Rustenberg

Rustenberg, which lies at the foothills of the majestic Magalies mountains, is just a 90 minute drive from Johannesburg and Pretoria. It was the hometown of Paul Kruger, president of the Transvaal Republic from 1883 until the end of the Anglo Boer War. Rustenberg is sunny most of the year except for the afternoon thunderstorms during the summer months.

Although Rustenberg means "town of rest," it is a working city, known for mining and agriculture. Rustenberg boasts the largest platinum mines in the world and has mines in the district also producing chrome, tin, lead, granite and slate. It also has the one of the countries important citrus areas. And the cultivation of tobacco plays an important role in Rustenberg, likely contributing to the town's phenomenal growth in the past 15 years.

Rustenberg has plenty of natural beauty as well. Hike in the Rustenburg Nature reserve, which hosts abundant bird life and fauna and flora. (One hundred and fifteen different types of trees and shrubs grow on the reserve.)  Or view the crater of a huge extinct volcano formed over 1,300 million years ago in the Pilansberg National Game Park.

History and cultural buffs can find interest in Rustenberg's indigenous Bafokeng, Bakgatla and Botswana tribes known for their totemic and other tribal traditions. Rustenberg also claims a German community of Kroondal that dates back to 1857.

Many past battles were fought in and near Rustenburg during the Anglo Boer War and other ethnic wars. Prominent battlefields, memorial graves and ruined forts are scatted throughout; the area is an archaeological treasure trove of iron and stone-age sites. Most of the forts the British built for defense during the Anglo Boer war still stand tall and serve as a historical reminder of the past.