The Central Region, North West Province

The central region of the North West Province is dominated by bushveld and savannah plains, the fertile grasslands subject to fields of maize, sunflowers and ground nuts, as well as cattle and game farming.

The Central Region, although apparently flat and dry, is able to sustain farming as it does because of the large volumes of quality water stored in groundwater springs. The central region borders on Botswana, and is an amalgamation of what was once the western Transvaal and Bophuthatswana, dominated by the capital of the province, Mafikeng, and the Groot Marico Bushveld area, an area romanticised in the stories by the author Herman Charles Bosman.

Did you know? The central region borders on Botswana, and is an amalgamation of what was once the western Transvaal and Bophuthatswana, dominated by the capital of the province, Mafikeng, and the Groot Marico Bushveld area.

To the west lie the fringes of the Kalahari Desert, which explains the tendency of the central region to become drier and flatter the further west one travels.

Whilst Mafikeng, the commercial and administrative centre of the area, is the major hub of the central region, and is without doubt a vibrant city worth a visit, it is the smaller towns like Delareyville where the Barberspan Bird Sanctuary is situated just outside the town, Ottosdal, where the totally unique "wonderstone" is mined, Groot Marico, and Zeerust that collectively steal the show.

More essentially, the central region is about game viewing. Game farms and guest houses are in abundant supply in this bushveld area that includes 'Big 5' game viewing, fishing, bird watching and numerous other activities. Highlights of the central region include the Botsalano Game Reserve, Cookes Lake, Mafikeng, including the game reserve just outside town, the Lichtenburg Game Breeding Centre, the Kortloof Cultural Village and Disaneng Dam.

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South Africa Accommodation / North West Province Accommodation / Central Region Accommodation

Destinations in the Central Region

Delareyville

This historical town in the vast North West Province has a rich history that is deeply rooted in South African culture. It was founded in 1913, after the tragedies of the Anglo-Boer War, and was named after General Koos De la Rey. Today, it continues to b...

Groot Marico

Overnight? Groot Marico accommodation
Lying just off the N4, known as the Platinum Highway, the little town of Groot Marico lies between Zeerust and Rustenburg - a smattering of houses and streets that include the ever-popular names of Church and Voortrekker (almost every little dorp in the c...

Lichtenburg

Overnight? Lichtenburg accommodation
Lying between the towns of Mafikeng and Coligny on the R503, Lichtenburg is predominantly a farming town about 200 kilometres west of the major metropolis of Johannesburg. The pretty little town of Lichtenburg, whose streets are lined with willow tree...

Madikwe

Overnight? Madikwe accommodation
Still in its beginning stages as a park, the Madikwe Game Reserve is about 70 000 hectares of bushland just north of the little town of Groot Marico that stretches all the way up to the Botswana border, about 3 hours’ drive from Johannesburg. Young it mig...

Mafikeng

Overnight? Mafikeng accommodation
Formerly, and rather confusingly, known as Mafeking and originally named Mahikeng, Mafikeng is today the capital city of the North West Province that lies on the border with Botswana about 260 kilometres west of Johannesburg. Mmabatho, its neighbour, held...

Mmabatho

Overnight? Mmabatho accommodation
Mmabatho, once the capital city of the North West Province, lies just south of the Botswana border - relegated to something of a suburb of the now capital city of Mafikeng. But this in no way detracts from the buzzing Mmabatho, which originally served as ...

Ottosdal

Overnight? Ottosdal accommodation
Ottosdal lies on the R507 between Hartebeesfontein and Delareyville, north west of Klerksdorp. Whilst there is not much at first glance to recommend the little town (it risks being described as yet another mining town like many others found in the provinc...

Zeerust

Overnight? Zeerust accommodation
Mixed farming and mining of minerals (lead and chrome) are the backbone of the economy in the bushveld town of Zeerust. Attractions include the Kleinfontein Memorial, Kaditshwene Village Ruins, the Zeerust Museum, Marula Kop (an Iron Age settlement 50km n...

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