Johannesburg

Parks and Recreation

Greater Johannesburg has more than 600 parks and green spaces, mostly in suburban areas. The Braamfontein Spruit Trail, which winds for about 25 kilometers (15 miles) through Johannesburg, Randburg, and Sandton, links a number of municipal parks in the region, including the 100-hectare (250-acre) Florence Bloom Bird Sanctuary, which encompasses two dams and has special areas provided for bird watchers. Other self-guided walking trails include the Bloubos Trail, the Parktown Urban Walk, the Sandspruit Trail, and the Randlords Heritage Trail, which includes views of the mansions built by Johannesburg's early gold barons. The 60-hectare (148-acre) Johannesburg Botanical Garden in Roosevelt Park extension includes rose and bonsai gardens, pools, and fountains.

Over 3,000 species of mammals, birds, and reptiles are on view at the Johannesburg Zoological Gardens, where large animals including lions, tigers, giraffes, and elephants are enclosed in areas surrounded by moats rather than locked behind bars. The zoo also contains a lake, with a playground area and rowboat rentals. Snakes, reptiles, and fish can be seen at Johannes-burg's Aquarium and Reptile Park. De Wildt Cheetah Research Centre at Silkaatsnek, where cheetahs and hyenas are bred, is north of Johannesburg and open to the public, with two-hour guided tours available weekends. The Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve, located on the Nigel/Kliprivier Road 40 kilometers (25 miles) from Johannesburg, is the most extensive nature reserve in Gauteng Province. It contains vegetation typical of the Highveld, as well as many bird and other wildlife species, and has hiking trails and facilities for picnicking and camping, as well as an educational center. Of archaeological interest are the Sterkfontein Caves and the Kromdraai Caves near the town of Krugersdorp west of the city. The nearby Rhino Nature Reserve has white rhinos, wildebeest, hartebeest, giraffes, and antelopes. The northern suburbs of Johannesburg have many parks and other open areas suitable for picnicking, bird watching, and other outdoor activities.

South Africans participate avidly in outdoor pursuits, including such sports as soccer, rugby, and cricket, as well as hiking, rock climbing, horseback riding, bird watching, canoeing and rafting, flying and other aerial sports, such as gliding and hot air ballooning.