Cultural Guiding - Explore
The North West Province
“It rains, our country looks beautiful, and our cattle are thriving and calves frolicking. May this rain coincide with the rain of God’s spirit which will lend us harmony and co-operation.” (Chief LM Mangope) 2 – WildlifeCampus Cultural Guiding Course – North West
Module # 1 – North West Province Overview
Component # 1 – North West Province Overview
Module # 2 – Cultural Overview
Component # 1 – Meet the BaTswana People
Module # 3 – Historical Overview
Component # 1 – North West Historical Overview
Module # 4 – Fauna, Flora and Geological Overview
Component # 1 – North West Geographical and Natural Features Component # 2 – North West Wildlife and Nature Conservation Overview
Module # 5 – Bojanala Platinum District
Component # 1 – Bojanala Platinum District - Towns along the N4 Component # 2 – Bojanala Platinum District - Major attractions
Module # 6 – Ngaka Modiri Molema District
Component # 1 – Ngaka Modiri Molema District
Module # 7 – Dr Kenneth Kaunda District
Component # 1 – Dr Kenneth Kaunda District
Module # 8 – Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District
Component # 1 – Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District
North West Province Overview
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Module 1 - Component 1
North West Province Overview
Introduction
The North West Province was created after the end of Apartheid in 1994 and includes parts of the former Transvaal Province and Cape Province, as well as most of the former Bantustan of Bophuthatswana.
North West Province Overview
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It was the scene of political violence in Khutsong, Merafong City Local Municipality in 2006 and 2007 after cross-province municipalities were abolished and Merafong Municipality was transferred entirely to North West. Merafong has since been transferred to Gauteng province in 2009. This province is the birthplace of prominent politicians: Ahmed Kathrada, Moses Kotane, Ruth Mompati, Aziz Pahad, Essop Pahad, Abram Onkgopotse Tiro and others. Situated close to Gauteng, it also borders the Northern Cape, the Free State and Limpopo, as well as neighbouring country, Botswana. Due to its significant platinum production, North West is sometimes referred to as the “Platinum Province”.
Entrance at the new Lion Park, which moved from Gauteng to North West Province.
North West Province Overview
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Location of The North West Province in South Africa
North West Province Overview
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Municipal map of the Province
Image source: www.municipalities.co.za
North West Province Overview
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Coat of Arms
Motto: Kagiso Le Tswelelopele
"Kagiso" = Peace "Le" = and "Tswelelopele" = prosperity, going forward or progress.
In the centre is a calabash (water container) with a leather thong cradle. A sunflower is supported by a pair of silver horns resting upon the shield. Two sable antelope support the shield.
North West Province Overview
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Demographics
Land surface area 104,882 km2 (40,495 sq. mi)
Highest elevation 1,805 m (5,922 ft)
Population (2011): 3,509,953 Estimate (2018): 3,979,000 Population Rank: 7th in South Africa Density: 33/km2 (87/sq. mi) Density rank: 7th in South Africa
Afrikaans: 9.0% English: 3.5% Northern Sotho: 2.4% Languages Southern Sotho: 5.8% Tsonga: 3.7% Tswana: 63.4% Xhosa: 5.5% Zulu: 2.5%
Black African: 89.8% Races Coloured: 1.8% Indian or Asian: 0.6% White: 7.3%
Capital Mahikeng
Largest city Klerksdorp
The premier of North West Province as of 2020 is Job Premier Mokgoro of the African National Congress. He replaced Supra Mahumapelo as premier after Mahumapelo stepped down in May 2018.
North West Province Overview
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Professor Job Mokgoro looks on after being announced as the North West Premier-elect during an ANC press briefing held in Johannesburg, 21 June 2018. Picture: Refilwe Modise via www.citizen.co.za.
