Nigel is a small gold mining town in the Gauteng Province. The town is directly south of Springs and Brakpan, and lies in what is known as the East Rand, south east of Johannesburg.
Following the finding of gold on the farm Varkensfontein in 1886, prospector, farmer, and shopkeeper Petrus Johannes Marais founded the Nigel Gold Mining Company after reading Sir Walter Scott's The Fortunes of Nigel. The town was named after a character in the book called Nigel Olifaunt, Lord Glenvarloch. The town that sprang up around the mine still uses names taken from Scott's book and its characters.
Several locations in Nigel bear the names of book characters, such Dalgano, which was given to the mythical antagonist of Lord Glenvarloch in Walter Scott's novel. Many of the streets in the suburb of Glenvarloch, including Margaret Avenue, Monopolies and Mungo Streets, and George Herriot Street, are also named after characters who appear in the book.
The Highveld has perhaps the mildest climate on earth, with an annual temperature range of not more than 30°C. Summers are warm and winters mild, although early morning temperatures can dip just below freezing point and visitors from the coast will find the dryness irritating. Rain falls mostly in summer afternoon thunder showers, while some frost may occur in winter. Once every 10 years or so, snow falls on the Highveld.
The Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve near Nigel covers 13 337 ha of hilly and, in places, craggy grassland, with some scrub and bush in the shel...
Whilst visiting Nigel, turn off on the Marievale Road extension to the Marievale Bird Sanctuary. It is a beautiful escape from the hustle an...