Oranjemund - clean gem of the south

Oranjemund is still new in the tourism business as it only opened its doors to the public in October 2017. Before that time Oranjemund was exclusively a mining town, which served the diamond mining community since the mid-Twenties of the previous century.

The town is a historic novelty, which has quickly turned into a tourism attraction. Visitors are assisted by the Tourist Information Centre in the middle of town, next to the museum. Her you will find locally made souvenirs as well as branded clothing, which will remind you of this visit in the years to come. You need not specifically be a wildlife enthusiast to stand in awe when encountering Oryx and springbok, which roam freely in town, or for that matter watch the odd jackal entering the town’s outskirts with ostriches wandering ever closer too. Bird watching is very rewarding, as some of the species are only found here and the same applies to plant life, with rare Lithops species literally only to be found in the Swartkop area.

As one of the four finalists for the cleanest town of the year title, Oranjemund is putting all measures in place to manage waste in an efficient and effective manner. It needs to be remembered that this town was always kept immaculately clean by the mining company in the past, so the mentality of the citizens is such, that cleanliness is something that goes without saying. It is therefore heartening to know that town council still wants to improve and is in the process of passing regulations intended to bring waste in Oranjemund down to zero. This obviously is managed by making use of a landfill site that responsibly processes both domestic and hazardous waste.

Town council constantly promotes the idea of a clean environment amongst its town folk as much as the tourists, who visit this old diamond mining town.

Its citizens clearly buy in, as the Oranjemund Spar retailer has committed to helping the community with regards to cleaning up the town by sponsoring more than 200 school children to take part in the local beach clean-up campaign. In line with the town’s recycling project the use of reusable paper bags is promoted. The Supermarket is committed to not selling plastic bags, which seems to resonate well. Similarly the shop has also restricted the use of plastic straws at the coffee shop by replacing them with corn starch straws.