North West Province Overview
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Heritage song
Our pride is our heritage Ahe - Ahe Tlang lotlhe, bonang gotlhe Ahe - Ahe A re tseeng karolo rotlhe A re goleng mmogo - Let's grow together The Platinum Province is for you and for me A re tseeng karolo rotlhe Go Bojanala Province ya bokone-Bophirima Ke ya me le wena
Jo! Bontle jo bokana-kana Divine beauty Jo! Tlhago e egaisang tota Nature at best Tlang le tlo bona
Hartbeespoort Dam Madikwe Game Reserve Mahikeng Capital City Pilanesberg National Park Sun City and Lost City Taung Heritage Site Vredefort Dome
Jo! Bontle jo bokana-kana Divine beauty Jo! Tlhago e egaisang tota Nature at best Tlang le tlo bona
North West Province Overview
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Municipalities and Districts
The North West Province is divided into four district municipalities. The district municipalities are in turn divided into 18 local municipalities:
Bojanala Platinum District
Kgetlengrivier Madibeng Moretele Moses Kotane Rustenburg
Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District
Greater Taung Kagisano-Molopo Lekwa-Teemane Mamusa Naledi
Ngaka Modiri Molema District
Ditsobotla Mahikeng Ramotshere Ratlou Tswaing
Dr Kenneth Kaunda District
JB Marks Matlosana Maquassi Hills
North West Province Overview
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Cities and Towns
Bloemhof Brits Christiana Coligny Klerksdorp Koster Letsopa Lichtenburg Mahikeng Mmakau Mogwase Mothibistad Orkney Ottosdal Pampierstad Potchefstroom Reivilo Rustenburg Schweizer-Reneke Stilfontein Ventersdorp Vryburg Wolmaransstad Zeerust
North West Province Overview
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Economy
The North West has an abundant supply of natural resources, a good transport infrastructure, one of the fastest-growing telecommunication industries, and well developed financial and industrial sectors. The mainstay of the economy of North West Province is mining, which generates more than half of the province's gross domestic product and provides jobs for a quarter of its workforce. The chief minerals are gold, mined at Orkney and Klerksdorp; uranium mined at Klerksdorp; platinum mined at Rustenburg and Brits; and diamonds mined at Lichtenburg, Christiana, and Bloemhof. About 85% of all money-making activities take place between Klerksdorp and Potchefstroom. The economic heart of the province is Klerksdorp. The northern and western parts of the province have many sheep farms and cattle and game ranches. The eastern and southern parts are crop-growing regions that produce maize (corn), sunflowers, tobacco, cotton, and citrus fruits. The entertainment and casino complex at Sun City and Lost City also contributes to the provincial economy.
Sun City – Valley of The Waves
North West Province Overview
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Agriculture
Agriculture is of extreme importance to the North West. Maize and sunflowers are the most important crops and the North West, and the province is the major producer of white maize in the country. Some of the largest cattle herds in the world are found at Stellaland near Vryburg, affording the area with the nickname of the “Texas of South Africa”. Groot Marico is also cattle-country. The areas around Rustenburg and Brits are fertile, mixed-crop farming land. Game ranching is also becoming more popular.
Buffalo at Hillcrest Game Estates – A world class game breeding Estate based in Wolmaransstad, North West.
North West Province Overview
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Mining
Platinum
The metal is the most important contributor to the province's economy and very dependent on metal price changes on world markets. There is a high demand for platinum in the petroleum, glass, automotive and jewellery industries. Nickel, palladium and rhodium (by-products of platinum) are also very valuable. The province still has sufficient reserves to last for many years. The largest, single platinum-production area in the world is around Rustenburg and Brits.
Platinum
North West Province Overview
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Gold
Another important contributor to the economy, with 7 gold mines still in operation. They account for 20-25% of South Africa’s production. Gold is mainly mined at Orkney and Klerksdorp. Diamond mines at Lichtenburg, Koster, Christiana and Bloemhof. Gold and uranium mines at Orkney and Klerksdorp. Marble and granite at Rustenburg. Fluorspar is exploited at Zeerust. The only A grade deposit of pyrophyllite (Wonderstone) in South Africa is found at Ottosdal. Other minerals that are also produced in considerable amounts: limestone, vanadium, slate, nickel, fluorspar, phosphate, coal and manganese.
Limestone stalactite
North West Province Overview
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Industrial activity is centred around the following towns:
Brits, mainly manufacturing and construction industries. Klerksdorp focuses on the mining industry. Vryburg and Rustenburg, industries that support agriculture. The Platinum SDI (The Spatial Development Initiative) will unlock further development. It is situated on the Coast-to-Coast highway that links the Port of Maputo in Mozambique to Walvis Bay in Namibia. Apart from potential project opportunities in mining, agriculture, manufacturing and tourism, employment along the Platinum Corridor, from Pretoria to eastern Botswana, already accounts for about a third of the total employment in North West.
Pelindaba is South Africa's main nuclear research center, run by the South African Nuclear Energy Corporation. It is situated near the Hartbeespoort Dam, approximately 33 km west of Pretoria, on the farm that once belonged to Gustav Preller.
