Groot Marico is the hometown of one of South Africa's best known short story writers, Charles Bosman (1905 - 1951).
Groot-Marico is probably best known for her Mampoer - South-Africa's exclusive liquor made with any fruit, except grapes, and distilled to an alcohol content of 65 - 75%. (Mampoer made with grapes are called Witblits [White Lightning]). Distillation is collecting vapors from boiling liquid and then condensing them back to liquid form - a technique for purifying liquids. The name 'mampoer' has an interesting history available at Groot-Marico's webpage.
Groot-Marico is famous for her many varieties of wild birds (competing with the farmers for available fruit).
The Groot-Marico River is considered to be the only unpolluted river in the North West Province.
The origin of the Groot-Marico River, called the The Eye Of Marico, is 17 meters deep and forty meters wide crystal clear water.
In August 1999 proposed monkey hunting in the Skuinsdrift area just north of Groot-Marico caused havoc in the Media. Due to the lack of natural enemies - leopards confined to game reserves - monkeys have multiplied to a point where they started to raid farms in their search for food, destroying crops and bankrupting farmers. More than ten years later, still remembering the over-reaction of Media and Kie, nobody in the region is willing to discuss monkey-business.
Annual events in Groot-Marico are one of the best Mountain Bike Races in the country and the famous annual art festival, including performances of the works of Herman Charles Bosman. Monthly streetmarkets, mountain bike tours, running, swimming, Mampoer tours, Anglo-Boer War battlefield tours, story tours, bird watching and tree identification tours are the order of the day.
