Long Tom Toboggan

1.7 Kilometre toboggan track, winding & whooshing around the mountains in the Long Tom Pass

Enjoy the ride of your life and ‘excite your soul’ on Misty Mountain’s Long Tom Toboggan. Feel the wind in your hair and the thrill in your belly when you wind and whoosh around Mpumalanga’s Long Tom Pass mountains on the Long Tom Toboggan, the longest toboggan run in Africa with an impressive 1.7 km track. Simply hop on board your Long Tom Toboggan cart and prepare to take a deep breath when you reach a speed of 45 kilometres an hour during your three-minute ride, as you twist and turn through wild flowers, open grassland and pine forests.

Rides are subject to strict safety rules, terms and conditions, including a weight limit of 120 kilograms. This activity is suitable for people of all ages. However, children need to be a minimum of 7/8 years old to ride alone and need to be strong enough to manage the brake lever on the toboggan cart. The Long Tom Toboggan is designed and built on the principles of the tried and tested European model known as an “alpine coaster” or “sommerrodelbahn”.

The first of its kind in South Africa

Opened in March 2016, the Long Tom Toboggan is built on the principles of a European model, known as an ‘alpine coaster’ or ‘sommerrodelbahn’. Developed, built, owned and brought to life by the owners of Misty Mountain, James and Lisa Sheard, and their engineer friend Murray Simpson, the steel monorail track took over two years to complete.

Building the Long Tom Toboggan took years of planning. Misty Mountain is set on a breath-taking 280-hectare South African Natural Heritage Site and the mountain down which the track meanders had never before been developed. This meant careful and minimal clearing of the land to make way for the development without compromising the environment or scenery.

It took much experimentation and innovation but today this greenfields project stands as a proud testament to how the Lowveld’s many wonders can be opened up for the enjoyment of tourists and locals, while preserving the natural environment and scenic beauty of the area.

Painstaking hours went into running safety tests on the 328 lengths of steel pipe, which led to the final product. The distance from the top to the bottom is equal to the length of 17 rugby fields and every centimetre of it has been checked, double checked and checked again to ensure riders’ safety.

Ride the exhilarating twists and turns once… We bet you will want to go again… and again… As once is simply not enough!