The Sir Frederic Bridge (also called Jubileum Bridge) creates a quick shortcut over the Gats River between the two sides of the village. The bridge is accessible via Parsonage Street and Pienaar Street and are a great lookout spot.
The footbridge was proposed in 1897 and finally approved by the Administrator of the Cape, Sir Frederic de Waal, nearly 20 years later, in 1914. The local blacksmith, Fredrick Lehman, constructed it.
In the late 1990s, the two bridges were redesigned by consulting engineer Ivo Huisman & Associates and constructed by S Colarossi Civils. They were reopened on 25 June 1999.
The Gats River, which runs through the village, is fed by two tributaries.
The first tributary is fed by the steep slopes of Compassberg to the north, while the second has its catchment area towards the northwest of the village. This catchment area also feeds the spring on Doornberg. This is the spring after which Nieu-Bethesda was named – the Biblical spring at Bethesda.
The spring has not dried up in living history and is captured high up the valley and fed into an intricate system of furrows that are then led into the village. Various plots have water rights and have permission to lead the water into their properties at specific times during the week.
The Gats River doesn’t always have a lot of water, but after good rains, it truly is a sight to behold.
