John Vorster Square Police Station or Johannesburg Central Police Station

John Vorster Square Police Station, was officially opened on the 23 August 1968 by John Vorster, the then prime minister of the Republic of South Africa. It was a 10 storey, blue coloured cement building. Floors 9 and 10 were occupied by the Security Branch while the detainees’ cells were on the lower floors of the building. During the Apartheid era, this Police Station, was notoriously known as a site of interrogation, torture and abuse of the Apartheid resistance fighters by the South African Security Police. (Where many people were held and tortured, and afterwards died while in custody.) In September 1997 it was renamed: "Johannesburg Central Police Station" and still functions as a Police Station, serving the Johannesburg region.
Geolocation
-26° 12' 21.6", 28° 1' 55.2"
References
https://www.travelground.com/attractions/johannesburg-central-police-station Facebook
Further Reading
https://artsandculture.google.com/story/8AXhQ-3oNAMA8A?hl=en https://www.saha.org.za/news/2010/August/remembering_a_darker_time_when_john_vorster_square_was_opened.htm https://www.guytrangos.com/In-the-Shadow-of-Authority

Gladys Thomas

Gladys Thomas born was in 1935 in Salt River, Cape Town. She was adopted by a family in Lakeside, Cape Town in Western Cape as she was an orphan. She grew up in Lakeside, Cape Town, Western Cape with her foster parents until she was a teenager. Being a female was not easy for Thomas because it meant she would encounter a lot of challenges like being denied an opportunity for further education as a consequence of being a female[1].

Ohrigstad

Ohrigstad was founded in 1845 by Hendrik Potgieter, the well-known "Voortrekker" leader. He named the Town after himself and George Ohrig: Andries-Ohrigstad. Sadly, the Town was plagued by malaria mosquitoes and abandoned in 1848. Ohrigstad was only resettled in the 1900's when the malaria plague was controlled. Today, Ohrigstad is a malaria-free zone. In addition, relics of Traces of Iron and Stone Age civilizations found in the Area. This indicates that the Pedi and San groups lived here thousands of Years ago.

Ohrigstad is a quaint Village and Valley nestled in the foothills of the Drakensberg Mountains, close to the Blyde River Canyon, God's Window and Potholes. At the point where the swift-flowing Blyde River is joined by the Ohrigstad River, engineers built a Dam wall in a bottleneck below to form the Blyde Dam. Wildlife in the canyon Area is varied. There are Mountain Reedbucks on the escarpment, Dassies on the Canyon Walls, Hippo and Crocodile in the Blyde Dam as well as Impala, Kudu, Blue Wildebeest, Waterbuck and Zebra on the Lowveld plain near the Canyon's Mouth. In the Area is another fascinating Ecological Site known as: the Echo Caves. The Echo Caves was discovered in the 1920's. One of the rooms of the Cave had a height of 60m. After exploring the Cave, it was realized that this is a gift from nature laid among the gentle undulating Hills of the Mpumalanga Escarpment. These are some of the oldest Caves in the World and were declared a Historical Monument.

Ohrigstad has stunning Natural Scenery, a moderate Climate. Life here is relaxed and peaceful! There are plenty of activities and marvelous Natural Wonders to explore!

Geolocation
-24° 44' 45.6", 30° 32' 34.8"
References
https://theshoe.org/ https://www.sa-venues.com/attractionsmpl/ohrigstad.php#:~:text=Ohrigstad%20was%20founded%20in%201845,the%20malaria%20plague%20was%20controlled. https://www.getaway.co.za/things-to-do/10-unique-attractions-you-never-thought-to-visit-in-south-africa/
Further Reading
https://theshoe.org/ https://www.sa-venues.com/visit/royalpalmbb/ https://www.sa-venues.com/visit/iketlalodge/ https://www.sa-venues.com/visit/hannahgamelodge/ https://www.getaway.co.za/things-to-do/10-unique-attractions-you-never-thought-to-visit-in-south-africa/

Mjejane Game Reserve

Only 4 hours drive from Gauteng and less than 60 minutes from Nelspruit’s Kruger Mpumalanga International Airport. Positioned on the Kruger National Park's Southern boundary, between the Malelane and Crocodile Bridge gates, the Reserve enjoys 10km’s of spectacular river frontage and is fenced into the Kruger Park. A nature Reserve offering ranger tours to see Big 5 game, with a long river frontage & several lodges. Mjejane Game Reserve is South Africa’s premier reserve bordering Kruger National Park. It falls under the juristriction of the Nkomazi Local Municipality. Located in the Ehlanzeni District Municipality, Mpumalanga. Malalane is the seat of this Municipality. The Southern Area of the Kruger National Park is renowned for its Big 5 game viewing and the 4000 hectares within Mjejane Game Reserve. Amidst the sights and sounds of nature! "Witness a pride of lions strolling past your home or enjoy an inquisitive elephant herd joining you for a sundowner – experience the magic that is Mjejane." Mjejane Game Reserve has developed a sustainable model that has become an International benchmark for tourism development and community involvement. Through research, careful planning and selective development, the natural resource was secured for conservation and has been successfully maintained and improved.
Geolocation
-25° 24' 39.6", 31° 22' 4.8"
References
http://www.mjejanelifestyle.co.za/ google maps
Further Reading
https://www.tripadvisor.com/LocationPhotoDirectLink-g2486773-i467543930-Mjejane_Game_Reserve_Kruger_National_Park.html https://www.gov.za/about-government/contact-directory/mp-municipalities/mp-municipalities/nkomazi-local-municipality

Casper Nek Pass

Casper’s Nek Pass looping off it through the Mountains, to join the R36 North of Ohrigstad. It is 1404m at its highest point! This old Pass is still in use over this part of the Drakensberg. Way back in the 1840's, when the independent-minded Voortrekkers had settled at Ohrigstad, their mission was to find a route to the Harbour at Delagoa Bay (now Maputo), where they could trade free of British control. Casper Kruger, went out scouting on horseback and found this route through the mountains which connected to the Blyde River Valley. The fact that it was not too high or too steep for ox wagons laden with trade goods to navigate, making it a good route. Later on, Andries Potgieter trekked over Casper’s Nek Pass in the Winter of 1844, with 28 men from Potchefstroom, setting up a trade route to Delagoa Bay. The following year, Carolus (or Karl) Trichardt led a party of wagons loaded with goods to trade in October, but the Summer rains had already set in and malaria-carrying mosquitoes were rife. The trip was a disaster; most of their cattle and horses succumbed to disease carried by tsetse flies, and provided a grim echo of the fatal trek of his father, Louis Trichardt, in the previous decade.
Geolocation
-24° 43' 58.8", 30° 42' 32.4"
References
https://www.sa4x4.co.za/travel-casper-s-nek-pass/
Further Reading
https://www.mountainpassessouthafrica.co.za/find-a-pass/mpumalanga/item/84-caspers-nek.html
Subscribe to