Carltonville
The West Rand of Gauteng has many fantastic attractions with the town of Carletonville being one of the more intriguing locations. Currently part of the Merafong City Municipality, Carletonville is very important to South Africa as it is one of the richest producing gold areas in the world. In fact, its Western Deep Levels mine is one of the deepest in the world, with a drop depth of over 3700m. Carletonville was named after the then mining director of Consolidated Goldfields Guy Carleton Jones, and though it had been developed by different mining consortiums since the 1930s, the town was officially incorporated in 1959.
For many travellers that have the opportunity and time, a visit to Carletonville is encouraged. Like many mining towns found in South Africa, Carletonville has its own special story and is laden with history and heritage; the available mine tours are exciting and interesting, and definitely well worth a visit. Carletonville is not without its fair share of controversy though; on 3 October 2007, the Elandskraal Mine located in the town collapsed and trapped mine workers inside while severely damaging the electric supply and a shaft steelwork. While nearly 50 days of production was lost, all 48 of the trapped mine workers were fortunately brought to the surface the following day.
Carletonville, though, is not only about the gold mines. Extreme sports lovers can enjoy some awesome sky diving with the Carletonville-based company Skyhigh Tandems, while other popular pastimes in close proximity include paintball, mountain biking, and hot air ballooning. The many delights of the West Rand are also within easy access namely the likes of the Magaliesberg, the Cradle of Humankind, and the Hartebeespoort Dam.
