Rustenburg in the North West Province can hardly be described as a ‘dorp’ after booming during the last few decades, and visitors are quite taken aback by the size of what used to be a tranquil town surrounded by the Magaliesberg ranges. A thriving agricultural and mining industry has been central to this growth, but fortunately life is still lived at a leisurely pace along its jacaranda-lined streets.
It is the languid character of Rustenburg that shapes its undeniable appeal to Gauteng’s concrete jungle dwellers barely 120 km away, as the town offers the perfect spring-board into Magaliesberg and its immediate surrounds. It also boasts a handful of interesting architectural sites, including the likes of the Anglican (1871) and Dutch Reformed Churches (1898 -1903) and is famed as the heart of the platinum industry world-wide.
Rustenburg’s first settlers were the Bafokeng or the “people of the dew”. They came to the area more than 400 years ago, but the village itself was founded in 1850 to supply citrus, peanuts, tobacco, corn, wheat and sunflower seeds the burgeoning metropolis a 100km away. The town only received municipal status in 1918.
The first Voortrekker farmers settled in the Rustenburg area in 1841, following the defeat of Mzilikazi, the Ndebele leader and his army of ...
For nature lovers, the Kgaswane Mountain Reserve is the place to visit for a day trip. The mountain range has a self drive route on tarred r...
Rustenburg in the North West Province of South Africa offers a range of activities and attractions in the town and surrounding areas. See wh...