To local people, it was a sacred ground; to the Voortrekkers, a landmark spot where they rested for a short while before continuing on their journey further north.
Fortune-hunters dreamed that the Kruger millions would turn up here but they found only the Stone Age tools of the prehistoric hunters who ambushed their prey in the poort (entrance) nearby.
It has been an excavation site where archaeologists have exposed the largest single accumulation of stone artefacts ever to be discovered in Africa.
But what was it that brought all these people to this plain on the northern outskirts of Pretoria? It is a tree unlike any other - a wild fig known all over the world as the Wonderboom (literally, miracle tree).
The tree was discovered in 1836 by the Voortrekkers, under Hendrik Potgieter, who named it the Wonderboom. After Potgieter, several other groups of Voortrekkers stopped at this tree, and the site continues to have a special significance for South Africans who identify with Voortrekker history.
The reserve is home for several small antelope species as well as monkeys, dassies and a large variety of birds.
Open daily from 07:00 to 18:00, entry only allowed up to 16:00. An admission fee is charged.
