- North West
- Brits
Brits, North West
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Ons Ou Dorpie
Brits is a small modern town in the North West Province, in close proximity to both Pretoria and Johannesburg. The picturesque town has the Magaliesberg mountains stretching past to the South and a number of “koppies” to the North.
The town is surrounded by rich farmland fed by the Crocodile River which winds its way around the town. Farmers supply largely wheat, maize and Lucerne and there are also a number of game farms in the area and some general livestock farmers.
Possibly the biggest drawcard of a stay in Brits is being only a few minutes’ drive from Hartbeespoort, the weekend playground of Jo’burgers! The area is a hive of water sports, outdoor activities, restaurants, pubs and attractions for day visitors like an elephant and monkey sanctuary as well as a snake park and cable car rides.
In addition to these attractions, there is a little gambling and entertainment centre only and hour away, known as Sun City, and alongside that the Pilanesberg Game Reserve.
Brits and the surrounding areas offer a variety of accommodation which includes B&B’s, Guesthouses, Lodges and self-catering cottages.
Things to do and see
- Ukutula Lion Park
- Ann van Dyk Cheetah Centre
- Margaret Roberts Herbal Centre
- Tan Malie se Winkel
- Hartbeespoort Boat Cruises
- Aerial Cableway
- Piesangkloof 4X4 Trails
- De Wildt 4X4 Trails
- Growler Brewing Company
- Pretville
- Brits Mall
- Lesedi Cultural Village
- Lion & Safari Park
- Magalies Golf Course
- Pecanwood Golf Course
Climate
Brits receives approximately 540 mm of rain annually with most of its annual rainfall during summer.
Summer months, November to March will have average temperatures of between 17˚C and 30˚C.
Winter months, May to August will have average temperatures of between 2˚C and 20˚C.
Transport
There are daily flights into Lanseria Airport, approximately 56 Km’s away via the R512 and R511, and into O R Tambo International Airport approximately 116 Km’s away along the R21 and N4. Car hire facilities are available at the Airport.
History
From Stone Age times the area has been inhabited on a continuous basis by the local people, and from time to time foreign migrants.
It was in 1827 that Mizilikazi, having broken away from the Zulus under the reign of Shaka, arrived in the area. One by one the Tswana groups in the region were destroyed, scattered or subjugated,
and very soon Mizilikazi was able to lay claim to a large kingdom with Magaliesberg at its centre. The Magaliesberg was later to be named after a corruption of his name “Magalie”.
It was eventually the Zulus who, in 1832, sent a raiding party into the area and after an inconclusive battle with the Ndebele, had managed to make off with a large herd of captured cattle, that finally convinced Mizilikazi to move further west leaving a void which was soon filled by the Voortrekkers who had started arriving in the area from 1837.
Soon Hekpoort and Skeerpoort were thriving farming communities and the Brits railway station, built on the property of Johan Nicolaas Brits part owner of the farm Roodekopjes, was opened on 9 July 1906 and soon entrepreneurs started setting up shops on the southern side of the station, which is today known as Tom Street. Brits was officially founded in 1924 on this farm.
In 1864 the armistice treaty for the Transvaal civil war signed beneath a Karee tree just to the south of Brits.
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