Bassonia Area Profile

Bassonia at a glance

Bassonia a place where you can live your life one day at a time. 

While I'm writing this, I am listening to the abundant bird life happily singing their song.  Children playing in the background and delivery bikes bringing in take aways from all the nearby take away shops.  It is cool with a slight breeze ruffling the curtains.

Being from a small town in the eastern parts of Gauteng named Nigel.  I was quite sceptical to move to the big city.  But we have found a well-kept secret, this small suburb of Johannesburg South called Bassonia.

It is practical living here, family living at its best.  I often see people jogging up and down the roads and taking the challenge of the Comaro hill.  Believe me it is quite a hill and taking that one on would mark a historic event for most.

Going to the local shopping centre is a must, unavoidable as everyone has to eat.  There is a choice between SuperSpar and Woolworths Foods.  Then off course it caters for the other necessities, like a salon (for most people this counts as a necessity) dry cleaners, Clicks, jeweller, optometrist, Pick 'n pay clothing and small shops for this and that.  I've seen the Checkers 60/60 delivery a couple of times in our own complex, so there's that option as well.

Dining out, also, no need to travel far as there is a renowned Turn 'n Tender, a Mimmos, Senhor Perri-Peri, Doppio Zero and for a quick lunch we can just pop into the Woolworths restaurant and enjoy some of their delicious drinks and lunches.

But off- course all of us (or at least most of us) need to work.  There is easy access to a couple of freeways namely, N12 southern Bypass, R59 Sybrand van Niekerk Freeway and N3.  Bassonia is 15 minutes away from Booysens Reserve, 30 minutes from Sandton.

Having children, we always must keep in mind that where we stay has to be close to schools.  Travelling to school on a Monday can be a challenge if it's going to be a half an hour away.

Here is a list of schools close by:

• Trinity House
• Randhart primary school
• Dinamika High School
• Marais Viljoen High School
• St Martins
• Marion College
• Glenvista High School
• Waterstone College

If you are wondering, what do we do for fun.  Well.... There is a couple of malls close by but the closest is The Glen, right up the that has had the whole entertainment and restaurant area upgraded during the last 2 years.  Then Mall of the South 15 minutes away.  Rietvlei Zoo farm has plenty to do including mountain biking, horse back riding for the kids, and it's a place where you can enjoy having a picnic or kids birthday party.  When we feel like taking the day, we go to the Johannesburg Zoo, hop on the Gautrain and visit Sandton City.

Naturally I did not know about the history of Bassonia, but for this piece that I'm writing I had to do some research. 

Wikipedia states that Bassonia was once an area where SAN tribes and later Sotho-Tswana lived. It is shaped in a upside down triangle and spans 2.3square kilometres. Bordered by Glenvista, Meyersdal Eco estate, Bassonia Rock and Oakdene.

Bassonia has a couple of Complexes with Sectional Title units and also full title stand alone homes.

The area has kept up with the styles of the years and are fairly updated and modern.  Houses ranging from 2.6 to 8 million are in this suburb, and town houses ranging from 1.1 to 2.8 million.

In closing I can say this is truly a beautiful piece of South Africa with all it's natural plantation and stunning weather.  Sometimes, when we drive home from a visit to a family member or a day outing, it feels like we live at the coast with all the trees and beauty around us.