Sun City, the place to visit

Sun City is a luxury resort and casino that is situated in the North West Province of South Africa. This wonderful resort is located about 2 hour’s drive from Johannesburg near the city of Rustenburg. It is nestled between the Elands River and Pilanesberg. It borders the Pilanesberg Game Reserve.

Sun City was developed during the 70’s by the hotel magnate, Sol Kerzner as part of his Sun International group of properties. It was officially opened on the 7th of December 1979 and was located in the Bantustan of Bophuthatswana. South Africa’s government at the time declared Bophuthatswana an independent state although no other country recognised this. During the 70’s gambling and topless shows were banned in South Africa, but it was allowed in Bophuthatswana which ensured that Sun City became a very popular holiday and weekend away destination.

The United Nations imposed a cultural boycott on South Africa in condemnation of apartheid. Kerzner offered substantial financial incentives to performing artists to use Sun City as a venue. Many artists performed at the venue including the Beach Boys, Cher, Linda Ronstadt, Frank Sinatra, Status Quo, Rod Stewart and Elton John. Queen also performed here in 1984 which caused lots of criticism in the British music press.

This venue has hosted a heavyweight boxing championship fight between American Mike Weaver and South African Gerrie Coetzee as well as Miss South Africa, Miss South Africa Teen and Miss World pageants.

Sun City continues flourishing since Bophutatswana was re-incorporated into South Africa in 1994. The resort has four hotels including Sun City Hotel, Cascades Hotel, The Cabanas and The palace of the Lost City. The complex includes time-share facilities, which is a popular self-catering facility.

There are also two international standard 18 hole golf courses. The first on is The Gary Player Country Club which is home to the prestigious Nedbank Gold Challenge and the second is the Lost City Golf Course which is noted for the 38 crocodiles in the water feature of the 13th hole. Both were designed by Gary Player.

In 2014, the movie Blended with Drew Barrymore and Adam Sandler, premiered after being filmed mostly at the resort.

A brand new water slide was installed in 2016 and expanded accommodation choices to countryside like Cabanas Chalets was just completed. The new Chalets are located 750m from the Cabanas hotel, nestled beside the Letsatsie bush which is close to the Cultural Village of the resort.

The Valley of Waves re-opened after its annual winter maintenance with another heart stopping ride to try. The new water slide, White Water, sees visitors have the ultimate 17m plummet body slide adventure in a capsule. It sends riders sliding at 40mph (65km/h) before being swept upwards into a near-vertical loop. G-force pins the riders as they slide up, over and then down before crashing into the splashdown lane. It is not for the faint hearted…

Sun City also has the largest permanent maze in the Southern Hemisphere, The Maze of the Lost City. It was constructed from artificial stone and wood which creates the illusion of an ancient archaeological discovery. It covers half an acre. The maze is accessed via a 100m suspension bridge from the Entertainment Center and offers the most spectacular views of the resort. At night time flaming torches light the paths along the chambers…