Olifantsnek Dam

Afrikaans name: Olifantsnekdam

Photo © Steven Herbert

The Olifantsnek Dam is situated on the R24 and is only a few kilometres from Rustenburg in the North West province.

Driving on the R24 one crosses a low pass through the mountains and then you come to a view site overlooking the dam which is well worth stopping at.

From the view site the dam wall looks tiny, but it is 129 metres long and is 30 metres high. The dam was constructed in 1932. By the way the name Olifantsnek (Afrikaans for “Elephant’s Neck”) is said to refer to part of the adjacent mountain and not the shape of the dam.

The Olifantsnek Dam is on the Hex River. The surrounding area is very scenic and, if you have time, it is well worth exploring on foot.

The dam is popular with fisherman. Barbel and carp are the main catches. There are no facilities at the dam so it might be best to leave the family at home!

Have you been to the dam? What do you do there?

Photo © Steven Herbert

References and further reading

Southern Africa from the Highway - Author: AA RSA - Published: 1991 - Page: 172

Mountain Passes of South Africa

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