Lies at the cross roads of South Africa and, sooner or later, most people on the road eventually bypass it on the N1 highway en route to the major cities in Gauteng and the rest of the country. It's a city entrenched in South Africa's frontier history having sprung up around a pretty spring surrounded by flowers.
"Bloem"
Was the birth place of the great 20th century fantasy writer JRR Tolkien and is still home to Zola Budd Pieterse, who as a child athlete stole world headlines when she was given British citizenship to compete in the Olympic Games
