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| Route information | ||||
| Maintained by SANRAL | ||||
| Length | 517 km (321 mi) | |||
| Major junctions | ||||
| Southwest end |  N2 near George | |||
 N12 near George N10 near Middelburg | ||||
| Northeast end |  N1 at Colesberg | |||
| Location | ||||
| Country | South Africa | |||
| Provinces | Western Cape, Eastern Cape, Free State | |||
| Major cities | ||||
| Highway system | ||||
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The N9 is a national route in South Africa that connects George with the N1 at Colesberg, via Graaff-Reinet and Middelburg. [1]
The N9 begins just south-east of George in the Western Cape at an intersection with the N2. It runs concurrently with the N12 through the center of George and then north over the Outeniqua Pass. At the top of the pass, at the intersection with the R62, the N9 and N12 split, with the N12 being cosigned with the R62 northwards towards Oudtshoorn while the N9 turns east, cosigned with the R62, to run along the northern side of the Outeniqua Mountains and over Potjiesberg Pass.
After 71 kilometres, the N9 and the R62 split, with the R62 becoming its own road eastwards while the N9 turns northwards and enters the town of Uniondale, before becoming the Buyspoort Pass and proceeding onwards to Willowmore in the Eastern Cape.
From Willowmore, the N9 travels across the Eastern Cape Karoo as the Perdepoort Pass, through Aberdeen to Graaff-Reinet. At Aberdeen, the N9 is joined by the R61 and they are concurrent through Graaff-Reinet (where they meet the R63) and for the next 46 kilometers before the R61 becomes its own road eastwards near Nieu-Bethesda.
From Graaff-Reinet it crosses the Sneeuberge through Naudesberg Pass and Lootsberg Pass to Middelburg, where it meets the N10 south of the town centre. The N10 joins the N9 to form an eastern bypass around Middelburg before proceeding northwards out of the town. After being concurrent for 24 kilometers, the N10 becomes its own road north-west towards De Aar. The N9 continues northwards, entering the Northern Cape, through Noupoort, to end at an intersection with the N1 just outside Colesberg (west of the town centre).
An urban legend in the "vanishing hitchhiker" tradition arose after a girl named Marie Charlotte Roux was killed in an auto accident not far from Uniondale on Easter Sunday of 1968. According to press reports, beginning in 1973 and for years afterward around the anniversary of her death, the girl's spirit hitchhiked along the road and allegedly vanished after being picked up by various drivers. According to folklorist Sigrid Schmidt:
The South African press played its role in the game of legend-telling perfectly. It transformed the legend into an official report...[until] a nationwide Uniondale legend was formed by the press, and people were left expecting the ghost girl to hitchhike at the same spot next Easter. [2]
National routes in South Africa are a class of trunk roads and freeways which connect major cities. They form the highest category in the South African route numbering scheme, and are designated with route numbers beginning with "N", from N1 to N18. Most segments of the national route network are officially proclaimed National Roads that are maintained by the South African National Roads Agency (SANRAL), but some segments are maintained by provincial or local road authorities.
The N1 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through Bloemfontein, Johannesburg, Pretoria and Polokwane to Beit Bridge on the border with Zimbabwe. It forms the first section of the famed Cape to Cairo Road.
The R34 is a long provincial route in South Africa that connects Vryburg with Richards Bay via Kroonstad and Newcastle. It passes through three provinces, North West, the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.
The R56 is a provincial route in South Africa that connects Middelburg with Pietermaritzburg via Molteno, Maclear and Kokstad. It is co-signed with the N2 between Kokstad and Stafford's Post for 39 kilometres.
The R61 is a long provincial route in South Africa that connects Beaufort West with Port Shepstone via Graaff-Reinet, Komani, Mthatha and Port Edward.
The R63 is a tarred provincial route in South Africa that connects Calvinia with Komga via Carnarvon, Victoria West, Graaff-Reinet, Somerset East and King William's Town. It is cosigned with the N10 between Eastpoort and Cookhouse for 24 kilometres.
The R75 is a provincial route in Eastern Cape, South Africa that connects Graaff-Reinet with Gqeberha via Despatch, Kariega and Jansenville.
The R82 is a provincial route in South Africa that connects Johannesburg with Kroonstad via Vereeniging and Sasolburg. It starts just south of the M1 Johannesburg Municipal Highway's interchange with the N12 Southern Bypass, going south, meeting the R59, R54, R42 & R28 routes at Vereeniging before crossing the Vaal River into the Free State & proceeding to Kroonstad. It is an alternative, but longer route to the N1 National Route between Johannesburg & Kroonstad.
The R328 is a Regional Route in Western Cape, South Africa that connects Mossel Bay in the south to Prince Albert in the north via Oudtshoorn.
The R339 is a Regional Route in South Africa that connects Knysna with Uniondale via Avontuur. It is primarily a gravel road and crosses the Langkloof Mountains at Prince Alfred's pass.
The N2 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Cape Town through George, Gqeberha, East London, Mthatha, Port Shepstone and Durban to Ermelo. It is the main highway along the Indian Ocean coast of the country. Its current length of 2,255 kilometres (1,401 mi) makes it the longest numbered route in South Africa.
The N12 is a national route in South Africa which runs from George through Beaufort West, Kimberley, Klerksdorp and Johannesburg to eMalahleni.
The N4 is a national route in South Africa that runs from Skilpadshek on the Botswana border, past Rustenburg, Pretoria, eMalahleni and Mbombela, to Komatipoort on the Mozambique border. The entire route is a toll road.
Middelburg is a town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, in the Great Karoo. It lies in the Upper Karoo, 1,279 m above sea level, with a population of 19,000. It falls under the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality, in the Chris Hani District Municipality.
The N8 is a national route in South Africa that connects Groblershoop with Maseru in Lesotho via Kimberley and Bloemfontein. It is maintained by the South African National Roads Agency.
The N10 is a national route in South Africa connecting Gqeberha on the Eastern Cape coast with the Namibian border at Nakop, via Cradock, De Aar and Upington.
The R62 is a provincial route in South Africa that connects Ashton with Humansdorp. The R62 runs through the Little Karoo and the Langkloof, passing through Montagu, Ladismith, Calitzdorp, Oudtshoorn, and Joubertina.
Lootsberg Pass, is situated in Sneeuberge, Eastern Cape, South Africa, on the National road N9, between Graaff-Reinet and Middelburg.
Wapadsberg Pass, is a mountain pass situated in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, on the regional road R61, between Graaff-Reinet and Cradock, Eastern Cape.
People of the Karoo refers to notable individuals who come from, or whose lives have included substantial engagement with, the area known as the Karoo. The Karoo is a widespread physiographic province in the western interior of South Africa, straddling much of the Northern Cape, southern Free State, Eastern Cape interior and parts of the Western Cape Provinces.
