Things to Do in Sun City

The recently built Royal Bafokeng Sports Palace in the North West Province is a multi-purpose venue that played host to the FIFA Confederations Cup 2009 and 2010 FIFA World Cup. Improvements to the stadium have increased the seating capacity to 40,000 and provisioned it with state-of-the-art electronic scoreboards and floodlights. The stadium is named after the Royal Bafokeng community, a group who manage the world’s richest platinum mines and who exclusively funded the sports grounds in the North West Province. Rustenburg lies on the edge of the Magaliesberg Wilderness area and is not too far from the awesome Madikwe Game Reserve, the Pilanesberg Game Reserve and glitzy Palace of the Lost City - a great escape for revellers and gamblers.

The Kgaswane Mountain Reserve is a place of special beauty, an escape into a mountain range of great natural appeal and an ideal destination for a days outing.There is a self drive route on tarred roads which link a number of picnic sites and view points.It is also a great place to walk and enjoy the wildlife - and especially the resident sable antelope.Twitchers will have much to twitch about with over 320 species having been recorded including a breeding colony of cape vultures. Nesting pairs of martial and black eagles are also of great interest.Walking on the wild side The reserve caters for a wide range of interests and is famous as a hiking destination. Two trails are open to the public.These overnight trails are extremely popular and early booking is essential.The Summit Route is 25,3km and, for the first time, includes the Natural Pools in which swimming is permitted.The Baviaanskrans Route is 19,5km and includes the Waterfall View and the Garden of Remembrance. The trails have amenities to accommodate 12 hikers.The Peglarae Trail is a day excursion of approximately 5,5km over fairly steep and rocky terrain.The shorter Vlei Ramble, just 2km, takes visitors to a viewing hut on the vlei - a favourite spot for the many birders who enjoy the reserve.Need to know? Gate Times05:30 - 19:00 Summer06:00 - 18:30 Winter

Live on the wild side and ride like a real cowboy or cowgirl in the Hekpoort Valley near Magaliesburg. Nestle in the foothills of the Magaliesburg Mountains lies the Hekpoort Valley, home to Saddle Creek Ranch. Here the owners offer horseback riding with a difference – Western style. No riding experience is required and the trail horses are "well trained, obedient calm and friendly”. The horses are suitable for everyone, from total beginners to experienced riders. Visitors have the option of various routes into the bushveld and mountain foothills accompanied by trained trail guides. Western-style riding is becoming more popular and Saddle Creek Ranch is a safe place where you can learn to ride like a real cowboy and have loads of fun. Call Mike to book this experience +27 (0) 79 467 9906. www.horseridingsa.co.za

Tee off on a scenic bushveld course on the greens accompanied by lovely ancient trees, abundant wildlife and birds. Situated alongside Ben Alberts Nature Reserve and just eight kilometres from Thabazimbi on the Rustenburg road, Thabazimbi Golf Course is home to the annual Billie of the Bushveld Tournament. The 9-hole course is designed by Glen Strydom and renowned Peter Matkovich, featuring bent grass greens, 18 Kikuyu tees and kweek fairways. Practice facilities, a mini pro shop, carts and caddies are available. Visitors are welcome to play a round or two every day. Open Monday to Saturday 07:00 – 20:00, Sunday and Public Holidays 08:00 – 18:00. For bookings call +27 (0)14 777 1839.

Visit one of Limpopo’s wildest secrets Situated in the Waterberg Biosphere, a leading South African wildlife area, this small 2 000-hectare reserve is home to impressive amount of wildlife. At Ben Alberts Nature Reserve you can easily spot white rhino, giraffe, kudu, blue wildebeest, eland, zebra, warthog and an awesome variety of birdlife including the endangered Cape Vulture. A visit to the Vulture Restaurant is always exciting, especially if you get involved in feeding these large raptors. Characterised by low mountain ranges and open savannah, Ben Alberts Nature Reserve and the Waterberg features grassland, steep gorges and crystal pools. The entire environment is perfect for game viewing, hiking, bird watching and mountain biking.

