TRAVEL INFORMATION - GAUTENG - SOUTH AFRICA

The irony that surrounds Gauteng is that this is the smallest province in South Africa, occupying a mere 1,4% of the land surface, yet it is the economic hub of South Africa and is populated by approximately 9 million people or near 20% of the population.  The people of Gauteng enjoy the highest per capita income, more  than any of South Africa's other nine Provinces and Gauteng generates approximately 33,3% of South Africa's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).

With that as an introduction, we add the fact that Johannesburg, Gauteng, is by far the largest city in Southern Africa, is the commercial centre of both Gauteng and South Africa. As a whole, the greater Johannesburg metropolis covers an area of 2 300 square kilometres, making it larger than even New York, London or Sydney by land mass.  Johannesburg is closely situated to its' neighbouring city, Tshwane or Pretoria, the official capital city of South Africa and home to the Union Buildings and more than one hundred foreign embassies. Johannesburg and Pretoria are linked by a commercial and residential corridor, Midrand, which, together with other industrial areas of Gauteng, is the home of over 9 000 manufacturing firms who employ hundreds of thousands of people.

The province of Gauteng has a first world infrastructure fully able to support the demands of business; tourism; conferencing; sporting events and hosts every form of commercial activity from financial services to heavy industries and mining, Johannesburg houses the JSE, or Johannesburg Stock Exchange, the largest in Africa.

TOURISM AND TRAVEL - GAUTENG - SOUTH AFRICA

From a tourism and travel viewpoint, Gauteng offers visitors a variety of travel attractions, crammed into this relatively small province is an array of beauty, wonderful and interesting experiences and attractions. Johannesburg International Airport, now called O.R. Thambo Airport is the largest of the three South African International airports, the hub for all the regional flights to all the main cities in South Africa. Most international visitors start their tour of South Africa either here or in Cape Town, enjoying some of the best Hotels in the world. With accommodation to suit all tastes and budgets including bed and breakfast accommodation and many Hotel options, Johannesburg, even though it is a big city, is an interesting destination on its own rather than merely a place to start one's travels from.

There are over fifty museums in Gauteng, an incredibly interesting history, home to the Cradle of Human Kind World Heritage Site near Sterkfontein, where a meteorite slammed into the earth a little north of Pretoria forming a crater preserved to this day. Enjoy the excitement of Soweto, home of the apartheid museum and where visitors can take well managed tours, perhaps enjoy a beer at a shebeen . Whether it's shopping in Johannesburg, fly fishing in the Dullstroom area or playing golf on some of the best courses in the world, Gauteng certainly has something for everyone.

TRAVEL INFORMATION - GAUTENG - A LITTLE HISTORY

A first time visitor would only but wonder why such a metropolitan mass exists so far from the sea. Whereas most large cities of the world are adjacent to water of some form, a river or a sea for reasons of economic transport systems, Gauteng and it's large cities are approximately seven hundred kilometres from the nearest navigable water or harbour. The reasons for this are both romantic and exciting, they revolve around the discovery of gold in 1886, look around as you travel and wonder how this all started with a shiny rock. Egoli, translates to city of gold in sesotho, the language spoken by the natural African population of Gauteng, the name Gauteng itself, loosely translating into place of gold. Look around for the mine-dumps, large piles of sand and stone from under ground after being processed for gold, remnants from days gone by as the extraction process itself has since changed. Make a point of visiting Gold Reef City where you can visit the historical mining village, ramble through houses of a bygone era and take under ground tours down a mine shaft.

TRAVEL INFORMATION - GAUTENG - CLIMATE

The weather in Gauteng is generally a dry but cold winter, with lovely warm days and chilly evenings, snow is a rarity and winter temperatures are generally between 22 and 28 deg, c. during the day but can border on freezing in the early mornings, on average perhaps between 4-8 deg, c at the coldest. The summers are beautiful with lovely sunny days with occasional showers, particularly in the late afternoon, there is nothing quite as awesome as a storm passing through at around 17h00, short, sharp and loud.