HEIDELBERG...lies in a region originally named Suikerbosrand by the Voortrekker party that explored the area in June 1836. The name, meaning ‘sugarbush ridge’, refers to the common sugarbush (Protea caffra) which is abundant on the ridges in the area. Attracted by good grazing and water, a Voortrekker group under Commandant PD Jacobs settled in the area during 1839–40. Situated alongside a busy ox-wagon road, the town developed around a trading store established on the farm Langlaagte by a German shopkeeper, Heinrich Ueckermann, in 1860. When the town was established in 1866, it was named after Heidelberg in Germany, where Ueckermann had been trained. At the outbreak of the War of Independence (1880–81), on 16 December 1880, Heidelberg became the capital of the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek (ZAR). |
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An obelisk featuring busts of Paul Kruger, Piet Joubert and MW Pretorius, the triumvirate who headed the reconstituted republican government, is a reminder of this chapter of the country’s history. Heidelberg also has a beautiful sandstone Dutch Reformed Church, built in the Early Norman style and completed in 1891. The town’s famous ‘bakoond’ resembles a large outdoor baking oven, and was built to conceal Heidelberg’s water supply during the War of Independence. The Heidelberg Motor Museum, housed in the goods sheds of the railway station, has a fascinating collection of early bicycles (including penny farthings), motorcycles, veteran cars, racing cars and a Class 16 steam locomotive. Built in Dutch-Flemish Renaissance style, the old railway station building dates back to 1895. |
SUIKERBOSRAND NATURE RESERVE...covers 13 337 ha of grassveld, woodlands and shrublands to the west of Heidelberg. Visitors can explore the reserve along a 60-km tourist route, or follow two self-guided interpretive trails. Suikerbosrand has been stocked with 12 antelope species, including blesbok, black wildebeest, red hartebeest, reedbuck, mountain reedbuck and springbok, while Burchell’s zebra also occur. Among the approximately 250 bird species recorded to date are several interesting grassland species such as greywing francolin, several lark species, Ayre’s cisticola, pipits and orange-throated longclaw. The Diepkloof Farm Museum is centred on one of the oldest farmhouses north of the Vaal River, on the farm established by Jan Gabriël Marais in the 1850s. |
VILLIERS...was established in 1882 on the farms Pearson Valley and Grootdraai, on the southern bank of the Vaal River, and was named after Lourens de Villiers, the owner of both farms. With its beautiful gardens and willow trees lining the banks of the Vaal River, Villiers is a pretty town serving the maize farms and cattle ranches in the area and is an important rail junction. |
VAAL DAMCompleted in 1938, the Vaal Dam was built to meet the growing need for water by the densely populated and heavily industrialised PWV (Pretoria, Witwatersrand, Vereeniging) area (now Gauteng). But by the early 1950s, it became necessary to increase the dam’s capacity and the height of the wall was raised from 54,2m to 60,3m, increasing the dam’s capacity from 994 million m3 to 2 188 million m3. In 1985, the dam wall was raised by another 3m, increasing its capacity to 2 536 million m3. An additional 663 million m3 can be stored temporarily to reduce flooding danger. Because the dam can no longer meet Gauteng’s water needs, water is transferred from the Sterkfontein Dam in northeastern Free State into the Vaal system. The dam’s water supply was further augmented in 1998 when it received its first water from the Lesotho Highlands Water Project. With a surface area of 320 km2 and situated conveniently close to Johannesburg, the Vaal Dam is a popular recreational area, especially with power-boat, water-skiing, yachting and angling enthusiasts. Several recreational resorts lie along the dam’s banks. |
DENEYSVILLE...was established in 1936 on the farms Witpoort and Wilhelmina, near the wall of the Vaal Dam, as a recreational town. It was named in honour of Colonel Deneys Reitz, Minister of Lands when the dam was built and author of the trilogy of the South African War, Commando, Trekking On and No Outspan. A mecca for water-sport enthusiasts, Deneysville has three marinas and is the base of a yacht and aquatic water-sport club. |
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