The little town of Bethulie, situated 200km/125mi south of Bloemfontein between two large nature reserves, the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam Nature Reserve to the west and the Tussen-die-Riviere Game Farm to the east, is the agricultural market center of the region, in which intensive sheep-farming is the predominant activity.
Bethulie was founded in 1829 by the London Missionary Society and taken over four years later by the Paris Missionary Society, who gave it its present name ("chosen by God").
The D. H. Steyn Bridge, a combined road and rail bridge which spans the Orange River at Bethulie, is the longest bridge in South Africa (1152m/1260yd).
The Bethulie Dam offers facilities for a variety of water sports. Adjoining it is the Mynhardt Game Reserve (area 160ha/395ac), established in 1937, in which live various species of antelopes and gazelles (accommodation for visitors).
Pellissier House, named after the first French missionary in Bethulie, houses an exhibition on the missionaries who worked here and on the history of the region.
15km/9mi southeast of Bethulie, between the Orange and the Caledon Rivers, is the Tussen-die-Riviere Game Farm (area 21,000ha/52,000 ac), which was established in 1972 as a home for various species of antelopes and gazelles, zebras and rhinos. From September to the end of April it is run like any other game reserve and is open daily from sunrise to sunset. During the winter, however, hunting is permitted in order to regulate the stocks of game.
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