From one of South Africa’s oldest Churches to the delight of wine tasting and delightful Cape cuisine, sample the best of everything on this Heritage drive.
Located on the West Coast Way Culture Route & Cape Way Route, between Darling and Atlantis on the R 307, within an hour's drive of Cape Town.
It was first settled in 1701 when the Governor of the Cape, Willem Adriaan van der Stel decided to establish a Military and Cattle Post in this Area to protect the European settler's cattle from theft by the indigenous KhoiKhoi people. In 1808, when the Cape Colony was again under British control, the region was transferred to the Moravian Missionaries, Kohrhammer and Schmidt from Germany. In time a thriving Mission Station became established and all of the buildings dating from this period have been restored and were declared National Monuments in 1967. Off the R 307, between Atlantis and Darling.

The Bronberg Conservancy is located on the South East side of Pretoria, in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is marked by its outstanding landscapes including rocky Hill Slopes and unique Ecological zones that provide a Home to a wide range of Fauna and Flora. The estimate terrain Elevation above seal level is 1484 metres.
All over the world more and more people are becoming conscious of the degradation of our natural environment. The causes of this degradation are complex but are indirectly related to the human population explosion. It is no longer possible to reinstate ourselves in the natural world, but we may endeavor to protect and even rehabilitate our natural habitat.
The Bronberg Conservancy is situated close to the Major Urban Settlements of Gauteng, which forms one of the Provinces, in South Africa (Pretoria and Johannesburg). The unique Ecological and Physical features of the Bronberg, make it worthy of protection from conventional urban development and other inappropriate uses.
The Bronberg Conservancy is formed through an association of Private Landowners who have jointly agreed; to take down fences between their properties and to allow the Wild Game to wander, freely in the Area. The Bronberg Mountain, represents the Eastern section of the Magaliesberg Mountain Range, which is 100 times older than Everest. This old Mountainous region lies between the Suburbs of, Garsfontein and Graham Road (Lynnwood Road extension) South-East of Pretoria. The Pienaars river originates here and has eroded a passage through the Bronberg. The Bronberg Conservancy covers an area of over 300 hectares, and includes a number of Ecological zones, incorporating Quartzite Ridges as well as, Grassland Areas. It is Home to a remarkable diversity of Plant and Animal life! The plants, animals, birds, insects etc in the Conservancy have been partially cataloged, but we continually find new species. The lists provided are updated on a regular basis.
A variety of species of game have been reintroduced, that were previously found in the Area. These include: Blue Wildebeest, Impala, Springbok, Zebra, Kudu, Red Hartebeest, Bushbuck and Water buck. Smaller mammals such as the black-backed jackal, duiker and rock dassie have been resident in the Conservancy all along. The game numbers have to be actively managed to avoid overgrazing.

The Town of Lydenburg, in Mpumalanga Province, was founded in 1850 by the company of Voortrekker leader Andries Potgieter who had abandoned their first Settlement -Ohrigstad, 50 km to the north.. It was once the capital of its own independent Republic, and still boasts some of the best preserved Zuid Afrikaanse and old Transvaal architecture in the Country. Lydenburg, which means "place of suffering" was founded by these pioneering Voortrekkers fleeing malaria and the debilitating heat of lower lying Areas in the early 1800's. Although Lydenburg was healthier, marauding Bapedi armies under the leadership of Kgosi Sekhukhune fought a series of bloody pitched battles with the settlers, Monuments to which can still be seen in the Area.
Lydenburg is an important centre for Farming, and is also home to one of Mpumalanga's best Museums detailing the mysterious History of the famed Lydenburg Heads, which are unique pottery masks, made by a vanished people thousands of Years ago. The Lydenburg Heads are one of the earliest known forms of African sculpture in Southern Africa and are dated at between AD 500 and AD 800. There are seven hollow, Terracotta Sculptures which are named after the site at which they were discovered in the late 1950's. Replicas of the seven Terracotta 'Lydenburg heads' found in the Valley of the Sterkspruit and dating to the 5th Century, are to be found at the local Museum. Six of the heads are human and the seventh is some kind of animal replica! It is believed that they were used as Ceremonial Objects, during the performance of a Initiation Ritual.
Lydenburg was one of several Republics established in the Transvaal. In 1856 Lydenburg seceded from the Transvaal Republic and, in the following year, joined the Republic of Utrecht. In 1860 both these Republics, rejoined the Transvaal Republic. The Voortrekkers attempted to find a route to Delagoa Bay and a Port, free of British control. Alluvial gold was discovered in the District by several Prospectors, on 6 February 1873 and the Lydenburg goldfields were proclaimed, three Months later. Among the first finds were two large nuggets: Emma( 765 kg) and Adeliza (737 kg), both bought by President T.F. Burgers. Today, the gravels of the Spekboom River, are still being washed for alluvial gold!

A British garrison under Lt. W.H. Long was stationed at Lydenburg during the Transvaal's first war against Britain (1880 - 1881) . They built a small Fort; named Mary, (after the Commanding Officer's wife). It was from this Fort that Lieutenant Anstruther and the 94th Regiment, marched to Pretoria, to join the main British forces there, but they never reached their destination. To counter the two small field guns used by the Voortrekkers, the British fashioned a gun of their own from a water barrel of a water pump which managed to hurl cannon balls of 1 kg at the enemy. After the war the Fort fell into a state of dilapidation and in 1889 some of it's stones were used to build a powder magazine which still stands.

Lydenburg ('town of suffering') occupies a special place in the History of the Transvaal. This had proved a suicidal site owing to the scourge of the Lowveld in those days - the ubiquitous malaria mosquito.
Lydenburg also played an important role in the early attempts by Transvaalers to find a route to Delagoa Bay and a port free of British control. On 6 February 1873 alluvial gold was discovered in the district by several prospectors and the Lydenburg goldfields were proclaimed three months later. Among the first finds were two large nuggets: Emma( 765 kg) and Adeliza (737 kg), both bought by President T.F. Burgers. Today the gravels of the Spekboom River are still being washed for alluvial gold.

The Kgosi Mampuru Correctional Facility previously known as the Pretoria Maximum Prison Gallows in Pretoria, Gauteng was built in 1902. It is the only prison in South Africa where executions took place. Between 1902 and 1989, more than 3 500 prisoners were executed at the prison, of which 132 were political prisoners. The gallows were dismantled in 1996, but it was decided to restore it as a memorial museum.  The prison was declared a national heritage site and future plans include opening it to the public. Due to the prison still being operational as a C-max prison, makes it difficult to open the museum to the public. 

The journey of the prisoners, at the gallows, began when they were called into the “feedback room” where an inmate was told he was going to be executed. Most prisoners were told that they had seven days left to live before they would be hung. The executions were usually on a Friday, at 6:00 in the morning. But before reaching their final destination, the inmates would climb 52 steps. As part of the memorial, the stairs are now numbered and the walls have pictures of the prisoners walking up them. The prisoners wore a hoodie and dark prison clothes before entering the gallows. Once inside, a gantry hangs from the ceiling with nooses attached to it. The inmates would then take their place on the trapdoor which would open once the hangmen would secure the nooses around their necks. The room now contains information concerning the men that were hung in honour of them. The bodies would hang over the “blood catchment pit” which is a big square shallow pool with a drain in the middle. In the corner of the room, you cannot miss a coffin with flowers on top but then you see the cold metal autopsy table in the next room. After the autopsy, the bodies were placed in plain brown wooden coffins and by 9:00 in the morning would be sent down in a lift to the chapel where their families could pay their last respects. The bodies would then be buried as paupers without the families’ knowledge of their whereabouts.