Lots to do and see on offer

• Rand West SPCA Market Day
Support the local SPCA at their Market Day at the Greenhills Sport Stadium between 9am and 4pm on Saturday, 24 April. They are in desperate need of funding in order to keep their doors open. There will be food, drinks and entertainment! Costs are R40 per adult and R20 for children under 12. Tickets available at the gate. Contact: 084 505 0613 or 079 692 5237.

• Ghost tours: Visit the country’s two most haunted hotspots
Parys and Cullinan have become the country’s two most haunted hotspots for ghost tours, according to Mark Rose-Christie, owner of the Mystery Ghost Tours of South Africa. Although these ghost tours have run in the major cities of Johannesburg, Pretoria, Cape Town, Durban and Port Elizabeth since 2001, Parys and Cullinan have become just as popular for the ghost tours, and the two cities are now being twinned because visitors to the one town’s ghost tour will visit the other town. The Cullinan bus runs on Saturday, 17 April and the one to Parys on Saturday, 24 April – both from 5pm to 10pm (long before curfew). Cost involved. Visit www.MysteryGhostProductions.co.za for a night you’ll never forget!

• Mother’s Day with Lizz Meiring
Celebrate Mother’s Day with Lizz Meiring and a luncheon at Garden World in Muldersdrift on Sunday, 9 May. Luncheon is served at noon for 12.30pm. Cost involved. Bookings: corne@gardenworld.co.za or 011 957 2545.

• Randfontein Publicity Association (RPA) Golf Day
Join the Randfontein Publicity Association (RPA) for a round of golf at the Krugersdorp Golf Club in Rant-en-Dal on Friday, 14 May. There are lots of prizes to be won. Registration is at 10.30am and tee-off at 11.30am (shotgun start) followed by an informal prize-giving from 5.30pm. If you don’t play golf, but would like to sponsor a four-ball or one of the holes, please contact joy@randfonteininfo.co.za or WhatsApp 082 852 1860.

• Ebenezer Charity Golf Day
Grab your pitching wedge, 9-iron and driver and support the Ebenezer House Charity Golf Day to take place at the Krugersdorp Golf Club in Rant-en-Dal on Thursday, 27 May. The event is a fundraiser to help sustain the NPO’s home. Ebenezer Psychiatric Home is a licensed non-profit organization that takes care of 26 permanent adults suffering from Bipolar Disorder or Schizophrenia. We are dependent on donations and assistance from the public and corporate sectors to keep the home open and functional, as most of our residents do not have families to support them. Ebenezer was established in 2005 to help psychiatric adults diagnosed with a mental disorder to feel worthy and help them deal with their illness. Should you want to sponsor a hole or a prize for the day, please make payment to the following bank account:
• Standard Bank Westgate
• Account Name: Ebenezer Fund
• Account Number: 026625504
• Branch Code: 016641
• Account Type: Current Account
Please send proof of payment to admin@ebenezer-house.co.za. Contact Kerry on 071 414 0501 or Charmaine on 082 434 7235 for more information.

• Dowwe Dolla at Garden World for the last time, ever! Dowwe Dolla will visit Garden World for the last time on Sunday, 23 May. The vultures are circling above, SAA is on Mayday, Tito is trying to veto, Cyril is stuck in the middle, cause Ace is still running the place, Woolies is selling hyena-friendly honey, Dolla celebrates 21 years in the industry, and Ouma Dowe Dolla is coming for the birthday celebrations … all of which mean South Africa is in bigger trouble than we all thought … ‘Things will have to change my broer … dis nou of nooit!’. Details: Contact 011 957 2545.

• Latest Movies not to miss!

JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH
Inspired by true events, Judas and the Black Messiah is directed by Shaka King, marking his studio feature film directorial debut. The late 1960s was one of the most tumultuous and pivotal periods in American history. A nation rife with political and social unrest was besieged by explosive demonstrations against the prevailing social and gender norms, the Vietnam War and racial injustice. Black communities across the country, tired of facing racial disparities in healthcare, housing, education and employment – all outgrowths of systemic inequality – had finally had enough. The film received 26 wins and 56 nominations including six Oscar nominations. In cinemas as of 16 April.

Watch here:

THOSE WHO WISH ME DEAD
From New Line Cinema comes the thriller Those Who Wish Me Dead, starring Angelina Jolie and directed by Taylor Sheridan. Oscar-winner Jolie (Girl, Interrupted, the Maleficent films) stars as Hannah, a smoke jumper still reeling from the loss of three lives she failed to save from a fire. She comes across a traumatised 12-year-old boy with nowhere else to turn to. It will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros Pictures. The film is set for release on 14 May 2021 in South Africa.

