Long Tom Pass - The road to Lydenburg!

...Continued from The Road to Hoedspruit!

I know it's been a while and I have been promising to write a chapter a week but as we all know in this wonderful world of blogging, sometimes :) we just run out of time. NO EXCUSE WIZARDMAN! MAKE TIME. But it's no excuse and I'm back so here's chapter 2.

Chapter 2

Long Tom Pass - The road to Lydenburg

A little bit of bad news for the folks who are driving from Gauteng, the road from Bronkhorst to Long Tom Pass is, "gow you say", CRAP! It's boring and the one town that you do pass, namely Witbank, well leaves much to be desired. Witbank is an old mining town and will stay that for as long as South Africa is around.

I'm unfortunately for now going to skip the road to Hoedspruit! But trust me, stay tuned for that chapter, because Hoedspruit, it's one town you don't want to miss. But for the purpose of this Chapter and to not bore you all, we'll stick to Lyndenburg.

So drive, put your pedal down and get through those dry lands, because once you reach Long Tom Pass, you're in the most beautiful and picturesque part of Southern Africa. The Long Tom Pass down to Lydenburg once you've R531 from the R36 is an incredibly windy and mind blowing pass.

Long Tom is the nickname that was given to the old Creusot Cannons used by the Boers in the Anglo Boer War. Long Tom is where the final cannon was shot.

At over 2000 metres above sea level coming over the pass you finally reach Lydenburg. Take a night or two and sleep in this little town.

Situated at the foothills of the Long Tom Pass on the Highveld escarpment of Mpumalanga, Lydenburg is a town of history and a town for all seasons. With it's magnificent climate and surroundings Lydenburg is the perfect little outdoor adventure paradise for the whole family. Dad's and son's you'll love it. Not so sure about the mom's and sisters but hey, once you're in Hoedspruit, it'll make up for it!

Activities encompass fly fishing and unspoilt nature with panoramic views. Visits to Mashishing Township and the Lydenburg Museum. (Gustav Klingbiel Nature Reserve Tel: (01323) 2121 )

If you're a historian or just a plain lover of South African history and culture you'll revel in this old little town. The museum is filled with artifacts from the Boer War. In fact if I'm not mistaken and my memory doesn't deceive me, there's a actual Long Tom cannon. They have replicas of the Lydenburg Heads and terracotta animals and human heads dating back 500 AD from the the Later Iron Age.

If you like trout fishing, trust me, you'll love Lydenburg. It's has the perfect weather and perfects streams and dams for the best trout fishing in Africa. With millions of little guest houses to choose from and some really cosy little log cabins this place is a must for one night!

If you're looking for a place to stay check out SA Venues

Stay Tuned for Chapter 3(Choppers road to Orighstad)...