Orchards

2. Magaliesburg, Gauteng

The microclimate of Magaliesburg, an elevated ridge that forms part of a prehistoric impact crater, is suitable for agricultural operations, with its nearby water sources, rich soil, and physical protection from soil-eroding winds. Several fruit orchard farms have established themselves atop this ridge, in some cases abbuting adjacent informal housing communities - or was it the other way around? Did these informal housing settlements begin to encroach upon the established orchards? Whatever the case, the formality and relative stability of these orchards, with their clearly marked roads and orderly rows of trees, now lie in direct contention with, and seem to act as a buffer against, the mass and seeming messiness of the informal housing.