The R66 is a

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 ...

in KwaZulu-Natal,

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 Gingindlovu with Pongola via

Eshowe Eshowe is the oldest town of European settlement in Zululand, historically also known as Eziqwaqweni, Ekowe or kwaMondi. Eshowe's name is said to be inspired by the sound of wind blowing through the more than 4 km² of the indigenous Dlinza ...

, Melmoth and

Ulundi Ulundi, also known as Mahlabathini, is a town in the Zululand District Municipality. At one time the capital of Zulu Kingdom in South Africa and later the capital of the Bantustan of KwaZulu, Ulundi now lies in KwaZulu-Natal Province (of which, ...

. It starts and ends at a junction with the N2.

Route

The R66 begins in Pongola, at a junction with the N2 national route. It begins by going southwards for 19 kilometres, crossing the

Pongola River The Phongolo River is a river in South Africa. It is a tributary of the Maputo River. It rises near Utrecht in northern KwaZulu-Natal, flows east through Pongolo, is dammed at Pongolapoort, and crosses the Ubombo Mountains; then it flows north ...

, to reach a junction with the R69 route near a place named Magudu. The R69 joins the R66 and they are one road southwards for 2 kilometres before the R69 becomes its own road westwards while the R66 remains as the southerly road. The R66 continues southwards for 40 kilometres, passing by the Mkuze Game Reserve (where it crosses the Mkuze River), crossing the Nkunzane River, to reach a T-junction with the R618 route at Nhlopenkulu. The R66 joins the R618 and they form one road south-east into the town of

Nongoma Nongoma is a town in Zululand, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. It is the seat of the Nongoma Local Municipality. It is situated 300 km north of Durban and 56 km from Ulundi; it is surrounded by the Ngome Forest. It is a busy market town ...

before splitting adjacent to the Nongoma Police Station, where the R66 becomes its own road southwards. The R66 continues southwards for 74 kilometres as the King Dinizulu Highway, crossing the

Black Umfolozi River The Black Umfolozi River ( zu, Imfolozi emnyama) is one of the two main tributaries to the Umfolozi River in KwaZulu Natal, South Africa. It forms part of the Upper Umfolozi (Zulu: Enhla neMfolozi) – the Lower Umfolozi being the area downstream ...

, passing through the city of

and crossing the

White Umfolozi River The White Umfolozi River originates just west of Vryheid, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa and has a confluence with the Black Umfolozi River at to form the Umfolozi River, which flows eastward towards the Indian Ocean. See also * List of rivers o ...

, to reach a T-junction with the R34 route. The R66 joins the R34 and they are one road southwards, heading for 22 kilometres to meet the eastern terminus of the R68 route just east of the Melmoth town centre. The R34 and the R66 remain as one road southwards for another 31 kilometres before they split at a junction, where the R34 becomes its own road eastwards while the R66 remains as the southerly road. The R66 continues southwards for 43 kilometres, passing through

(east of the town centre), to reach a junction with the R102 route at Gingindlovu. The R102 joins the R66 and they form one road southwards for a few metres before the R102 becomes its own road westwards. The R66 heads southwards for another 6 kilometres to reach its end at another junction with the N2 national route.

References

External links

Routes Travel Information
66 Provincial routes in South Africa {{SouthAfrica-road-stub