And they've got those billboards along the way to remind you about it - "If I tolled you once, I tolled you a thousand times..."
But you're still driving because you hate flying, your family members fill the vehicle so the savings of driving is still significant, you need your car to be there when you get there, and so on.
It can also just be fun. Rather than just flying past the speed cameras and smoke-belching trucks, you have another option.
You don't have to settle for a Wimpy's within spitting distance of the N3. You can calm down, ease up, and make a day of it at Spioenkop Dam.
Spioenkop is an Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife park just 10 minutes from Winterton, and 30 minutes from the N3 (Estcourt). This little gem provides the perfect location, atmosphere, and attraction to break up the drive.
A stop at Spioenkop can turn a day of drudgery, hours on the highway, and make-you-fat-fast food into a pleasant holiday, with some driving before and after. It's nice that the N3 is smooth, flat, and fast. And it's convenient to swing off, get fuel and food and rush onward. But it's zombie-driving. We all zone out while driving deadly missiles at spectacular speeds.
When you leave the toll, though, your brain turns on again.
You see people, you see homes, your weight shifts on your seat, and you are a person again, not an automaton.
The roads from the N3 to the Winterton area and on to Spioenkop are all scenic, and fairly quiet.
KwaZulu-Natal has some great parks. Some of these are known and are often overrun, while some barely have reason to keep their doors open, as no one shows up.
On many visits to Spioenkop, we did not see another vehicle in the park, and even at the busiest of times, there are still plenty of great braai pits, little picnic bomas, and space for the kids to run and play (though there's not much in the way of playgrounds).
Spioenkop boasts a lot of game for a small reserve. You can get close to zebra, giraffe, white rhino, impalas, red hartebeest, kudu, waterbuck, blesbok and eland. We're moving into jackal season, when they will have pups and take them out of the den.
The reserve is small, so it's not stressful, trying to cover a great amount of terrain before the gate closes at the end of the road. Rather, you can do the loop on one shore of the dam, or drive up and back along another shore.
Driving the entire system only takes an hour or two if you go very slowly. The roads are quite well-maintained, and four-wheel drive is unnecessary. What better way to see an animal than from the back of a horse? Spioenkop offers daily horse rides among the game. Show up near the gate at 8am or 2pm to reserve your saddle.
Should you see game or hit the water in your boat? At Spioenkop, both are available, all among thorn savannah. You can bring your own watercraft (with relevant registration and documentation, no jet skis) and fish for carp, barbel or tilapia.
Spioenkop was also a battlefield, so get your hiking boots on and imagine the conflict up on the hill.
What outing would be complete without pap and wors? Make a fire in the braai pit. Some are even shaded for hot midday cooking. Supplies are available at two grocery stores in Winterton, 15 minutes south-east, or you can go to The Bridge or Canaan Cellars there if you don't want to cook for yourself.
Don't bother leaving. You can stay right at Spionkop, at iPika Bush Camp with a four-bed tent, or bring your own digs for the caravan and tent sites. Or try one of the nice spots in Winterton or the nearby Champagne Valley.
- Call the Central Drakensberg Information Centre on 036 488 1207 or click www.cdic.co.za for more information. You can reach the Spioenkop office on 036 488 1578. Gates are open from 6am to 6pm until October 1.