Gauteng and North West Attractions

White rhino, gemsbok, antelopes, giraffe, sable, and about 300 species of bird can be seen along the game-viewing road network in this 14,000ha/34,580ac reserve. Game- viewing drives, picnic sites, walking and horse-back trails are available.

Accommodation is in tented Rest Camp with communal kitchen and toilet facilities.

The Faan Meintjies Nature Reserve, an area of more than 1,300ha/3,200ac of flat grassland and sandy hills is home to numerous species of antelope, as well as buffaloes, black wildebeests, giraffes, zebras and rhinoceros. There is no accommodation for visitors in the reserve.

49km/30mi southwest of Potchefstroom is Klerksdorp (pop. 130,000), the first white settlement in the Transvaal (1837). It became a boom town in 1886, when gold was discovered here and 40,000 prospectors flocked to the area. The gold seams, however, turned out to be much less productive than those of the Witwatersrand, and it was only the introduction of improved mining methods after the Second World War that made the workings profitable. The second most important branch of the economy is agriculture.

The Leon Talyard Nature Reserve (area 857ha/2,117ac) is home to blue and black wildebeests, steppe and mountain zebras, antelopes and gazelles, Cape buffaloes and rhinos.

Potchefstroom, 119km/74mi southwest of Johannesburg, was the first capital of the Boer republic of the Transvaal, and even after the capital was moved to Pretoria in 1860 it remained an important economic and cultural center. It now has a university with over 9,000 students. The climate (cool, dry winters and warm, rainy summers) fosters a productive agriculture (grain, sunflowers, fruit and vegetables; cattle-farming).

Potchefstroom preserves numerous historic buildings to bear witness to its past, including the Dutch Reformed church of 1866 and the old fort near the railroad station. In 1880-81 a British force in Fort Buren was besieged for three months by the Boers.

In addition to the Municipal Museum and the museum housed in the former residence of President M. W. Pretorius there is the Totius Museum, with mementos and the library of the well-known Afrikaans writer and poet J. D. Du Toit.

The President Pretorius Museum was the residence of Martinus Wessel Pretorius (1819 - 1901), first president of the South African Republic and founder of Pretoria. This Cape-style dwelling with its coach-house, stable and smithy in was built in 1868.

This Edwardian-style house c 1905 was the home of Professor D.J. du Toit (Totius). Totius was also well-known Afrikaans Bible translator, poet and cultural leader. The contents of the house are authentic and have been donated by the Du Toit family.

Schweizer-Reneke (pop. 11,000) is the center of an agricultural area (corn, groundnuts; cattle and sheep farming). Northeast of the town is the Wentzel Dam, a popular recreation area (water sports).

The country round Vryburg is flat, arid and bare, and few visitors venture into this "Texas of South Africa" - so called because it is the largest cattle-farming region in South Africa. For the farmers in the surrounding area Vryburg is an important shopping and business center, and it has a number of factories which process the produce of the region.

The little town of Zeerust and the neighboring settlements of Groot Marico and Ottoshoop make up the Marico district. This is a thriving agricultural area in which citrus fruits, tobacco, corn and wheat are grown. There is an annual Mampoer Festival.

5km/3mi east of Zeerust is a reservoir with facilities for water-skiing and fishing (picnic area, holiday village).

The Marico Trail (a two-day walk with overnight accommodation in a hut) runs along the Marico River.