Gauteng Offers Hidden Gems

Gauteng offers some of the most exciting drives especially at night along the edge of Johannesburg on the M2 North with the city to the right. Skyscrapers, city lights and advertisements give the impression of a pulsating African city - but there are also other less obvious hidden gems in Joburg

High up on the Observatory Ridge there is a short drive up to the actual Observatory and beyond to the other side of the koppie, (hill for those not familiar with South African terminology!) with views across the eastern suburbs of Johannesburg. The Munro Drive, which featured in the film Stander, winds up from Lower Houghton through Houghton Ridge to Upper Houghton and offers amazing views over Rosebank, Sandton, Houghton and as far as Midrand.

One can see as far as the Voortrekker monument in Pretoria on a clear day. Off course, there's also Stewart Drive which winds its way forever up and over a heavily treed koppie into Yeoville.

A great view of the Joburg city skyline can be seen along the highway from Soweto heading towards the city. A few personal favourites include Rustenburg Road, a narrow road which snakes its way through Emmarentia and along the edge of Melville into Richmond; and Judith Road from Beyers Naude to Emmarentia with Melville Koppies to the right - it could look like a drive through the bushveld with a careful camera angle.

Apart from Johannesburg, there are many other spectacular routes to drive in and around Gauteng. The West Rand offers a landscape studded with mine dumps, headgears and the Magaliesberg mountain range. The main attraction to the area is the Cradle of Humankind, which incorporates the Sterkfontein Caves - one of the world's most important palaeo-anthropological sites.

There is the R563 between Maropeng and Hekpoort which is particularly spectacular in the late afternoon, also the R560 from Hartebeespoort towards the Magaliesburg is worth exploring.

The Crocodile Arts and Crafts route sprawls across much of the North- western Gauteng bushveld, through Honeydew and Muldersdrift, past Lanseria Airport, to the beautiful Broederstroom area - a mere 30 kilometres from the centre of Johannesburg.

The quaint town of Magaliesburg lies in the valley, and a number of country retreats and weekend guesthouses and lodges are found in the area. The Magalies Meander tourism route, a favourite attraction to the area, takes visitors from Rustenburg to Krugersdorp and the Haartebeespoort Dam.

Metsweding offers nice drives in and around the historic town of Cullinan. The old Victorian houses in Oak Avenue have been lovingly restored and has been used on numerous occasions as period film locations.

Wind along the country lanes of Irene with cows grazing in green pastures. Take the Jan Smuts Drive out of the village to Doornkloof, now known as Smuts House Museum, along a deep-shaded country avenue of plane trees, poplars and old oaks. After about two kilometres you come to the gates of the of Doornkloof where you can catch a glimpse of the old house through the trees. Sedibeng is a cluster of towns near the majestic Vaal River. It is the industrial heartland of Gauteng and some quite extraordinary sights from the N1 of factories belching smoke at night make these seem strangely surreal. Sedibeng also has some beautiful routes from Suikerbosrand towards Heidelberg and the Vaal Dam.

Ekurhuleni, as one of the most intensely mined areas in the country, provides views of mine dumps and machinery on many routes through this district. But the district is not only about mining - If you are looking for some wonderful scenic drives along the dams in and around Johannesburg, Benoni and Boksburgh offers both.