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 state or ...

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 ...

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 Gingindlovu with Pongola via

Eshowe Eshowe is the oldest town of European settlement in KwaZulu-Natal, 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 indig ...

, Melmoth and

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

. 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 oPhongolo, is dammed at Pongolapoort, and crosses the Ubombo Mountains; then it flows nort ...

, 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 for 6 kilometres 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 tow ...

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, passing through the city of

and crossing the White Umfolozi River, 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