North West Province Overview
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Education
The province has two universities: The University of North West, which was formerly called the University of Bophuthatswana (founded in 1979), in Mmabatho; and Potchefstroom University for Christian Higher Education (founded in 1869; became a constituent college of the University of South Africa in 1921 and an independent university in 1951). These two universities have now merged, and the new institution is called North-West University. There is also a private university found in Klerksdorp: Centurion Akademie Klerksdorp, which caters mainly to Afrikaans students. Because it is a private institution, classes may be in Afrikaans and the foundation of education gained at Centurion Akademie is based on the Christian faith. It is also the largest institution of its kind in existence. As part of the Department of Education's proposed plans for higher education, the existing four higher learning institutions will be merged to form two. During 2003, as part of the Year of Further Education and Training project, three mega institutions, Taletso, ORBIT and Vuselela, were established to provide technical and vocational training to the youth. These institutions have been incorporated into many of the former education and technical colleges and manpower centres.
North West Province Overview
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Borders
North West borders the following districts of Botswana:
Kgatleng – far northeast South-East – northeast Southern – north Kgalagadi – northwest
Domestically, it borders the following provinces:
Limpopo – northeast Gauteng – east Free State – southeast Northern Cape – southwest
There are many great reserves and facilities to enjoy wildlife
North West Province Overview
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Main Routes and places of interest
National Roads in the North West Province
North West Province Overview
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Explore the Bojanala Platinum District
This district is close to Gauteng and an eco-tourism paradise. The Bushveld vegetation is home to many species of animals, protected in Game Reserves. Recreational activities include ballooning, mountaineering, hang-gliding, parasailing, abseiling, water sport, hiking, angling, yachting, the cableway at Hartbeespoort. This region is also well-known for its mineral resources and hosts the largest platinum mines in the world.
Hot air ballooning is a great way to explore this beautiful area!
North West Province Overview
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Sun City and Pilanesberg via Hartbeespoort Dam (Route A)
The most spectacular entrance to the North West Province is via the scenic Hartbeespoort Dam, nestled in the Magalies Mountain range.
From Gauteng it can be reached by using the following routes:
Travelling west from Pretoria on Church Street before joining the N4 toll road.
From the N12 (Pretoria to Mogale City) or Johannesburg (Sandton) via the R511, or the popular R512. Offers an opportunity to visit the Lesedi Cultural Village, before turning east to join the N4 towards the Hartbeespoort Dam. After crossing the Dam wall and a drive along numerous arts and crafts shops and local restaurants, travel west on the N4 for a short while before swerving north-west via the R556 to Pilanesberg and Sun City, one of the most popular tourist attractions for both local and foreign visitors.
Lesedi Cultural Village
North West Province Overview
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Sun City and Pilanesberg via the N4 (from the N1) west towards Rustenburg, and the 565 (Route B)
The N4 toll road, or also known as the BaKwena ("people of the Crocodile") Platinum Highway, is reached from the N1(north of Pretoria), into the Bojanala region. This offers faster access to the R556 (See Route A) and magnificent views of the Magalies Mountains to the south. Fields of sunflowers (in summer-autumn) and the industrial development between Brits and Rustenburg are also of interest along this route. Kroondal and Rustenburg, in turn, offer interesting historical sites. After passing Rustenburg and still travelling west on the N4, the sign to the "Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace " and the R104 to Rustenburg, indicate the turnoff that leads to the R565. This road takes the visitor through Phokeng, renowned for one of the richest tribes in Africa, the Bafokeng. It passes the Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace, a venue for the Fifa World Soccer Cup 2010, and two other historical sites in the area, the so-called grave of Mzilikazi and the residence of President Paul Kruger, at Boekenhoutfontein. From here it is a short distance to the Bakubung Gate (Pilanesberg) and Sun City.
Bakubung Gate (Pilanesberg)
North West Province Overview
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The N4 west from Rustenburg to Groot Marico
Continue with the N4 west from Rustenburg, drive through the town of Swartruggens, and approximately 30km further, enter Groot Marico, the heartland of “mampoer”, colourful characters and stories and of course, Herman Charles Bosman. From here the N4 takes us into the Central Region.
Herman Charles Bosman (5 February 1905 – 14 October 1951) is widely regarded as South Africa's greatest short-story writer. He studied the works of Edgar Allan Poe and Mark Twain and developed a style emphasizing the use of satire. His English-language works utilize primarily Afrikaner characters and highlight the many contradictions in Afrikaner society during the first half of the twentieth century.
North West Province Overview
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Explore the Ngaka Modiri Molema District
Characterised by dense, uncultivated thorny bushveld vegetation, bordering Botswana and the Kalahari Desert of the Northern Cape. The area becomes flatter and drier as one travels from the east to the west. The region also offers opportunities for bird watching, game viewing, hunting, sport and other activities. The area is also rich in Anglo-Boer War history.
