The R31 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 state or ...

in the

Northern Cape The Northern Cape ( ; ; ) is the largest and most sparsely populated Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It was created in 1994 when the Cape Province was split up. Its capital is Kimberley, South Africa, Kimberley. It includes ...

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

that connects

Kimberley Kimberly or Kimberley may refer to: Places and historical events Australia Queensland * Kimberley, Queensland, a coastal locality in the Shire of Douglas South Australia * County of Kimberley, a cadastral unit in South Australia Ta ...

with the

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

border Borders are generally defined as geography, geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by polity, political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other administrative divisio ...

at Rietfontein via

Kuruman Kuruman is a small town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa. It is known for its scenery and the Eye of Kuruman, a geological feature that brings water from deep underground. The abundance of water produces an unexpected swathe of green ...

and Hotazel. It is co-signed with the

R360 The R360 is a motion-based arcade cabinet produced by Sega. It was first released in Japan in 1990, and internationally a year later. Being short for "Rotate 360", the R360 is noteworthy for its ability to spin 360 degrees in any direction on tw ...

between Askham and Andriesvale. Some sections of this road are gravel road.

Route

The R31 begins in

(capital of the

), south-west of the city centre, at an intersection with the N12 national route. It begins by going north-north-west through the western area of Kimberley, meeting the R357 road at the next junction and the N8 national route at the following junction. From the N8 junction in Kimberley, the R31 goes north-north-west for 31 kilometres, passing by the

Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Centre Wildebeest Kuil Rock Art Centre is a rock engraving site with visitor centre on land owned by the !Xun and Khwe San situated about 16 km from Kimberley, Northern Cape, South Africa. It is a declared Provincial Heritage Site managed by ...

, to cross the

Vaal River The Vaal River ( ; Khoemana: ) is the largest tributary of the Orange River in South Africa. The river has its source near Breyten in Mpumalanga province, east of Johannesburg and about north of Ermelo and only about from the Indian Oce ...

and enter the town of

Barkly West Barkly West is a town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, situated on the north bank of the Vaal River west of Kimberley. Establishment and naming Barkly West was initially known as ''Klip Drift'' (sometimes written as Klipdrift). This ...

, where it meets the southern terminus of the R374 road and passes through in a westerly direction. From Barkly West, the R31 goes north-west for 28 kilometres, following the

, to cross the

Harts River The Harts River () is a northern tributary of the Vaal River, which in turn is the largest tributary of the Orange River (also known as the Gariep River, the largest river in South Africa). Its source is in the North West Province, but the greate ...

and reach a junction with the R370 road near Delportshoop. From the R370 junction, the R31 goes west for 79 kilometres, through Koopmansfontein, to reach a junction with the R385 road south of Daniëlskuil. At this junction, the R31 turns northwards and proceeds to enter Daniëlskuil. From Daniëlskuil, the R31 goes northwards for 72 kilometres, passing by the

Wonderwerk Cave Wonderwerk Cave is an archaeological site, formed originally as an ancient solution cavity in dolomite rocks of the Kuruman Hills, situated between Danielskuil and Kuruman in the Northern Cape Province, South Africa. It is a National Herita ...

, to meet the western terminus of the R372 road. It goes northwards for a further 8 kilometres to enter the town of

, where it meets the N14 national route in the town centre. From Kuruman, the R31 goes north-west for 57 kilometres to meet the R380 road at a junction. The R380 joins the R31 and they are one road north-west for 16 kilometres, bypassing Hotazel, before the R31 becomes its own road westwards. From the R380 junction near Hotazel, the R31 goes west-north-west for 95 kilometres to the town of Van Zylsrus. From Van Zylsrus, the R31 goes westwards for 148 kilometres, following the Kuruman River, to reach a t-junction with the R360 road in the town of Askham. The section between Van Zylsrus and Askham is a gravel road. The R31 joins the R360 and they are one road westwards for 13 kilometres up to a junction in Andriesvale, adjacent to the

Molopo River The Molopo River () is one of the main rivers in Southern Africa. It has a length of approximately 960 kilometres and a catchment area of 367,201 km2 with Botswana, Namibia and South Africa sharing roughly about a third of the basin each. C ...

and Kuruman River confluence (south of the

Gemsbok The gemsbok (''Oryx gazella''), or South African oryx, is a large antelope in the genus '' Oryx''. It is endemic to the dry and barren regions of Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and (parts of) Zimbabwe, mainly inhabiting the Kalahari and Nami ...

Border with

Botswana Botswana, officially the Republic of Botswana, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory part of the Kalahari Desert. It is bordered by South Africa to the sou ...

), where the R360 becomes the road northwards towards the

Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is a large wildlife reserve and conservation biology, conservation area in southern Africa. The park straddles the border between South Africa and Botswana and comprises two adjoining national parks: * Kalahari Gems ...

while the R31 remains as the road westwards. From the R360 junction in Andriesvale, the R31 goes westwards for 70 kilometres, through Klein Mier, bypassing the Hakskeenpan, to enter the town of Rietfontein. It passes through as the main road before reaching the Rietfontein Border Post with

, where it becomes the C16 road to

Keetmanshoop Keetmanshoop is a town in the ǁKaras Region of southern Namibia. It is named after , a German Empire, German industrialist and benefactor of the city. Keetmanshoop had a population of 27,862 people in 2023. History Before the colonial era, ...

References

External links

Routes Travel Info
{{DEFAULTSORT:R31 Road (South Africa) 31 Provincial routes in South Africa