Brits

Introduction

Brits sits in the North West Province, in a fertile belt of citrus, vegetable and grain farming watered by the Hartbeespoort Dam. It lies close to the City of Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, which includes Pretoria, and shares Pretoria's dialling code — so you can treat it as an easy extension of a stay in the capital region.

Agriculture is only part of the picture. Brits is also a centre for heavy industry and plays a significant role in South African mining: the Rustenburg and Brits districts together account for the great majority of the country's platinum, and the district also holds a large vanadium mine. Expect a working town shaped by farms, factories and mines rather than a resort.

Getting around

Brits has no metro, tram or commuter rail network, so plan every movement around road transport. Minibus taxis are the most widespread form of everyday transport in and around town, connecting Brits with surrounding areas and onward transport nodes; they are inexpensive but run on informal routes and schedules, so ask locally which routes serve your destination and where the relevant ranks or pickup points are. Bus services also operate in the area, with Thari Bus Service (Thari Transport Services), based in Mothotlung, linking the Brits and Madibeng Municipality area to destinations including Mabopane Station in Gauteng. Treat buses as commuter-oriented services rather than a hop-on, hop-off tourist network: they are busiest at peak hours, can be crowded, and run to fixed departure times rather than frequent, turn-up-and-go service.

Ride-hailing apps and metered taxis offer a more comfortable, direct door-to-door option, though availability can be more limited than in a large city, so arrange your return trip in advance, especially for outlying destinations or late in the day. Walking works for short trips within the central parts of town but is not practical for longer distances or reaching surrounding areas, which are spread out. If you are arriving from elsewhere in South Africa by rail, you will generally need to connect onward by road to reach Brits, and because the town has no major airport of its own, most visitors arrive via the Pretoria area and the wider Gauteng region, using a rental car, pre-booked transfer, ride-hailing or taxi for the final leg; with luggage, a direct road transfer is usually the simplest option. Mabopane Station is a useful connection point for travel between the Brits area and Gauteng.

Three days in Brits

Day one: Start in Brits itself, the agricultural town at the heart of the Madibeng Municipality in North West Province, and use it as your base for the days ahead. Take a walking look around the town centre before heading east towards Hartbeespoort Dam, the water that draws visitors to this part of the province. Expect warm days and cooler evenings, and plan your time outdoors accordingly.

Day two: Head south towards Pretoria and the Tshwane Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, treating the city as a day out from Brits. If you prefer not to drive, minibus and bus services connect the area, with operators such as Thari Bus Service and Thari Transport Services running routes that also serve Mothotlung and Mabopane Station. Ride back to Brits in the evening.

Day three: Look west towards Rustenburg for a change of scene, or spend a final day closer to Brits exploring the farmland and agricultural surroundings that define the town. Treat the day as a relaxed one, and if you are relying on public transport, check your connections before setting out.