Watch here:

THE FATHER
Die langverwagte rolprent, THE FATHER, wat pas benoem is vir ses gesogte Oscar-toekennings, ses BAFTA-toekennings asook twee Screen Actors Guild- (SAG-) toekennings het op 26 Maart in plaaslike fliekteaters landswyd geopen. Dit vertel die verhaal van ’n middeljarige dogter wat besig is om haar geduld te verloor met haar pa – ’n stoute, onafhanklike ou man, wat besig is om tred met realiteit te verloor en weier dat ’n versorger na hom omsien. Sy moet trek en moet daarom iemand kry om hom te versorg. Hy, wat in die beginstadium van demensie is, probeer sin maak van sy veranderende omstandighede en begin in sy geliefdes, verstand en realiteit twyfel.

Kyk hier (LOKPRENT): 

GODZILLA VS. KONG
Legends collide in Godzilla vs. Kong (in cinemas as of 26 March) as these mythic adversaries meet in a spectacular battle for the ages, with the fate of the world hanging in the balance. Kong and his protectors undertake a perilous journey to find his true home, and with them is Jia, a young orphaned girl with whom he has formed a unique and powerful bond. But they unexpectedly find themselves in the path of an enraged Godzilla, cutting a swath of destruction across the globe. The epic clash between the two titans – instigated by unseen forces – is only the beginning of the mystery that lies deep within the core of the Earth.

Watch here: 

THE MAURITANIAN
Directed by Kevin Macdonald (The Last King of Scotland) and based on the NY Times best-selling memoir Guantanamo Diary by Mohamedou Ould Slahi, THE MAURITANIAN is the inspiring true story of Slahi’s fight for freedom after being detained and imprisoned without charge by the US government for years. Alone, with no access to the outside world, Slahi (Tahar Rahim) finds allies in defence attorney Nancy Hollander (Jodie Foster) and her associate Teri Duncan (Shailene Woodley) who battle the US Government in a fight for justice that tests their commitment to the law and their client at every turn. Their controversial advocacy, along with evidence uncovered by a formidable military prosecutor, Lt Colonel Stuard Couch (Benedict Cumberbatch), uncovers shocking truths and ultimately proves that the human spirit cannot be locked up. The film, originally titled Prisoner 760, was largely shot in South Africa early last year and had many local cast and crew involved in the production.

• Get fit with Zee’s Aerobics classes
Join Zee every Saturday morning from 7.30am to 8.30am at the Vredenhoek Street Park in Witpoortjie for a fun aerobics class. The classes are free and all you need is yourself, a water bottle, a towel and your mask.

• Starting them young at Melville Koppies
Every Sunday at Melville Koppies a number of different groups of young parents with very small kids arrive to explore Melville Koppies. The very small ones set out with a spring in their steps. They know that when their energy flags, they’ve got their ride on one of their parents’ back. They’ll never have such a view from up high for at least a decade. Then there’s the slightly bigger ones who don’t have option B. Sometimes they need the initial encouragement of an adult hand to clutch onto but soon they’re off, skipping briskly along the many paths, clambering up rocky inclines, complaining when the adults can’t keep up. For kids that like treasure hunts, ask at the entrance for the page of Melville Koppies treasures to look out for. The younger visitors will need to keep their eyes open on the paths, in the trees, up in the sky or smell the air to tick them all off. Melville Koppies is open every Sunday in 2021 (except May 2 – open on May 1 instead) from 8am to 11.30am. No need to pre-book. Adults R80 and children R40; all income used for maintenance and security of the Koppies – R22 000 per month needed. Security on the Koppies is provided; park in secure parking opposite the entrance at Marks Park on Judith Road, Emmarentia. Mid-week tours can be arranged. Contact wendavid@mweb.co.za. Check out www.mk.org.za for more detailed information about the history and what you can see.

