Middelburg, Karoo lies in the middle of its surrounding Towns, approximately 100 km from all. Surrounded by Graaff-Reinet, Cradock, Steynsburg, Colesberg, Richmond & Hanover,( it is no secret as to where the name "Middelburg" came from!) It falls under the Inxuba Yethemba Local Municipality, in the Chris Hani District Municipality.

Grootfontein Cemetery, which is owned by the Municipality, is situated next to and is visible from the road which leads to the airport and military base. The graves are scattered in the old section. It dates back to the Anglo-Boer War.

The History of Grootfontein dates back to 1781 when a certain Hendrik van der Walt, made his living as a loan farmer on the then modest property, Grootfontein, situated just North of Middelburg Eastern Cape. The British Department of War bought Farms in Middelburg district which were consolidated under the name of Grootfontein in 1903. During this military period which terminated in 1910 between 12 000 and 15 000 British soldiers that were stationed at Grootfontein. The foundation of the Grootfontein College of Agriculture dates back to the Year after Union in 1910. The Farm Grootfontein was transferred to the Union Government by the Imperial Government in 1911 and an Agricultural School was started in the same year. In 1939, Grootfontein gained College status.

The Grootfontein Agricultural Development Institute is located outside the town of Middelburg in the Great Karoo. It is commonly referred to as the “Grootfontein College of Agriculture” or just “Grootfontein”. Grootfontein was established in 1911 and, as one of the oldest Agricultural Colleges in South Africa, it has a proud training and research History contributing to the prosperity of livestock farming in the Karoo and other arid regions. The vision of Grootfontein is to be the World's leading centre of excellence in training, research and extension in small stock and in agricultural production, in semi-arid to arid climates.

The Outeniqua Pass is a relatively modern Pass, connecting the Coastal Town of George with Oudtshoorn and the Little Karoo.
It was first built in 1942 - 1951 to provide an alternative to the narrow and steep Montagu Pass. It has been widened and modernized several times since then and today carries the bulk of the traffic flow, between the two Towns and the Langkloof Valley. It forms part of the Cape Fold Belt. This belt is a 1300 km long, Mountain belt along the Western and Southern Coastlines of South Africa.
The Langkloof Valley and Mountains are a short range of mountains that serve as a link between the Tsitsikamma and Outeniqua Mountains. In the Valley below is an Area that stretches about 160 kilometers and is ideal for growing fruit, particularly apples and pears. Dotted in amongst the fruit trees of fruit Farms in the Area, are a selection of little Towns , most of which lie on Route 62.

Joubertina is the main business Town, formed initially on the 'Langkloof Farm'. This is one of few Towns in the Area where the original law prohibiting the ban of the sale of alcohol was never lifted, but not necessarily in evidence any more, in the Town. Rockfalls and trucking accidents close the Pass, from time to time. The higher reaches of the Pass are subject to heavy rainfall and dense Mountain mists which can reduce visibility to a few meters. Under such conditions, this Pass is dangerous especially due to the volume of commercial traffic that it carries!

It contains 40 bends, corners and curves, many of which exceed 90 degrees. The road is well engineered, but it is advisable to stick to the speed limits which have been carefully calculated, to get you safely over the Pass. For South-bound traffic there are several excellent view-sites and the third one from the summit is particularly impressive, which is marked as "The 4 passes". From this vantage point all four passes can still be seen, one of which dates back almost 200 years.

SOME COMMENTS FROM TRIP ADVISOR-

"Beautiful pass to drive through, it does get cloudy in the afternoons so ensure you go in the morning or hedge yourself in case you need to drive it a couple times before you can enjoy the views."

"Very cool views. I think there were 3 places to stop and park, each with picnic tables. If you follow the directions on Google Maps, it will take you too far past the viewpoints. Recommend a quick stop if you're in the area."
 

Marikana, formerly known as 'Rooikoppies', is a Town in the Rustenburg local Municipality, Bojanala Platinum District Municipality district in the North West Province of South Africa.  The name 'Rooikoppies' means 'red hills' in Afrikaans.

