"N2" is a route number referring to the "National Route 2". It is a major transport artery in South Africa and most tourists to the country travel hundreds, if not thousands, of kilometres along this route while exploring the country. The N2 that eventually links Johannesburg and Cape Town runs along the eastern shoreline of South Africa. It is by no means the shortest route between the two cities but definitely the most scenic.

From Johannesburg it heads through southern Mpumalanga into and down the length of KwaZulu-Natal passing through KwaZulu, Durban's western suburbs and the KZN South Coast on the way. Thereafter the N2 enters the Eastern Cape swerving inland at first through the former Transkei until it returns to the coast at East London. Then it swerves inland again passing through Grahamstown before returning to the coast again at Port Elizabeth. From PE it shortly cuts through the interior again before rejoining the coastline when it hits the Garden Route at the Paul Sauer Bridge. It hugs the coastline for the full length of the Garden Route up to Mossel Bay at which time it takes a "short cut" through the interior towards Cape Town where it terminates in Cape Town's city bowl. All in all the N2 covers a distance of more than 2500km, on the way providing access to many of South Africa's top tourist attractions.