 National Route again in the city centre. From Mthatha, the R61 heads westwards for 83 kilometres as the All Saints Neck Pass, bypassing

Mthatha Airport Mthatha Airport is an airport serving Mthatha ( formerly Umtata), a city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The airport was previously named K. D. Matanzima Airport after Kaiser Matanzima, a president of the former Transkei. Facili ...

, to the town of

Ngcobo Ngcobo (formerly Engcobo) is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Ngcobo is the main town of the Engcobo Local Municipality, which falls within the Chris Hani District Municipality of the Eastern Cape. It is situated in the weste ...

, where it meets the eastern terminus of the R58 Road and the R61 turns to the south-south-west. At the R409 intersection near Tsomo, the R61 turns to the west and heads for 80 kilometres, through

Cofimvaba Cofimvaba is a town in Chris Hani District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The village is 79 km east of Queenstown on the route to Butterworth, in Thembuland. Probably named after the nearby stream which, after ...

and Qamata, to reach a t-junction with the N6 National Route. The R61 joins the N6 and they become one road north-west into the town of

(formerly Queenstown). At the roundabout with Barrable Street in Komani, the R61 becomes its own road west-south-west and after almost 2 kilometres, it meets the northern terminus of the R67 Road at a roundabout. The R61 heads westwards for 136 kilometres, through

Tarkastad Tarkastad is a Karoo semi-urban settlement situated on the banks Tarka River in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Tarkastad is on a plain to the north of the Winterberg mountain range on the R61 between Cradock and Queenstown and only ...

, to the town of Cradock, where it meets the N10 National Route. The R61 & N10 are one road northwards through the city centre of Cradock, continuing by a left turn (Commissioner Street), a right turn (JA Calata Street) and another left turn, to cross the

Great Fish River The Great Fish River (called ''great'' to distinguish it from the Namibian Fish River) ( af, Groot-Visrivier) is a river running through the South African province of the Eastern Cape. The coastal area between Port Elizabeth and the Fish R ...

. The R61 and the N10 remain as one road for another 4.5 km west-north-west, before the R61 becomes its own road westwards. The R61 continues for 85 kilometres as the Wapadsberg Pass to reach a junction with the N9 National Route south-east of Bethesdaweg. They are one road southwards for 46 km into the town of

, where they meet and are co-signed for a few kilometres with the R63 Route, crossing the

Sundays River The !Khukaǁgamma or Sundaysriver ( af, Sondagsrivier) is a river in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is said to be the fastest flowing river in the country. The Inqua Khoi people, who historically were the wealthiest group in Sou ...

. From Graaff-Reinet, the R61 & N9 remain as one road west-south-west for 55 km up to the town of

. At the 4-way-junction with Hoop Street ( R338), the R61 stops co-signing with the N9 and becomes the road westwards from this junction. From Aberdeen, the R61 heads westwards for 148 kilometres, crossing into the

Western Cape The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020 ...

Province, to enter the town of

and reach its western terminus at a junction with the N1 and N12 National Route co-signage.

Wild Coast Highway

As of 2018, there are plans to give the first section of the R61, from its starting junction with the N2 in Port Shepstone to its other junction with the N2 in

, to the N2 National Route. The project is scheduled for completion in 2024. Together with the N2 from Mthatha to East London, this route will be named the "Wild Coast Toll Route". While it will take over most of the R61's route, this new '' Wild Coast Highway'' of the N2 will be realigned in some places. This new Wild Coast Highway will provide a shorter and more direct route from

to Port Edward while the current R61 passes through Flagstaff and Bizana on the route between those two towns (it will be shorter by 69 km). This new shortcut between Port Edward and Lusikisiki will have a tollgate constructed while there will also be a tollgate constructed on the current stretch from Lusikisiki to Mthatha, just outside of Port St Johns. Once the N2 Wild Coast Toll Route is complete, the R61 designation will only apply to the section of the current route from Mthatha westwards through

, Cradock and

. The old N2 section through

KwaBhaca Mount Frere, officially KwaBhaca, is a town located in the Eastern Cape province, previously known as the Transkei region, of South Africa. Its name in Xhosa is KwaBhaca, or "village of the Bhaca chiefdom", or "place of the Bhaca people", who set ...

and Harding will also be given a different designation, probably

R102 The R.102 (originally referred to as Project H) was a British airship planned in 1930 but never built. The development of R.102 resulted from the Imperial Airship Scheme, when it became apparent that the R100 and R101 airships then being buil ...

As of 2021, the road classification numbers on the board signs on the R61 between Port Shepstone and Port Edward have already been changed to signs indicating the N2 as part of the Wild Coast Highway Project, indicating that the freeway from the Oribi Toll Plaza & N2 interchange in Port Shepstone southwards will no-longer be designated as the R61. Also, some of the Eastern Cape sections of the new Wild Coast Highway are being constructed as of 2021.

References

External links