Van Reenen's Pass | |
---|---|
Elevation | 1,690m |
Traversed by | N3 |
Location | Van Reenen, KwaZulu Natal, South Africa |
Range | Drakensberg |
Coordinates | 28°22′12″S29°22′12″E / 28.37000°S 29.37000°E |
Van Reenen's Pass is a pass through the Drakensberg mountains in South Africa. The N3 freeway, the main road between Durban and Johannesburg, was constructed through the pass with the northern end of the pass lying at the border of the provinces of KwaZulu-Natal and the Free State. The village of Van Reenen sits atop the pass and the two nearest towns are Ladysmith and Harrismith, situated in the respective KwaZulu-Natal and Free State provinces.
The pass is named after Frans van Reenen who owned the farm Sandspruit at foot of the pass. [1] In 1856, he helped plan a route for a road through the pass. [1] The object of the pass was to open up trade between Natal and the Orange Free State. [2] : 387 Van Reenen showed the engineers the route he used to move his livestock to the interior. [2] : 387 A railroad followed in 1891. [2] : 387 From 1953 to 1956, the existing road over pass was rebuilt. [3]
South Africa is divided into nine provinces. On the eve of the 1994 general election, South Africa's former homelands, known as Bantustans, were reintegrated into the country, and the four provinces were increased to nine by dividing Cape Province and the Transvaal into three and four, respectively. The twelfth, thirteenth and sixteenth amendments to the Constitution of South Africa changed the borders of seven of the provinces.
KwaZulu-Natal is a province of South Africa that was created in 1994 when the Zulu bantustan of KwaZulu and Natal Province were merged. It is located in the southeast of the country, with a long shoreline on the Indian Ocean and sharing borders with three other provinces and the countries of Mozambique, Eswatini and Lesotho. Its capital is Pietermaritzburg, and its largest city is Durban. It is the second-most populous province in South Africa, with slightly fewer residents than Gauteng.
The Drakensberg is the eastern portion of the Great Escarpment, which encloses the central Southern African plateau. The Great Escarpment reaches its greatest elevation – 2,000 to 3,482 metres within the border region of South Africa and Lesotho.
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The Tugela River is the largest river in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa. With a total length of 531 km (330 mi), it is one of the most important rivers of the country.
Kniphofia is a genus of perennial flowering plants in the family Asphodelaceae, first described as a genus in 1794. The species are native to Africa. Common names include tritoma, red hot poker, torch lily and poker plant.
The N3 is a national route in South Africa that connects Johannesburg and Durban, respectively South Africa's largest and third-largest cities. Johannesburg is the financial and commercial heartland of South Africa, while Durban is South Africa's key port and one of the busiest ports in the Southern Hemisphere and is also a holiday destination. Durban is the port through which Johannesburg imports and exports most of its goods. As a result, the N3 is a very busy highway and has a high volume of traffic.
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Ramsgate is a village on the south coast of KwaZulu-Natal in South Africa, just southwest of Margate. Ramsgate is located on the mouth of a river known by the Zulu name Bilanhlolo for the bubbles caused by strong currents making it look like the water is boiling. In 1922, there was only one person living there, Paul Buck, a painter and violin maker and he called the place Blue Lagoon.
The R34 is a long provincial route in South Africa that connects Vryburg with Richards Bay via Kroonstad and Newcastle. It passes through three provinces, North West, the Free State and KwaZulu-Natal.
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Sani Pass is a mountain pass located in the West of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa on the road between Himeville, KwaZulu-Natal and Mokhotlong, Lesotho. The pass traverses the Great Escarpment of southern Africa in its highest region, the Drakensberg Mountains, which reach an elevation of over 3,000 meters.
The Nguni people are a cultural group in southern Africa made up of Bantu ethnic groups from South Africa, with offshoots in neighboring countries in Southern Africa. Swazi people live in both South Africa and Eswatini, while Ndebele people live in both South Africa and Zimbabwe.
The Zulu Kingdom, sometimes referred to as the Zulu Empire or the Kingdom of Zululand, was a monarchy in Southern Africa. During the 1810s, Shaka established a standing army that consolidated rival clans and built a large following which ruled a wide expanse of Southern Africa that extended along the coast of the Indian Ocean from the Tugela River in the south to the Pongola River in the north.
De Beer's Pass is located in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It is situated on an unmarked road between Ladysmith and Harrismith in the neighbouring Free State province.
Impendle is a town in Umgungundlovu District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa.
Van Reenen is a settlement in Uthukela District Municipality in the KwaZulu-Natal province of South Africa. It is located on the N3 national road at the top of Van Reenen's Pass on the Great Escarpment of the Drakensberg. The town is named after Frans van Reenen, original owner of the farm where Van Reenen was established and planner of the route of the Van Reenen's Pass.
Stenostelma is a genus of plants in the family Apocynaceae, first described as a genus in 1894. It is native to southern Africa, ranging from Mozambique, Zambia, and Namibia to South Africa.
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