GoldFields

The north-western region of the Free State Province is called the Goldfields – arguably not only for the shiny yellow metal that has been found in abundant veins deep beneath the earth, but also for the endless fields of maize; Goldfields is part of South Africa’s Maize Triangle.

The Capital of the Goldfields Region is the active gold mining city of Welkom, but gold mining aside, the Goldfields is primarily a sparsely populated farmland region with crop fields stretching in every direction, dotted with the silver windmills that are an iconic symbol of the Free State.

Vineyards are also beginning to make small inroads on land use in the Goldfields region and you can purchase locally produced wines at a few Cellars, the most notable of these being the Goldfields Wine Cellar in the small town of Theunissen, south of Welkom. Other crops are also produced in the region, including sunflowers, groundnuts (peanuts) and in some areas, roses.

Salt is also mined from the many salt pans in near the Goldfields ‘border’ with the Motheo Region at Bloemfontein, in and around the appropriately named hamlet of Soutpan (Salt Pan).

Most of the towns you will come across in this part of the Free State are very small and almost universally and accurately described as “small farming town surrounded by Maize fields”. These include Allandridge, Hennenman, Wesselsbron and Brandfort among others. Not all the towns are small, however, and some have large adjoining townships, nor are all the gold mines that  gave rise to most these towns inactive; the Goldfields still enjoys plentiful gold reserves.

The flat, almost featureless rural character prevails in most areas. Nevertheless, in-between the maize fields and the odd sheep farm, cattle ranches and horse studs offer pedigree livestock and horses of the highest quality and game farms and hunting lodges offer outdoors activities for South Africans and tourists. A number of dam-centered nature reserves also offer birding, fishing, game viewing and camping.

Other attractions in the Goldfields region include the Goldfields Casino in Welkom, the Phakisa Raceway just outside of Welkom (venue for the annual SA Moto Grand Prix), and Gold Mine Tours at Welkom, Virginia and Theunissen. The Willem Pretorius Game Reserve near Ventersburg is the largest in the Free State and features the family-friendly Aldam Resort.