GOLD fever is set to grip South Africa’s most famous historical mining town next week when thousands of gold panners gather in Pilgrim’s Rest to battle it out at the annual National Gold Panning Championships. Mpumalanga Tourism Authority (MTA) spokesman Norman Madzhiga said the annual championships on November 11 had attracted 120 ‘professional’ entries, with some competitors hailing from as far away as Britain and Mozambique. Pilgrim’s Rest was once one of South Africa’s three most important gold mining centres, funding the Boer Republic’s war efforts against the British in the 1880s. The town recently lost a bid to host the 2004 World Gold Panning Championships, but has pledged to bid again and “bring the games to Africa”. – African Eye News Service