I ♥ Ifafi Because ...

I ♥ Ifafi

Hi, I’m Tieka from Cocomo Guesthouse and Conference Centre in Ifafi, Hartbeespoort Dam.

Ifafi IS BEST KNOWN FOR its ideal loc­a­tion in Hartbeespoort. Although Ifafi is extremely close to the CBD and res­taur­ants, it is loc­ated next to the dam in a res­id­en­tial area assur­ing for peace­ful­ness and tran­quil­ity. Ifafi is also closely loc­ated to Necsa Pelindaba for cor­por­ate guests.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the dam wall. If you are lucky a valve may be open for mag­ni­fi­cent photos.

THE BEST scenic sun­set PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT the cross on Saartjies Nek. The sun­set over the dam is a breath tak­ing picture.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT any of the attrac­tions in the area. Continued

I ♥ Schoemansville Because ...

I ♥ Schoemansville

Hi, I’m Laurette Hanekom from Stirling Manor Boutique Guest House in Schoemansville.

Schoemansville IS BEST KNOWN FOR being the main town of Hartbeespoort.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the Snake and Animal Park, because there are many dif­fer­ent anim­als you are likely to see in real life.

THE BEST animal PICTURES CAN BE TAKEN AT Bush Baby Monkey Sanctuary and Ukutula Game Lodge where walk­ing with the lions is a life chan­ging experience.

OTHER HAPPY SNAPS AT the Welwitschia Country Market which is open from Tuesday to Sunday and all pub­lic hol­i­days from 09h00 to 17h00.

Continued

I ♥ Rustenburg because...

I ♥ Rustenburg

Hi, I’m Marnice from Boubou B&B in Rustenburg in the North West Province of South Africa.

RUSTENBURG IS BEST KNOWN FORthe beau­ti­ful game parks high­light­ing the lovely nature, bird­life and Big Five ter­rit­ory of the Pilanesberg.

GET YOUR PICTURE TAKEN AT the Kgaswane Nature Reserve.  You can get a pan­or­amic view of the Magaliesberg Mountain from the highest view point at the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve.  Don’t for­get to get a pic­ture of the crater of an extinct vol­cano that exis­ted 1500 mil­lion years ago.
THE BEST PHOTOGRAPHS CAN BE TAKEN AT the Pilanesberg Nature Reserve – just remem­ber the park is home to the Big Five so get­ting out of your car is not recom­men­ded!
OTHER HAPPY SNAPS can be taken at sport events, musical events and fest­ivals ... Continued

Rustenburg — not so sleepy

Rustenburg

Rustenburg does not live up to its name. Meaning “place of rest” this once sleepy little town star­ted out as a small farm­ing com­munity pro­du­cing cit­rus and Virginia tobacco, but now it is known as the Platinum City due to its extens­ive min­ing. A hub of activ­ity and only a ninety minute drive from both Johannesburg and Pretoria it is per­fect for day trips or a week­end getaway.

Rustenburg has a fine bal­ance between his­tory, arts, cul­ture and nature mak­ing it a place that every­one can enjoy. Its his­tory is closely linked to the Vorrtrekkers who foun­ded the town in 1851. They star­ted to settle in the area and named it Rustenburg after they defeated  Mzilikazi and his tribe ... Continued

Hartley’s Restaurant and Pub — A unique country pub and restaurant in an old milking parlour

Hartley's

If you are out and about in Rustenburg and want a din­ner or lunch venue with a his­tor­ical slant to it why not give Hartley’s Restaurant and Pub at Rainhill Farm a try.

The his­tory of Rainhill Farm (named after Rainhill vil­lage in Scotland) is that it was pur­chased by broth­ers Frank and Duncan McGregor and their sis­ter Helen McGregor in 1909.  Frank mar­ried Ella McGregor and she moved to the farm once an old stor­e­room had been restored to become her ‘house’!  Perhaps she didn’t like the idea of shar­ing a home with her new hus­band, his mother and sis­ter! Continued

Activities at Maropeng Centre on Heritage Day

Maropeng

As I am sure you are well aware there is a pub­lic hol­i­day this week – Friday 24 September 2010 is National Heritage Day in South Africa. If you’ve for­got­ten or (shock hor­ror) you don’t know why we cel­eb­rate Heritage Day let me tell you. It is a fairly recent pub­lic hol­i­day which recog­nises all aspects of South African cul­ture. Which I think is some­thing quite spe­cial besides mean­ing that we get the day off.

