Road to Lydenburg

A couple of months ago We had gone for a drive exploring the countryside. As we were nearing Lydenburg, about 100ks from Nelspruit, we saw something on the road that looked for all the world like a discarded retread. We didn't have time to avoid it. There was a  nasty sound and Andrew stopped the car. Oil was pouring out from underneath.  Andrew's words were " We are stuffed!" The 'retead' turned out to be a large metal brake shoe from a truck it had cracked the sump and done other nasty things to the car.

Fortunately we were lucky. A wonderful couple came along and towed us into Lydenburg. A tow truck came and took the car away, Avis fixed us up with a rental car and after a few hours we were on our way home. Great!

But it has taken us more than two months to get the car back. After a repair bill of 35,000 rand and some discussions over who was going to pay the bills, a friend and I set out to collect the car on Friday.
Now, not all South Africa roads are like this but... I think you can see why so many cars here suffer flat tyres, damaged rims and cracked sumps.

Potholes are a major problem in some of the roads.  Often there is a helpful sign saying 'POTHOLES'  but that is about as far as mending them it goes!

Cars often have to weave from one side to the other to avoid things like this!

To add to the fun a truck had dropped a load of bricks along the load!

We got home safely but needless to say we wont be going to Lydenburg again.