place

Olifantsvlei Nature Reserve

Nature reserves in South AfricaProtected areas of South AfricaUse South African English from May 2022

The Olifantsvlei Nature Reserve is a large section of protected land in Johannesburg South. It was designated in 1957 in an area of 2,043.27 hectares (5,049.0 acres). Inside it is the Olifantsvlei Cemetery, Johannesburg Water's Olifantsvlei Wastewater Treatment Works and Bushkoppies Wastewater Treatment Works. A wetland, part of the Klip River, runs along its southern border. The reserve lies adjacent to Lenasia, alongside the R554. The Golden Highway (R553) and N1 roads vertically divide it into three parts. On its northern border, it lies beneath the towns of Eldorado Park, Nancefield, Devland and Naturena, from west to east. Nearby is the Klipriviersberg Nature Reserve.

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Olifantsvlei Nature Reserve (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors).

Olifantsvlei Nature Reserve
Golden Highway, Soweto Nancefield

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Olifantsvlei Nature ReserveContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N -26.319722222222 ° E 27.9175 °
placeShow on map

Address

Golden Highway

Golden Highway
1811 Soweto, Nancefield
Gauteng, South Africa
mapOpen on Google Maps

Share experience

Nearby Places

Regina Mundi Catholic Church (Soweto)
Regina Mundi Catholic Church (Soweto)

Regina Mundi (Latin for "Queen of the World"), designed by architect Anthony Noel Errol Slaven, is the largest Roman Catholic church in South Africa. It is located in Rockville, Soweto, a populous black urban residential area within the city of Johannesburg. Due to the role it played as a place of gathering for the people of Soweto in the years before, during, and after the anti-apartheid struggle, it is often referred to as "the people's church" or "the people's cathedral". The church is located in the middle of Soweto, in Rockville, in the neighbourhood of Moroka; it was built in 1964, replacing Moroka's former parish church. While the A-shaped exterior of the building is quite ordinary in design, its main feature is the vast interior, that can accommodate as many as 5000-7000 people. The stained-glass windows are decorated with scenes of Mary's life and were donated by Poland in 1998. One of the most prominent artifacts in the church is the painting entitled "The Madonna and Child of Soweto", mostly referred to as "The Black Madonna", depicting a black Virgin Mary holding the Child Jesus (also black). The painting was created by artist Larry Scully in 1973, as a part of a campaign to raise funds for the education of black South Africans. The painting was then bought by a benefactor and donated to the church. A highly symbolic element of the painting is a large eye right under the Black Madonna. According to journalist Mpho Lukoto of newspaper The Star, the pupil of the eye represents the township of Soweto; two forks directed towards the pupil from the sides represent the violence that was used against the people of Soweto during the apartheid era, and the cross in the center of the pupil represents the Church that illuminates the people with hope. After the end of apartheid, a large park was built before the church, with a fountain and memorials, including a "peace pole" donated to the church by Japanese Christians. The church is still a popular place for the people of Soweto and it has also become a prominent tourist attraction in the area.