"The Gold Mine was establishment here in 2013, by 'Sibanye-Stillwater Mine'. This Mine has grown and diversified significantly – both geographically and by metal produced. The Group has advanced from a single commodity, South African gold mining, company to become an multinational mining and metals processing Group with a diverse portfolio of projects and investments across five Continents." Lonmin‘s Marikana Platinum Mine", is located near Brits, in the Marikana district. This is approximately 40km East of Rustenberg in the North West Province of South Africa. In this Area, is where the 'Marikana Massacre' occurred on August 16 2012, the South African police shot and killed 34 striking miners.

The Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit is situated in Midrand in the Province of Gauteng. It is ideally positioned between the 2 major Cities of Johannesburg and Pretoria. The name "Kyalami" (liberally translated) means "My Home" in Zulu.

The original circuit was constructed in 1961 and soon established itself as the premier motorsport facility in Southern Africa. The pleasant Summer climate made Kyalami a favorite destination for European competitors unable to complete on home soil as a result of extreme winter conditions. The 9 Hour Endurance race meeting held in November of each Year attracted many famous race teams to the Southern tip of Africa. In 1967, Kyalami became part of the Formula 1 World Championship, firmly placing it on the International Motorsport calendar.

The Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit hosted its opening event on the 4th November 1961, the circuit length being 4,104 km. A Porsche 550 Spyder driven by John Love and Dawie Gous taking a Historic victory at the 9 Hour race held that day. The circuit ran in a clockwise direction and is best remembered for its long main straight. Corners such as Crowthorne, Barbeque, Jukskei, Sunset, Clubhouse, The Esses and Leeukop soon became household names among both local and international motorsport fans. With the long straight and fast back section the circuit proved very quick with Crowthorne (first corner after the long straight) becoming a great overtaking corner and a spectator favorite. South African race fans flocked to the circuit with crowds approaching 100 000 at major events, a festival atmosphere became a Kyalami trademark.

After establishing itself as a regular Formula 1 venue Kyalami became regarded as one of the ten best Grand Prix Circuits in the World. Kyalami hosted numerous international events on the original layout until 1988. 18 rounds of the F1 World Championship were hosted at the circuit between 1967 and 1985 with the annual 9 Hour and 1000 km endurances races continuing from the circuits inception until 1988. Three official rounds of the World Sportscar Championship were hosted at Kyalami in 1974, 1983 and 1984 and the 500cc Motorcycle World Championship also visited Kyalami from 1983 to 1985.

During this golden era all of the top Grand Prix teams raced at Kyalami. Pedro Rodriquez driving a Cooper Maserati took victory in 1967 with local hero John Love, having led most of the race, finishing in second place. Jim Clark (Lotus) won his final Grand Prix at the circuit in 1968 just prior to his untimely death at Hockenheim. Three times World champion Jackie Stewart, took victory in 1969 (Matra) and 1973 (Tyrrell) with World champions Jack Brabham (Brabham), Mario Andretti (Ferrari) and Denny Hulme (McLaren) winning from 1970 to 1972. Carlos Reutemann (Brabham) won the race in 1974 and the South African race fans celebrated in 1975 when hometown hero Jody Scheckter drove his blue Tyrrell to victory. Niki Lauda won for Ferrari in 1976 and 1977 taking a further victory for McLaren in 1984. Ronnie Peterson (Lotus), Gilles Villeneuve (Ferrari) and Rene Arnoux (Renault) won from 1978 to 1980. The race won by Carlos Reutemann in 1981, driving a Williams, was not part of the World Championship due to the internal battles within Formula 1. World Champion Alain Prost took another victory for Renault in 1982 and Ricardo Patrese winning again for Brabham in 1983. The final Grand Prix at the original circuit was won by Nigel Mansell in a Williams. Mansell lapped the circuit at a record average speed of 236.898 km/h in qualifying demonstrating that Kyalami had evolved into one of the fastest circuits in the World.

The three 500cc Motorcycle World Championship races held from 1983 to 1985 were won by Freddie Spencer on a Honda in 1983 with Eddie Lawson taking victory in 1984 and 1985 on a Yamaha.

