Vredefort Dome

My expectations were low - the site was not really appealing, but I wanted to bag it anyway. It seemed to ba an easy tick as this - besides Maropeng - tihs is the other WHS that can be done from Jo'burg in a daytrip. Parys, the starting point for the trip is only 1hour 15 mins from Jo'burg on the motorway. I do not know anything about the public transport - but I seriously doubt that any foreign tourist wouzld dare using public transport in and near Jo'burg. From the previous reviews and the general description of the site I understood, that although it is totally possible to explore the area on your own, as there are some tar roads and more dirt ones through te core zone it is more advisable to do it with a guide. Fortunately I found Gustav Engelbrecht, who by the way work for the world heritage visitor center, who offered a 7 hours tour for only 450 ZAR per preson. I booked it for my group and it proved to be a very good decision. The site - in georphicaly measures - great, but what you can see are quire average looking mountain ranges and strange rocks. Without a PhD in geology - or a knowledgable guide - they look like any other mountain or any other rock. Gustav was able to show us the invisible - ad took us to really nice places from Quaries, to river crossings, from prtoglyphs to historic …

I avoid guided tours whenever possible, but in case of Vredefort Dome it was simply too hard to find out where to go and what to look for. It doesn’t help either that some of the sites are on private land. Being in South Africa for business, I had a day off and wanted to squeeze in Vredefort and Sterkfontein. Off-season, not many tourists visit the region, so I went on a 3 hour private tour with Dome Tour, paying for 4 people. My guide was Prof. Graeme Addison, a very friendly and knowledgeable guy, offering different tours and activities from his ranch (easy to find with google maps from JNB airport). Your own car is supposed to be used for the tour, but as I didn’t have a 4WD I had to spend some extra bucks and we went with Graeme’s car.

The tour itself was very interesting. We visited an old quarry and diffent spots that made the enormous size of the crater somehow visible. We also stopped at an old mining village with a small museum. Unlike Cape Town, this part of the country has very dry winters, which granted me an unexpected beautiful and sunny day. Between the places of interest, you pass by animal farms with Giraffes and other exotic animals as well as fields of cashew trees. The region has some natural beauty to offer and overall it was a relaxing and calm experience. Maybe not the most exciting WHS on the list, …

The Vredefort Dome is one of the most unique sites on the World Heritage List. It covers a representative part of what is the largest meteorite impact structure on earth. The structure is also the oldest at 2023 million years (or as some sources say: the second oldest after Suavjärvi which seems to be slightly older). This also makes it the oldest WHS in our Timeline. It’s virtually impossible to comprehend how old this is: the impact happened before our continents split, before most forms of plant life as we know it existed (only stromatolites lived after) and well before animals and humans came into existence.

The crater site lies in the Free State and North West Provinces, near the towns of Parys and Vredefort and some 1.5 hours west of Johannesburg. No towns exist in the dome itself, but there are many farms. Almost the whole designated area is private land. That’s one of the reasons that the site is hard to visit. And also you really have to know what to look for: the crater itself is so large (400km in diameter) that it can only be seen from the air. So the focus needs to be on the geological impact of the event that is still visible on the ground.

Fortunately, there are a few local tour guides who are waiting to share their knowledge. I choose Jan Fourie, who runs private tours from Parys. I opted for the 5-hour version (which ended up taking …

I am particularly worried about the developments that are forcefully intended to take place in the vredefort dome, by landowners of course.As an environmentalist and conservationist I seem to put much blame on the policies governing the WHS, they are definately not protective on these beautiful "protected areas" they intend to protect. The dome is quiet a beautiful place to visit, the landscape,the vegetation, the mammals, birds, the varying climates in the mountains during winter,etc., are a the factors that cannot be destroyed as they occured for a reason, and the history thereof shouldn't just disappear for the benefit of the few rich landowners who aim to get richest at the expence of a beautiful WORLD RECOGNIZED SITE like the dome. The place needs to be fully protected. This includes the Vaal River(the habitat for the endangered Yellow fish) which is extremely polluted.I go in there almost weekly to study the mammals in the area, and I tell you there is a decline in species variety and numbers although the figures are not definite,as yet. The reason for this is one, human impacto. Man can be as dangerous to the natural environment as evil to humanity.People should visit this place and discover the art of nature put to them...and will keep in touch with further comments. This first one was a complaint and I will be more positive soon, but this I will do with the improved involvement of the powers that be. The DOME cannot function all by itself, …