The town of Vereeniging in the Gauteng Province attracts many visitors, due to its locality alongside the willow tree-lined Vaal River, and the Barrage and Vaal dams where resorts and water sport facilities are prevalent.

Vereeniging lies within the Golden Arc, an area stretching from Johannesburg, the City of Gold, to Welkom, where some of the richest gold veins are still being mined. The town was once at the centre of the railways linking the Cape, Orange Free State and Transvaal provinces.

Today Vereeniging is a booming industrial town with thriving tourism offerings. The town is a 30 minute drive from Johannesburg and many residents are happy to commute rather than stay in the big city.

Top 6 reasons to visit Vereeniging

1. The Vaal Dam is a playground for water sports where weekend visitors arrive with their boats, yachts and dinghies in tow, for some fun on the water and a braai with friends and family. There is a boat launching jetty and several resorts dotted along the dam banks. Anglers catch carp and yellowfish here.

2. Visit River Square Mall to do some shopping at their 93 stores that include large retail chains while the children entertain themselves at one of the 8 movie theatres, the Bingo hall or the arcade centre.

3. The Maccauvlei Golf Club is where 2011 Masters champion Charl Schwartzel learnt to play. This excellent course has a gigantic bunker on the 17th, the bane of all regular players.

4. There’s no chance of being bored at the Emerald Resort and Casino in neighbouring Vanderbijlpark. Aside from gambling, the complex has an aqua-dome, a spa, animal park, game drives, mini golf, ten pin bowling, and restaurants and bars.  

5. The nearby Vredefort Dome is a hiker’s paradise. Join a tour to visit an old farmhouse with fascinating historic ties, stables built by Italian POWs, old gold mineshafts and ancient rock shelters and animal pens. For the adventurous, the ladder climb up the sheer Devil’s Chimney will get the heart pumping.

6. Take a drive around or cycle through the 11000ha Suikerbosrand Provincial Nature Reserve to view the various buck species, hyena, zebra, wildebeest and other mammals in the reserve.

Transport

Vereeniging is 80kms, via toll road, from OR Tambo International Airport. Chartered flights are available from the Vereeniging Airport, 13kms out of town. Several car hire companies are based in Vereeniging and the airport or you could order a rental online. There are a number of metered taxis operating in Vereeniging for trips in and around the town, and shuttle service companies will transport you further afield.

Did you know?

The Vredefort Dome, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is the largest and oldest meteor impact site worldwide. The site extends 300km and the crater’s magnitude can only be fully appreciated from space.