Page 88 - SAICE book proof 2 LATEST JULY 2014

s a i c e

CHAPTER 7: North West Province

Introduction ◊ Sun City

Bordering Botswana, Limpopo, Gauteng, the Free State
and Northern Cape this province covers approximately
105 000 km². It shares many geological, topographical
and climate aspects with its neighbour Limpopo to the
northeast and as such are also home to large tracts of
nature reserves and wild life parks. It is a place rich in
diversity and a place of huge contrasts. From the rolling
savannah type grasslands to the Bushveld, and from
the majestic Magaliesberg Mountains with its beautiful
ravines and small rock pools and waterfalls to the very
flat plains around the capital city, its landscapes and
activities keep changing as one travels along.

Towards its south western borders the landscape
becomes drier and ultimately shares portions of the
Kalahari Desert. To the southeast it borders the Free
State along the banks of the Vaal River where maize
farms stretch across the horizons and on its eastern over time and for a long period of time it was known as
border with Gauteng the last vestiges of gold mining Mafiking, a place where the British army was laid up for
still rule and dominate the economy. Towards the south a long time during the Anglo Boer War.
the reefs dip so far to the south that even employing
current technology makes it difficult to reach the During the years of Nationalist Party rule a substantial
reefs due to pressure and heat. Cooling of the mining portion of the province was designated as a homeland
tunnels up to almost 4 km require substantial energy and it became the independent state of Boputhatswana.
resources. Due to legislation major gambling facilities were pro-
hibited in South Africa and this gave rise to the spec-
In its ancient past this part of South Africa was home tacular Sun City and Lost City casino and entertainment
to not only the Khoi San people but also to the Sotho developments by Sol Kerzner at Pilanesberg within an
tribes and they share a language with the Botswana ancient volcanic crater.
people. It is also the home of the so called Taung
skull. The Taung Child is the fossilised skull of a young Civil engineering infrastructure is mainly aimed at pro-
Australopithecus africanus individual. It was discovered viding essential services to the various towns in the area
in 1924 by quarrymen working for the Northern Lime but with the advent of the platinum mining age, the
Company in Taung. Raymond Dart described it as a new supply of water and transportation became the name of
species in the journal Nature in 1925. The skull is kept the game in this area.
at the University of the Witwatersrand.
This province features:
The most recent past bears witness to kilometres of
small hills left behind by diamond delvers along the Vaal 1. Sun City and the Lost City at Pilanesberg on
River system. At Lichtenburg one of the biggest ever the rim of an ancient extinct volcano is where dreams
diamond rushes took place when thousands of hope- and make belief become reality. The brainchild of
fuls ran to stake a claim on the Grasfontein farm where businessman Sol Kerzner who saw a gap in the days of
diamonds were discovered. independent homelands and the restriction on casinos
by the South African government of the time, he
Today the rich platinum mines of the Rustenburg re- created fantasy lands made out of concrete and lights,
gion, citrus orchards, vegetable and tobacco farms co- an artificial lake and wave pool, a monorail and even a
exist. The town of Mahikeng saw many name changes bridge that trembles when an artificial earthquake goes

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