The Trading Post is a venue in Magaliesburg (on the R24 to Rustenburg). It houses the Magaliesburg Green Kitchen Market every Sunday from 9am-1pm as well as other craft shops and eating places.

Gold diggers welcome! Have you ever tried panning for gold? Not many folk have witnessed how mining was done over a hundred-and-thirty years ago. Join experienced tour leaders for the experience of a lifetime as they take you back through the corridors of time into the original workings of the oldest gold mine in Gauteng.Wearing hard hats and lamps, you will get to use the original equipment of coco pans, picks, shovels, pit props and rope winches to crush ore and even pan your own gold! Blaauwbank Historic Gold Mine even has the only permit in the country that allows you to take the gold that you have panned home!

Tee off on stunning greens next to the banks of the Hartbeespoort Dam with sweeping views of the foothills of the Magaliesberg. Magalies Park Golf Course is an 18-hole course designed by Loutjie van Aswegen. Here, the total length of the course is a mens 5 864m and a ladies 5 001m. The course rating for men is 72 and for ladies is 70. While the course may not be very long, it does not however mean that the golfer can take out his driver and play to his heart's content. A number of small trees have been strategically placed and although there are few water holes and no bunkers this is not a course for the faint-hearted, making for a challenging game of golf any day. Interesting holes are the par 4 8th, and the par 4 12th stroke five, which is one of the most attractively designed holes on the course. At the clubhouse, a Pro Shop is made available for all your golfing needs, golf cards and club hire. Lessons are available on request. When the going gets tough take a break and grab a light meal and refreshments at the 'Barn Owl' Halfway House, the 'Loeries Flight' takeaway and the 'Albatross' Halfway House.

Are you up for an exhilarating 50 km challenge in prime mountain biking heaven? Whether its single track, a roller-coaster downhill, a demanding zigzag uphill, a technical climb, or a pioneering riverside and kloof tracks, Grootfontein has it all! Book a stay at Grootfontein Private Nature Reserve and ride for free. R100 for day visitors.

Walk through an indigenous forest on elevated wooden walkways and see a variety of exotic monkeys in an exquisite natural environment. Bushbabies Monkey Sanctuary takes in rescued primates that have been raised as pets or have been bred or imported for the pet trade. Their mission is to rehabilitate them for relocation to an environment that is natural to them and where they can lead normal, happy, and productive lives.Need to know? All tours are structured and guided - perfect for family, corporate and educational outings.

The Elephant Sanctuary offers an exciting elephant experience. Here you can walk trunk-in-hand with four Africa elephants and hand-in-hand with a child or loved one. They offer an exclusive, 'hands-on' educationally oriented experience where you can learn more about elephant habits, behaviour, different personalities and anatomy through up-close and personal interaction. You will also get an opportunity to touch, brush down and feed these magnificent animals.

Lying on the border of the North West Province, Atherstone Nature Reserve offers an exciting game viewing experience. Black rhino and elephant are the biggest highlight for many visitors to this 23 500-hectare wilderness. Characterised by extensive savannah plains with bushveld and Kalahari grasslands eco-systems, Atherstone supports a great diversity of wildlife and birds. Besides antelope, zebra and giraffe, buffalo and rare sable can also be seen. Feathered friends to get twitchers ticking off boxes are the large number of grassland birds including the Kori bustard and secretary bird.

Just a one-hour drive from Johannesburg or Pretoria is the place where we all became human. This is where our story began, and by coming here, you are coming ‘home’. Maropeng means “returning to the place of origin” in Setswana, the main indigenous language in this region.The Maropeng Visitor Centre is a thrilling, world-class exhibition that allows you to look at fossils, learn about how humankind was born, view stone tools up to 1-million years old, and much more.Enter the massive burial mound called the Tumulus, your entrance to learning the secrets of our ancestry. Ideal for children, the Maropeng Visitor Centre is self-guided, highly up-to-date and interactive. There’s even an Adventure Tour through extensive, fascinating exhibits with an underground boat ride. Hot Tip: Get the most out of your Cradle visit with a combination ticket to the Sterkfontein Caves as well.