The N11 is a national route in

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 ...

which runs from the

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 ...

border at Groblersbrug, through

Mokopane Mokopane, formerly known as Potgietersrus, is a town in the Limpopo province of South Africa. The town name was changed to Mokopane in 2003 in honour of a local Ma Nrebele leader, King Mghombane Gheghana, who ruled the area before being conquer ...

, Middelburg, Ermelo and

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England, United Kingdom *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area ...

to end at the N3 just after Ladysmith.

Route

Limpopo

The N11 begins at the Grobler's Bridge Border with

on the

Limpopo River The Limpopo River () rises in South Africa and flows generally eastward through Mozambique to the Indian Ocean. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a group of Tsonga settlers led by Hosi Rivombo who settled in the mou ...

. On the Botswana side of the Limpopo River, the border post is known as Martin's Drift. It begins by running south-east through

Limpopo Limpopo () is the northernmost Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa. It is named after the Limpopo River, which forms the province's western and northern borders. The term Limpopo is derived from Rivombo (Livombo/Lebombo), a ...

province for 190 kilometres to

. Upon entering Mokopane (at Masehlaneng), the N11 is joined by the R518 and they form one road into Mokopane Central. At the junction with the R101 road (Thabo Mbeki Drive) in the town centre, the N11 and the R518 join the R101 southwards. At the second junction afterwards (by Mokopane Mall), the R518 becomes its own road eastwards towards Zebediela, leaving the R101 and the N11 as the road southwards (Thabo Mbeki Drive). After 11 kilometres, the N11 becomes its own road towards the south-south-east and meets the N1 highway (southbound only) at the next junction just north of the N1's Nyl Toll Plaza. The N11 continues southwards for 72 kilometers to reach an intersection with the R33 road. The R33 joins the N11 and they become one road southwards into the town of Marble Hall (15 kilometres), where they meet the north-eastern terminus of the R573 from

Pretoria Pretoria ( ; ) is the Capital of South Africa, administrative capital of South Africa, serving as the seat of the Executive (government), executive branch of government, and as the host to all foreign embassies to the country. Pretoria strad ...

and KwaMhlanga. The R33 and N11 remain as one road for another 27 kilometres south into the town of Groblersdal. At the junction with the north-eastern terminus of the R25 road (4-way junction; staggered junction) in Groblersdal, the R33 becomes the road eastwards, leaving the N11 as the road southwards. The N11 continues southwards for 85 kilometers, following the Olifants River, to cross into the

Mpumalanga Mpumalanga () is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name means "East", or literally "The Place Where the Sun Rises" in the Nguni languages. Mpumalanga lies in eastern South Africa, bordering Eswatini and Mozambique. It shares bor ...

Province and reach the city of Middelburg.

Mpumalanga

It enters the city of Middelburg as Walter Sisulu Street. At the junction with Cowen Ntuli Street, the N11 meets the R555 and the R104 and they all become the road eastwards on Cowen Ntuli Street, which is the main road through Middelburg Central. Just after meeting the R35 road's northern terminus, the R555 becomes its own road north-eastwards, leaving the R104 and N11 as the road eastwards. Just after the Eastdene suburb, the N11 splits from the R104 to become the road towards the south-east. After the Nazareth and Rockdale suburbs, it meets the N4 highway ( Maputo Corridor). The N11 proceeds south-south-east for 55 kilometres to the town of Hendrina, where it passes through the town as Church Street and intersects with the R38 road (Beukes Street) in the town centre. It proceeds south-east for 50 kilometres to the city of Ermelo, where it meets the N17 from

Eswatini Eswatini, formally the Kingdom of Eswatini, also known by its former official names Swaziland and the Kingdom of Swaziland, is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. It is bordered by South Africa on all sides except the northeast, where i ...

(Swaziland). At the Fourie Street junction, the N17 joins the N11 southwards up to the junction with Joubert Street, where the N17 continues westwards. At Voortrekker Street south of Ermelo town centre, the N11 meets the terminus of the N2 from

Piet Retief Pieter Mauritz Retief (12 November 1780 – 6 February 1838) was a '' Voortrekker'' leader. Settling in 1814 in the frontier region of the Cape Colony, he later assumed command of punitive expeditions during the sixth Xhosa War. He became a s ...

St. Lucia Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...

and

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

. From Ermelo, the N11 runs south for 97 kilometres, through

Amersfoort Amersfoort () is a Cities of the Netherlands, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht, Netherlands. As of 31 January 2023, the municipality had ...

(where it meets the R35 road again), to the town of Volksrust, where it meets the south-eastern terminus of the R23 road and becomes the

Laing's Nek Laing's Nek, or Lang's Nek is a mountain pass, pass through the Drakensberg mountain range in South Africa, south of Charlestown, South Africa, Charlestown, at at an elevation of 5400 to . It is the lowest part of a ridge that slopes from Majub ...

Pass. Just after, the N11 enters

KwaZulu-Natal KwaZulu-Natal (, also referred to as KZN) is a Provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the government merged the Zulu people, Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu ("Place of the Zulu" in Zulu language, Zulu) and ...

KwaZulu-Natal

From Volksrust, the N11 proceeds south for 45 kilometres to reach the city of

. Just before Newcastle, the N11 is joined by the R34 for 7 kilometres until they split at an off-ramp north-east of the city centre, where the N11 becomes the Newcastle Eastern Bypass. After bypassing the city centre, the N11 proceeds south for 95 kilometres as the Ikhupe Pass, meeting the western terminus of the R68 (which connects to

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

), to reach the city of Ladysmith. It crosses the Klip River in the city centre and turns westwards to reach an off-ramp intersection with the R103 road adjacent to the Ladysmith Airport entrance. The N11 joins the R103 and they are one road south-south-west for 2 and a half kilometers before the N11 becomes its own road westwards. The N11 heads westwards for 13 kilometres, meeting the north-eastern terminus of the R600 (which connects to Winterton), to reach its end at an off-ramp junction with the N3 highway just south of the N3's Tugela Toll Plaza (each ramp onto the N3 has a tollgate). West of this junction, it continues as the R616 to Bergville.

References

External links

South African National Roads Agency

An old-fashioned (free) National Road , Travels with Akela
{{coord, -25.768204, 29.455462, display=title National routes in South Africa Roads in South Africa