Porterville Hotel

Porterville Hotel - accommodation in Porterville Western Cape

Description

At the moment the hotel offers:

• Four Double bedrooms
• One Twin room

PORTERVILLE GENERAL INFORMATION

Porterville lies on the slopes of the beautiful Olifants River Mountains approximately 140km north from Cape Town and 26km off the N7.

Porterville was established in 1863 after Frederick John Owen subdivided his farm, Pomona, into plots. The town was then named after William Porter, the Attorney General of the Cape.

The area has a winter rainfall with storms rolling in from the Atlantic coast in the west. In winter snow covers the mountain peaks. The summers are dry and hot with powerful thermals, making it the ideal location for paragliding enthusiasts.

The region is famous for the rare Disa that flowers only once a year. The Blue Crane is also a regular visitor to the area. Dramatic rock formations with rock art paintings and natural rock pools are some of the sights visitors can expect when visiting the "Groot Winterhoek" Nature Reserve.

Porterville is a picturesque town that offers hospitality and diversity to its visitors.

Attractions

• Disa Route  -  The area is well known for the beautiful red disa and rare yellow disa.
• Danckaert Cultural Historic Museum  -  In 1660 Jan Danckaert was the first white person to cross the Olifants River Mountains as part of a research team sent out by Jan van Riebeeck.
• The old 'Roller Mill' used for the grinding of wheat, is still operating.  (022 931 2270)
• The farm, 'Vier-en-Twintig Riviere', 20km south of Porterville was  established in 1875 to institute a Christian utopia.  Old Victorian houses can still be seen today.
• In the 'Dasklip' Pass there are many well preserved rock art and caves.  The Beaverlac Nature Reserve is at the top of the pass.
• The 'Groot Winterhoek' Nature Reserve, south east of Porterville, covers an area of app 450 square meters on the western side of the Groot Winterhoek Mountains.
• Porterville is also famous for paragliding events.

Paragliding is an outdoor flying sport.  It is also a competitive sport with venues all over the world.

The paraglider is a free-flying "aircraft" that is foot-launched.  The pilot sits in a harness that is hanging from below a fabric wing.  The fabric wing shapes as the air pressure enters through vents in the front of the wing.  A typical paraglider has a wing span of 8-12 meters and weighs 3-7 kg.

Whereas parachutes are generally used for descending purposes, paragliders are categorized as ascending parachutes.

To keep a paraglider in the air, rising air is needed.

• Thermals are formed when the sun heats features on the ground and columns of hot air rises.
• Another source of rising air is called a ridge lift.  The wind encounters a ridge in the landscape and is forced upwards.

Therefore Porterville is an excellent place for paragliding.  Between November and March ground temperatures are well into the 30's with good thermal activity in the area.  During winter, thermals are more gentle and paragliders can enjoy a scenic flight (glide) over the Porterville valley.

Porterville lies on the slopes of the beautiful Olifants River Mountains approximately 140km north from Cape Town and 26km off the N7.

Porterville was established in 1863 after Frederick John Owen subdivided his farm, Pomona, into plots.  The town was then named after William Porter, the Attorney General of the Cape.

The area has a winter rainfall with storms rolling in from the Atlantic coast in the west.  In winter snow covers the mountain peaks.  The summers are dry and hot with powerful thermals, making it the ideal location for paragliding enthusiasts.

The region is famous for the rare Disa that flowers only once a year.  The Blue Crane is also a regular visitor to the area.  Dramatic rock formations with rock art paintings and natural rock pools are some of the sights visitors can expect when visiting the "Groot Winterhoek" Nature Reserve.

Porterville is a picturesque town that offers hospitality and diversity to its visitors.

Facilities

• Restaurant
• Accommodation
• Bar with wide screen television
• Swimming pool
• Slot machines

Location