Hans Merensky

Hans Merensky is a beautiful Wilderness area 70km northeast of Tzaneen, near Phalaoborwa, in the Valley of the Olifants Region (also called the Mopani District) of the Limpopo Province. Also called the Hans Merensky Nature Reserve, this wilderness area stretches along the Great Letaba River, and features several accommodation establishments, the Tsonga Museum and hot springs.

The area is named after a famous German South African, Hans Merensky (1871 – 1952), a geologist and conservationist who discovered the Bushveld Igneous Complex that bears 75% of the world’s known platinum resources, and is now called the Merensky Reef. He also predicted that alluvial diamonds would be discovered south of the Orange River and on the West Coast of South Africa past Namaqualand. In 1926 his prediction and subsequent prospecting was borne out with a very lucrative alluvial diamond find at Alexander Bay, and Hans Merensky became a wealthy man thanks to a prospector’s share payout of £1,250,000.

The now wealthy and famous analytical geologist set up FOSKOR to extract Phosphates at Phalaborwa, and in his final years dedicated the bulk of his fortune to the Hans Merensky Trust to promote commercial forestry, agricultural, afforestation and conservation projects on his Westfalia Estate in Modjajiskloof after his death, for the benefit of his staff and their families, and for the benefit of South Africa through the Hans Merensky Foundation. The Hans Merensky Foundation continues to this day to support research and development in forestry, agriculture and conservation, as well as many other fields such as medicine, and awards educational bursaries, grants and loans. See more on the Hans Merensky Foundation.

He also made other sizeable public donations and contributions such as the establishment of the Hans Merensky Library in Pretoria, and the name ‘Hans Merensky’ is one you may come across attached to a number of establishments and attractions in Pretoria and in the Valley of the Olifants Region, such as the Hans Merensky Golf Course in Phalaborwa, famous for the zebra, giraffe and other animals that often invade the greens…

Getting there: Hans Merensky is an hour’s drive from Tzaneen on the R71 to Phalaborwa.