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Bitterfontein, although not much more than the hotel, a few shops and the station, harbors a few interesting facts. The name is, quite literally, derived from the fountain of bitter, really brackish, water which is still the main source of water for the town. It also boosts the first desalination plant to purify drinking water, for a town in the southern hemisphere. This plant and the salt pans are clearly visible from the road, immediately before the turn-off towards the town, and the plant has recently linked up with Rietpoort, a nearby village, to provide them with valuable blue drop status, drinking water. The fresh water was also essential in the days of steam locomotion to transport freight and passenger.
Today the station platform does not have, or need, a board as the daily diesel trains are only used to transport freight, the bulk of which consist of massive blocks of blue and red granite. Yes, we have entered the Granite Mountains of Namaqualand. On farms around Bitterfontein granite, and to a lesser extent marble, quarries can be found. You can visit the farms, but it is worth checking before you go. Quarries close down once the granite has been removed, such as the previously famous Bitterfontein green granite site, or Kersbos, where today the only remains is a picnic area in a circle of granite rocks.
In 1931 Bitterfontein was the scene of one of the world’s greatest diamond robberies when diamonds to value of £80,000 were stolen from a mailbag, never to be traced.
MELVIN DIERGAARDT
WEBMASTER