The N4 west from Groot Marico to Zeerust, R47 to Madikwe Game Reserve
From Groot Marico to Zeerust, one passes two important monuments, that of the Kleinfontein and the grave of Diederik Coetzee, for whom the town, Zeerust was named. From Zeerust, the N4 makes way to the Skilpadsnek border post to Lobatse (Botswana). From the main street in Zeerust, the R47 to Gabarone (Botswana) indicates the road to Madikwe Game Reserve (approximately 97km from Zeerust), the other popular “Big Five” malaria-free experience in the bush.
Experience the Big 5 at Madikwe Game Reserve
North West Province Overview
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Other important towns and places in the Central Region
The town of Mahikeng is reached via the R49 from Zeerust. On this route, one passes Ottoshoop, the scene of one of the biggest gold rushes in South Africa. Mahikeng, capital of the North West, has a rich history as the British Capital of Bechuanaland and is also known for the Siege of Mahikeng and the birthplace of the idea for the Boy Scouts. The Airport was also used as a gateway to Rustenburg during the Fifa World Soccer Cup in 2010. The N18, north of the town offers yet another exit to Botswana via the Ramatlabama border post. Travelling south from Mahikeng, on the R503 towards Lichtenburg, one passes the Rooigrond Prison (west). The prison is famous for the last execution during the time of the death penalty in South Africa and inmate AWB (Afrikaner Resistance Movement), Eugene Terblanche. The controversial song “De la Rey”, by Bok van Blerk, has put Lichtenburg on the map as the hometown of this much-admired Boer general. The R52 joins the N14 southwest of Lichtenburg and passes the Barberspan Ramsar Wetlands before it enters the Bophirima region, onto Vryburg.
Flamingo at Barberspan
North West Province Overview
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Explore the Dr Ruth Segomotsi Mompati District
This is the largest region in the province. It lies 1, 200 m above sea level. Climate is generally dry and very hot in summer. Its main economic activity is agriculture. This area has not seen much development and the visitor can still enjoy laid-back bird watching and game viewing. Hunting also plays an important role. The main town in this region is Vryburg, or also known as the “Texas of South Africa” due to its extensive cattle ranching and auctions, the biggest in the southern hemisphere.
Black Springbok
North West Province Overview
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The N18 - Driving northeast from Mahikeng
One passes not far from the railway siding of Kraaipan. This was the place where the first shot by Jaap van Deventer (later “Sir Jaap”) heralded the start of the Great South African War (Anglo-Boer War II). The route leads to Mahikeng and the border post of Ramatlabama.
South of Mahikeng
Driving south, along the Dry Harts River, one reaches Taung, east of the N18. This is the place where the “Taung Child” was uncovered and identified as Australopithecus Africanus, a predecessor of humans. The site has since been incorporated into the Cradle of Humankind World Heritage site (Gauteng). Further south, close to the intersection with the N12, the Vaalharts Dam (Northern Cape) was established as part of the extensive Vaalharts Water Irrigation Scheme that also serves North West.
General van Deventer, July 1917 - 1918
North West Province Overview
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Explore the Dr Kenneth Kaunda District
The temperature is dry and mild. A major attraction is the Vaal River with numerous pleasure resorts. This region covers most of the previous “Western Transvaal”. Activities include hiking, mountain biking, canoeing, white-water rafting, mountain climbing and abseiling. Economic activities include gold, platinum and diamond mining, as well as maize, dairy and sunflower farming.
The Vredefort Dome
In 2005, it was declared a World Heritage site. It is situated on a corner where the Vaal River borders northwest and the Free State. The easiest way of reaching it is via the N1 from Gauteng, and then through the town of Parys, on the Vaal River (Free State).
The Vredefort Dome
North West Province Overview
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The N12 to Potchefstroom and Klerksdorp
The N12, from Johannesburg to Potchefstroom, offers views of the deepest gold mine in the world (Western deep) and the monument of the Boer scout, Danie Theron, before opting an alternative route to the Vredefort Dome via Fochville on the R500. Continuing on the N12, one reaches the oldest town and first capital of the Transvaal, Potchefstroom. This scenic town, situated on the Mooi River offers numerous historical sites, hosts the theological college of the Gereformeerde Kerk and home to the Afrikaans poet, Totius. From here, the N12 southwest, reaches Klerksdorp, the gold and uranium hub of the mining industry in the North West Province. Further South, the Bloemhof Dam is a popular angling venue and also hosted the World Angling Championships in 2008. The N12 enters the Northern Cape just after Christiana.
Bloemhof Dam
North West Province Overview
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