Nature's Valley, and the surrounding Coastline, was occupied by Old Stone Age or Paleolithic, 1 Million Years ago. Paleolithic man lived in the Area in caves and under overhangs, collecting food in the tidal zone and hunting for a rich variety of wildlife. Various glacial periods interrupted this coastal occupation, San hunter-gatherers lived in this Area from about 10,000 years ago until they were displaced by Khoikhoi herders from the interior about 400 years ago the Qua and later the Houteniqua (Strandloper) peoples lived here. After the completion of the Groot River pass by Thomas Bain in the 1880’s, three families settled in the Valley. Later, Hendrik Barnardo became the sole owner of all the Land, which he then farmed. He allowed the first holiday shack to be erected in 1918 and in 1936 sold about 250,000 square metres to a syndicate of nine families. A Township was declared in 1953. Electricity was connected only in 1986. Today the Village comprises the original 426 erven with 397 houses, the majority being wooden structures. The nearest other small Community is in Covie, on the beautiful fynbos covered Plateau 8km to the East, where about one hundred live. Natures Valley is flanked by an escarpment on one side and the Indian ocean on the other side and it forms part of the Tsitsikamma National Park and the Mouth of the Groot River at the bottom of the Groot River Pass.

Having been established in 1912, this is the oldest gold mining Town in the District. The Town was a group of Farms with one central Church. However, when gold was found in 1946, Odendaalsrus earned its place on the map, attracting a number of settlers who wanted to be a part of the Gold Rush. This is where the richest Gold Reef in the World, was discovered. In 2000, it was incorporated into the Matjhabeng Local Municipality, with the City of Welkom. There are a number of gold Mines in and around Odendaalsrus. The farming Community continues to grow and develop, making for beautiful Landscapes, at 1,344 M Above Sea Level. Although it only obtained Municipal Status in 1912, Odendaalsrus remained little more than a Village until 1946, when the highly profitable goldfield was discovered 3 km away, North West of Odendaalsrus. It is bounded to the East by Jeanette Gold Mines, Limited. The former Riebeeck Gold Mining Company, Limited, was amalgamated with Loraine in 1958 and forms the Southern portion of the property. Since the discovery of the World's richest golf reef on the Farm; 'Geduld' in 1946, the local Economy has revolved around mining activities! Odendaalsrus gives artists and art lovers the opportunity to express themselves freely. It is a Town where Culture and Religion plays an important role in everyday life!

Pearston, in common with many of the small town and villages scattered across the Great Karoo, had its origins as a parish of the Dutch Reformed Church. Since 1850 parishioners would gather in the shade of a large pear tree on the farm Rustenburg, owned by Casper Lotter, to celebrate communion. The minister of the church in Somerset East travelled the 48-kilomtres, over the Bruintjieshoogte to celebrate Communion. In 1858 a notice to establish the Village was published in the 'Kerkbode', which is the official publication of the Dutch Reformed Church. The church would buy a suitable Farm, subdivide it into lots, reserve some of the plots for its own purposes and then offer the remainder for sale to defray the cost of purchasing the Land and the building of a Church. Although the Pear tree was significant in the history of Pearston it was not named after the tree but rather after the much loved and respected Reverend John Pears a Minister of the Presbyterian Church and a school teacher. Pears was born in the Scottish village of Duns in 1790 and accepted a call to the Presbyterian Church in Cape Town arriving at the Cape in 1829. He was approached by the Dutch Reformed Church in 1836 to join their Church. After a spell in Holland to learn Dutch he was dispatched to Somerset, later renamed Somerset East, as Minister. He remained in Somerset East until his death in 1866. The management of the Church of the new village of Pearston was short-lived and in 1861 the town management board acquired all the rights to manage the village from the Church for the sum of £1,000. Pearston was proclaimed a municipality in 1894.