• Navigating the new heritage trail
With a distance of just more than three kilometres, the newly designed Melville Koppies heritage trail guides visitors past an early hunter-gatherer site with magnificent views north to the Magaliesberg mountains, to a blast hole on one quartzite ridge – which the Geldenhuys brothers hoped would deliver them gold but didn’t – and then through copses of trees with stone walls of the first farmers. The Lecture Hut is the halfway post allowing walkers to read numerous information boards that expand on what they’ve seen on the trail, including the restored iron smelting furnace where iron was smelted until the mid 1800s. Many tools that were used by the hunter-gatherers and farmers are also on display there. On Sunday, 8 March visitors seemed excited by the trail although many found the stone walls ‘difficult to spot’. Perhaps the toughest challenge for the historical explorers was reading the map. However, none seemed deterred if they realised they’d done the trail in reverse or had taken a wrong turn. The joys of being in the open air on a clear autumn day shone through. Melville Koppies is open every Sunday in 2021 (except May 2 – open on May 1 instead) from 8am to 11.30am. No need to pre-book. Adults R80 and children R40; all income used for maintenance and security at the Koppies – R22 000 per month needed for this. Security on the Koppies is provided; park in secure parking opposite the entrance at Marks Park on Judith Road, Emmarentia. Mid-week tours can be arranged. Contact wendavid@mweb.co.za. Check out www.mk.org.za for more detailed information about the history and what you can see.

• Kloofendal educational walks
Why not spend your weekends learning about creepy crawlies, insect bites, flowers, trees and more. Well, at the Kloofendal Ecological Centre you can do just that. The reserve hosts guided walks at just R90 per adult, R70 per pensioner and R50 per child. For more information, or to make a booking, contact Karin Spottiswoode on 079 693 5608. All Covid-19 regulations will be adhered to, and all participants must wear a mask at all times.

• Covid-19 gives more choices to the Melville Koppies visitor
A year into lockdown, Covid-19 has brought with it some unexpected benefits to the visitor to the Melville Koppies Nature Reserve and Heritage Site. Before lockdown almost a year ago, the Koppies didn’t offer the visitor choices. Now because of social-distancing requirements you have to guide yourself. And there’s a wealth of choices: the new 5km hike is proving very popular; there’s now a bird list for the Koppies developed by keen bird atlaser Anthony Paton; and they’ve developed a heritage trail which guides you around key points that highlight the Koppies’ rich history. More varied trails are in the pipeline. With security on the Koppies provided you can even explore on your own. And if you can’t do everything in one visit, come back another time. The numbers of repeat visitors are climbing. Melville Koppies is open every Sunday in 2021 (except May 2 – open on May 1 instead) from 8am to 11.30am. No need to pre-book. Adults R80 and children R40; all income used for maintenance and security at the Koppies. Park in secure parking opposite the entrance at Marks Park on Judith Road, Emmarentia. Mid-week tours can be arranged. Contact wendavid@mweb.co.za. Check out www.mk.org.za for more detailed information about the history and what you can see.

• Hikers and runners can visit Avianto in Muldersdrift again
Avianto Trails in Muldersdrift opened their gates again for hikers and runners. They offer a variety of trails, and all of them are pet-friendly too. Before visiting them, take note that tickets for the weekends are to be bought online by clicking here but, if you visit them during the week you have to report to the reception to purchase a pass. All trails start at The Clubhouse on the Avianto Lifestyle Estate. Running and walking trails are ideal for a fantastic day out in the countryside. Approximately 5km of scenic routes offer a great exercise option, regardless of your level of fitness. Pets need to be on a leash, and remember the poop scoop. They are situated at Avianto Plot 69, Driefontein Road, Muldersdrift.

• Missing your weekly parkrun?
Sterkfontein Heritage Lodge, 1 Wolf Street, Rant-en-Dal, has the answer for you! If you have a parkrun barcode, you and your friends will be able to access the parkrun route for free. All you need to do is report to reception, show your barcode and you are good to go. All the owner asks of you is to support the restaurant after completing your route. For non-parkrunners and those who would like to visit the lodge for a hike or to cycle, the lodge is also open at a fee of R40 per person.

• Picnic at the Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden
The Walter Sisulu National Botanical Garden on Malcolm Road, Poortview will be open for picnics, bird watching and photography, walking, hiking and running. The restaurant, Sisulu Circle, children’s play area, garden gym and drinking fountains will also be open. If you wish to visit the Garden, remember to wear a mask, sanitize at the entrance and ensure social distancing. Visitors are encouraged to purchase tickets online on the webtickets.co.za website to limit physical contact.

• Witpoortjie Community Market
The Witpoortjie Community Flea/ Farmer’s Market is at 27 Teenstra Street, Witpoortjie every Saturday from 8.30am to 1pm. Buying from the variety of stalls, including food, fresh produce, toys, clothing, jewellery, home and outdoor, and more, will help to empower small businesses. For more information, contact Roxanne on 084 207 6549.

Remember to send notifications of your events to krugersdorpnews@caxton.co.za.

Remember to send notifications of your events to randfonteinherald@caxton.co.za.