Oviston

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Oviston is a little town in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa, 

10 km from Venterstad, on the southern bank of the Gariep Dam. 

It was established in 1965 to accommodate workers on the Orange-Fish River Tunnel

The name is derived from the Afrikaans Oranje-Vis-tonnel, ‘Orange-Fish Tunnel, 

near the entrance to which it is situated.

The construction of the Orange-Fish Tunnel made possible the irrigation of thousands of 

hectares of additional land in the Eastern Cape of South Africa, 

diverting water from the Orange River to the Great Fish River.

Oviston Nature Reserve

The town are surrounded by the Oviston Nature Reserve, managed by Eastern Cape Parks. 

The Reserve are along the southern shoreline of the Gariep Dam (formerly known as the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam) 

and covers an area of approximately 16,000 hectare and stretches from the dam wall on the west,

to the Bethulie railroad bridge in the east.