Present Day
Harrismith is well known as a convenient refuelling stop for trucks, vehicles and people but it has much more to offer. Beyond the highway is a tidy town with many elegant late 19th century buildings made of hewn sandstone. There are numerous Bed & Breakfast places catering to visitors. Located near the scenic eastern escarpment border with KwaZulu-Natal Province, it is the best access point to the Northernmost Drakensberg including Tugela Falls and Mont-Aux-Sources (accessed via the Sentinel Hiking Trail, in the Qwaqwa region of the Free State, 80 km South of Harrismith on the R57), Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve (20 km southeast of town on the R74), Royal Natal Park and the uKhahlamba / Drakensberg Park World Heritage Site (66 km southeast via Oliviershoek Pass beyond Sterkfontein Dam) and the spectacular Golden Gate Highlands National Park 50 km south of town on the R712.
Harrismith is the centre of one of the five wool producing districts in Southern Africa.
The town is also home to the largest truck stop in the Southern Hemisphere, Highway Junction.
Two other places in the world bear the same name: Harrismith Beach and Harrismith House near Bottom Bay in Barbados and Harrismith in the Wheatbelt region of Western Australia.
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Famous quotes containing the words present and/or day:
“The instant field of the present is at all times what I call the ‘pure’ experience. It is only virtually or potentially either object or subject as yet.”
—William James (1842–1910)
“This day is called the Feast of Crispian.
He that outlives this day and comes safe home
Will stand a-tiptoe when this day is nam’d
And rouse him at the name of Crispian.
He that shall live this day, and see old age,
Will yearly on the vigil feast his neighbours
And say, “Tomorrow is Saint Crispian.””
—William Shakespeare (1564–1616)