Gauteng Travel Guide

HOME Brochure Downloads SOUTH AFRICA Cape Town Metro Eastern Cape Free State Garden Route Gauteng Kruger Park Kwazulu Natal Limpopo Mpumalanga North West Northern Cape Western Cape AFRICA Botswana Kenya Malawi Mozambique Namibia Swaziland Tanzania Uganda Zambia Zimbabwe Advertising	Gauteng is a province born of the Western consumption of her gold-bearing ore. Fast, bustling, alive, a cabaret of contrasts, Gauteng (seSotho for 'Place of Gold'), is South Africa's geographically smallest but economically largest province. From Springs in the east to the Magaliesberg Range in the west, to the languid Vaal River in the south and beyond Pretoria in the north, Gauteng covers less than 2% of South Africa's land surface but, with more than seven million inhabitants, it generates over 40% of the gross domestic product. The conservative, friendly atmosphere of Pretoria, the country's executive and administrative capital, lies quiet memorial to South Africa's turbulent political past. Founded in 1855, it has been the seat of four governments, including the current ANC. The grandoise Union Buildings designed by Herbert Baker overlook the sprawling city and its wealth of embassies and consulates. Fifty kilometres south down the M1 takes you to Johannesburg: 'Egoli', the 'city of gold', the largest in South Africa, the financial nerve centre and third largest of the continent, the fouth fastest-growing in the world. Spreading around the Witwatersrand (White Water Ridge) like a throng of onlookers, the skyscrappers and residential buildings of Johannesburg belie its humble beginnings as a gold mining encampment a little over 100 years ago, but reflect the extraordinary growth of a city that developed on the richest substrate on the planet. Since Australian prospector George Harrison discovered gold at Langlaagte in 1886, phenomenal expansion and development has occurred. Feeding off enormous reserves of coal, iron and steel in Southern Gauteng, the city features some of the most technologically advanced communications in the world, including world-class conference centres and ideal environments for corporate travellers. Sophisticated international road, air and rail links ensure easy passage for the visitor. Yet, not all of Gauteng is caught in the feverish grip of growth. Visitors to the malls and entertainment palaces need only move beyond city limits to find themselves spotting wildlife in the African veld, or hiking through craggy rock formations and across bush-brown hills. South of Johannesburg is Soweto, the world's most famous township and an important monument to Apartheid. Sprawling, self-sufficient, home to millions, Soweto still grapples with democratic change, but its spirit resonates in a plethora of shebeens, taverns and restaurants. Fast and raw, Gauteng is not for the faint-hearted but you will find limitless options in this province of wealth and industriousness.	click to view map TOWNS Alberton Benoni Boksburg Brakpan Bronkhorstspruit Centurion Cullinan Dinokeng Edenvale Germiston Heidelberg Johannesburg Kempton Park Krugersdorp Magaliesberg Midrand Muldersdrift Pretoria Randburg Roodepoort Sandton Soweto
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