Bitterfontein |
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ATTRACTIONS
The railway line from Cape Town, stops
at Bitterfontein. It is this railway line that is used to
ship the hundreds of blocks of green granite, the only of
its kind in the world, that is mined near Bitterfontein.
Being too far from both the Olifants- and the Orange River,
Bitterfontein gets its water from a desalination plant, the
first one in the southern hemisphere. The water is sourced
from saline boreholes and then desalinated through a process
of reverse osmosis. The desalination plant can be visited
on appointment, where the process will be explained.
At the Boerewinkel, an old fashioned general dealer, goods
like “skuinskoek” (a local confection), guitar
strings, pipes,Trilby hats, free range eggs and often vegetables
like pumpkins and sweet potatoes grown locally, can be
bought.
The
Bitterfontein Traditional Dance Group is a community-based
project that trained local learners in dances like the reel
and can be booked for performances.
The Knersvlakte
The Knersvlakte, part of the Succulent Karoo Hotspot, is home to more than 1300 species of which in excess of 200 is endemic to the area. The vegetation consists of tiny succulents, also called “stoneplants”, no more than 10 cm high, growing on the quartz plains. These can be viewed on guided tours, either on walks or by mountain bike.
A number of secondary roads into the area, starts off at Bitterfontein. Along these various species of birds, and specifically raptors can be viewed. The area is habitat to Martial eagles, pale chanting goshawk, black-breasted snake-eagle, peregrine falcons, spotted eagle owl, and many more. During night-drives, that can be undertaken with permission from private land-owners, a variety of animals like Cape honey badger, black-backed jackall, Cape silver fox, aardwolf, suricate, bat-eared fox and a number of other species, can be seen.
GETTING THERE
Bitterfontein is situated immediately on
the N7 between Cape Town and Namibia, 383 km from Cape Town
and 318 from the Orange River.
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Bitterfontein
offers a variety of accommodation in the form of guest houses,
home stays, a backpackers facility and a hotel.
Guesthouses:
Left to right - Dawn Ridge,
Dunroven, Mara's
See
left bar for contact details.
Home Stays:
Contact the Hardeveld Tourism information Centre
Tel: 027 - 6427335
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