Now if you’re not already cel­eb­rat­ing the day with a braai – National Braai Day, and you can’t think of any­thing to do, rather than spend the day laz­ing about why not head out to Maropeng in the Cradle of Humankind for their cel­eb­ra­tion where more than 8000 people are expec­ted ... Continued

A holiday in the crater of a once active volcano ... Pilanesberg Reserve

When a friend of mine sug­ges­ted that our next hol­i­day in South Africa should be in the crater of a once act­ive vol­cano, I wasn't sure it was a good idea. I've seen way too many dis­aster movies to not know that people say “it’s been inact­ive for mil­len­nia” about fif­teen minutes before the thing erupts and the main char­ac­ters spend the rest of the movie fight­ing for their lives.

Turns out the main char­ac­ters in this adven­ture (a group of friends and myself) spent our time explor­ing and relax­ing for our lives. The long extinct vol­cano crater in ques­tion is now home to the Pilanesberg Game reserve and was well worth the vis­ions of dis­aster ... Continued

Tshukudu Bush Lodge — a perfectly indulgent bush getaway

Tshukudu Bush Lodge

Imagine lying back in a sooth­ing bubble bath with a sweep­ing view of the malaria-free Pilanesberg National Park, where over 80 spe­cies of animal roam the savan­nah. Imagine no more. Built high on a rocky out­crop, Tshukudu Bush Lodge has been designed to offer you a per­fectly indul­gent bush getaway ...

Overlooking its own water­hole, set in rolling plains that abound with flora and fauna, Tshukudu Lodge allows the vis­itor a spe­cial glimpse of Africa as she was: untouched, unspoilt, unfor­get­table ... Tshukudu Lodge, "Place of the Rhino" in the Pilanesberg Game Reserve, offers 6 lux­ury cot­tages and 2 cab­ins nestled on an isol­ated rocky out­crop in the heart of a 55 000 hec­tare, mal­aria free, wild­life para­dise ... Continued

The Palace at the lost City (Photographs)

Photographs and a short video taken at The Palace at The Lost City in Sun City, North West Province. The inter­na­tion­ally acclaimed Sun City Resort has a unique heart­beat and an African rhythm of its own and is unlike any other Resort des­tin­a­tion in the world. This is pure fantasy and your every desire is met ... Continued

King of Madikwe Photos

A gal­lery of pho­to­graphs taken in the Madikwe Game Reserve in the North West Province, South Africa. Madikwe Game Reserve is run as a joint ven­ture between the state, private sec­tor and local com­munit­ies who live on the bor­ders of the reserve and who bene­fit too, earn­ing an annual share of the park’s profits. There are day and night game drives within Madikwe Game Reserve, bush walks and over 350 spe­cies of bird­life, includ­ing a num­ber of inter­est­ing rap­tors ... Continued

The Big 5 Madikwe Game Reserve

Madikwe Game Reserve, con­sist­ing of reclaimed farm land, is fam­ous for the ambi­tious re-stocking pro­gram “Operation Phoenix” and is now home to the big five and is fam­ous for its wild dog and spot­ted hyena ... Continued

Discovering the North West Province

Hot Air Balloons

The North West Province is close to the urban sprawl of Johannesburg and Pretoria. Unlike those bust­ling cit­ies, much of the North West Province is devoted to agri­cul­ture and to min­ing, but oppor­tun­it­ies and des­tin­a­tions for tour­ists also abound.

On a grand, com­mer­cial scale, there is the Sun City and Lost City com­plex. A man­u­fac­tured enter­tain­ment and hotel com­plex, it offers gambling, the arti­fi­cial beach of the wave park, horse rid­ing, and two fam­ous and excel­lent golf courses, in addi­tion to fine din­ing, spa treat­ments and more. Continued