The 9 Hour race held from 1961 was initially dominated by British privateer Ferrari race driver David Piper who took 5 consecutive victories with various co-drivers from 1962 to 1966. Jacky Ickx won in 1967 and 1968 with co drivers Brian Redman and David Hobbs at the wheel of the iconic Gulf Mirage Ford. Jacky won again in 1970 in a Ferrari with a final win in 1982 when he and Jochen Mass took victory in the famous factory entered Rothmans Porsche 956. David Piper and Richard Attwood took a famous victory in 1969 sharing a Porsche 917. This was only the second international victory for the iconic Porsche model. Clay Regazzoni took consecutive victories in 1971 and 1972 for Ferrari. The following years were dominated by Porsche victories apart from a Matra win in 1974 and a Lancia victory in 1984. The Porsche 956 and 962 models took victory in 1982, 1983, 1986, 1987 and 1988. The factory Rothmans 956 driven by Stefan Bellof and Derek Bell winning in 1982 when the race formed part of the World Championship. The final major race at the original circuit was fittingly won by a Porsche. Bob Wollek took victory in the Joest Porsche 962C on the 26th November 1988. After 26 years of racing Porsche had taken 9 wins to the 8 of Ferrari.

In 1989, for various reasons, the top half of the property was sold and the circuit "flipped over" to create version 2 of Kyalami, now an anticlockwise circuit 3.888km in length. The long straight was now gone and many felt that the mystic of the original circuit was lost. The pit complex was moved to the new main straight (between the old Jukskei and Sunset corners). Thankfully, the back part of the circuit from Sunset to The Esses was retained and is still in place today. 

The circuit continued as a premier National motorsport venue but would once again make a return to the international scene. From 1998 to 2002 Kyalami hosted rounds of the popular World Superbike Championship (WSBK).

In 1994 a chicane was added in the second to last corner to reduce pit entry speeds and the speed into the final corner. This often criticised chicane was removed in 2009 when the circuit hosted two further rounds of the WSBK Championship in 2009 and 2010. The circuit also hosted a round of the A1GP series in 2009.

After this period the circuit went into a steady decline with the property eventually auctioned on the 24th July 2014. Mr. Toby Venter a well-known and respected motor business entrepreneur, visionary and successful race driver, purchased the circuit for 205 million Rand.

In May of 2015 an extensive redevelopment plan for the facility was announced including changes to the circuit layout, resurfacing of the circuit, upgrade of all spectator areas and facilities and a major upgrade to the pit building and exhibitions and conferencing center. A new driving dynamic area, skidpan and 1,1 km handling track is also under construction. Safety upgrades to a FIA Grade 2 level have been installed.

Kyalami will once again regain its position as one of the premier International motoring and motorsport venues, its future secured.

In the time of Education and its opposition to the Apartheid system, (when many students and teachers were jailed or banned). The School was nominated to the South African Heritage Resource Agency (SAHRA) for National Heritage status, by the Trafalgar Alumni Association, which campaigned for it across social media platforms and in newspapers and on radio.

As the oldest School, for people of colour in South Africa, Trafalgar High School has a proud History both in terms of providing superior education as well as ensuring that its students understand their responsibility, in society and their communities. These values have endured for more than a Century.

The School was founded, in 1912. This occurred after the President of the African People’s Organisation, Dr Abdurahman, (who was a councilor at the time), campaigned for a co-educational School, for Coloured People. The School’s first principal, Harold Cressy was also the first person of colour to get a BA degree from the University of Cape Town. Both these men understood that a good education was the means to changing Social and Economic circumstances. This School has recognised that while culture may change, values endure.

Among its many illustrious Alumni is: the first Justice Minister of democratic South Africa, Dullah Omar; as well as advocate Ben Kies and Judge Siraj Desai. “In the field of science and mathematics, we had giants such as Walter Parry; and in the arts, we had the likes of ballet dancer Johaar Mosaval and jazz pianist Dollar Brand pass through our famous portals. “The school also nurtured a long line of political and trade union activists such as Cissy Gool and Rahima Moosa, and international writer Alex La Guma”.

Trafalgar’s first Years were in a cramped Building, in Chapel Street. As a School that had existed through the worst of Apartheid, these values which are embodied in the School’s motto – ‘Per Angusta, Ad Augusta’ (Through Difficulties to Success) This ideology has been handed down to the students that have passed through this institution. It is these values that ensured, despite the Apartheid Government declaring the Area, under the Group Areas Act, District Six. (This was a White Area, in 1966.) The School’s enrolment numbers did not drop as former students continued to send their children to the School, even if it meant travelling long distances.