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Langeberg
The Langeberg Range is a mountain range in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Its highest peak is Keeromsberg at 2,075 m that lies 15 km northeast of the town of Worcester. Some of the highest peaks of the range are located just to the north of Swellendam, in a subrange known as the Clock Peaks whose highest point is the 1,710 m high Misty Point. Local lore states one can tell the time by means of the shadows cast by the seven summits of the Clock Peaks. Etymology The name is Dutch and means "long mountain" Physiography and geology The range runs roughly NW/SE in its western part and in an east-west direction in its mid and eastern section and is approximately 250 km long, from Worcester, past Robertson, Montagu, Swellendam, Heidelberg and Riversdale to the proximity of George. The Langeberg's most westerly point is located 5 km east of the town of Worcester; the range ends some 20 km North of Mossel Bay in the east. The open plains of the Little ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Swellendam
Swellendam is the fifth oldest town in South Africa (after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, and Paarl), a town with 17,537 inhabitants situated in the Western Cape province. The town has over 50 provincial heritage sites, most of them buildings of Cape Dutch architecture. Swellendam is situated on the N2, approximately 220 km from both Cape Town and George. History Early travellers and explorers who visited the Cape in the 16th century traded with the Khoikhoi people who lived on these shores and in the interior. When the Dutch East India Company established a replenishment station at the Cape in 1652, trade continued inland as far as Swellendam. In 1743 Swellendam was declared a magisterial district, the third-oldest in South Africa, and was named after Governor Hendrik Swellengrebel, the first South African born Governor, and his wife, Helena Ten Damme. This outlying settlement soon became a gateway to the interior, and was visited by many famous explorers an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ashton, Western Cape
Ashton is a small town in the Western Cape in South Africa. The town is at the foot of the Langeberg mountain range, 10 km southwest of Montagu and 19 km east-southeast of Robertson Robertson may refer to: People * Robertson (surname) (includes a list of people with this name) * Robertson (given name) * Clan Robertson, a Scottish clan * Robertson, stage name of Belgian magician Étienne-Gaspard Robert (1763–1837) Places .... It is situated in a valley known for production of wines and fruit. Ashton is known for its two canning factories, which boost its tourism. Ashton is also home to various tourist attractions, including vineyards and steam locomotives. History It was established in 1897 on the Roodewal farm and attained municipal status in January 1956. The town was named after the first station-master. References Populated places in the Langeberg Local Municipality Populated places established in 1897 {{WesternCape-geo-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Little Karoo
The Karoo ( ; from the Afrikaans borrowing of the South Khoekhoe !Orakobab or Khoemana word ''ǃ’Aukarob'' "Hardveld") is a semi-desert natural region of South Africa. No exact definition of what constitutes the Karoo is available, so its extent is also not precisely defined. The Karoo is partly defined by its topography, geology and climate, and above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold.Potgieter, D.J. & du Plessis, T.C. (1972) ''Standard Encyclopaedia of Southern Africa''. Vol. 6. pp. 306–307. Nasou, Cape Town.''Reader’s Digest Illustrated Guide to Southern Africa''. (5th Ed. 1993). pp. 78–89. Reader’s Digest Association of South Africa Pty. Ltd., Cape Town. The Karoo also hosted a well-preserved ecosystem hundreds of million years ago which is now represented by many fossils. The ǃ’Aukarob formed an almost impenetrable barrier to the interior from Cape Town, and the early adventurers, explorers, hunters, and travelers o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robertson, Western Cape
Robertson is a town in the Western Cape Province of South Africa founded on the theft of KHOIKHOI First nation land and cattle, known as the valley of wine and roses, at the heart of the wine route - Route 62 (South Africa), Route 62. Khoikhoi First nation land was stolen in 1853 and named after Dr , a Scotland, Scottish Dutch Reformed Church minister. Situated in the fertile Robertson Valley, farming and wagon building were the town's original industries. However, after the Second Second Boer War, Anglo-Boer War of 1899, the wagon building industry collapsed when the railways took over the transport of all goods. Robertson subsequently became famous for its ostrich farming, but this industry collapsed as well shortly after World War I, and the farmers of the area turned to wine and fruit farming. Later, several successful racehorse stud farms were founded. Agriculture remains the mainstay of the town's economy. Tourism Tourism has grown in recent years and the town has several ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Western Cape
The Western Cape is a province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , and the third most populous, with an estimated 7 million inhabitants in 2020. About two-thirds of these inhabitants live in the metropolitan area of Cape Town, which is also the provincial capital. The Western Cape was created in 1994 from part of the former Cape Province. The two largest cities are Cape Town and George. Geography The Western Cape Province is roughly L-shaped, extending north and east from the Cape of Good Hope, in the southwestern corner of South Africa. It stretches about northwards along the Atlantic coast and about eastwards along the South African south coast (Southern Indian Ocean). It is bordered on the north by the Northern Cape and on the east by the Eastern Cape. The total land area of the province is , about 10.6% of the country's total. It is roughly the size of England or the S ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Montagu, Western Cape
Montagu is a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa, about from Cape Town in the Western Little Karoo. It is named after former secretary of the Cape Colony, John Montagu, but was once known as Agter Cogman's Kloof, Cogman's Kloof linking the town and railway station. It is situated at the confluence of the Keisie and Kingna rivers. Montagu was founded on the farm "Uitvlugt" in 1851, and is known for its hot mineral springs and scenic mountains. It is also an agricultural centre, where orchards and vineyards are in production and local herbs are grown. The farming area, 'Koo', lies north of the town and is famous for the quality of its apples, pears, apricots and peaches. The author Francis Brett Young spent his final years here. Nearby rock formations make it one of the country's major rock climbing venues. The 1266 m high Bloupunt peak overlooks the village and offers several hiking trails, as well as kloofing and mountain biking trails further afield. Montagu is ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve
Grootvadersbosch is a historic farm in the Overberg, and the surrounding area is currently a nature reserve in the southern portion of the Boosmansbos Wilderness Area, in Western Cape, South Africa. Location Grootvadersbosch is in the foothills of the Langeberg, east of Oude Post and the Tradouw Pass to Barrydale and north of the gravel road from Swellendam over the Buffeljags River to Suurbraak and Heidelberg. Both the Slang River (not the one in Mpumalanga) and the Duiwenhoks River spring from the region. Nature reserve Grootvadersbosch is the largest remaining native forest in the Langeberg. Both a foot trail and a mountain bike trail have been developed in the reserve. Animal life The Cape bushbuck was first seen by European scientists in this forest in 1776, when the Swede Anders Sparrman visited. After searching for more than 50 years, herpetologist John D. Visser finally found eggs of the frog species known as the Eastern ghost frog (''Heleophyryne orientalis'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Boosmansbos Wilderness Area
The Boosmansbos Wilderness Area of is situated north of Heidelberg in the eastern Langeberg mountain chain of the Western Cape Province, South Africa. ''Boosmansbos'', i.e. 'angry man's forest', is named after a resident hermit of the early 19th century who had been known to scare youngsters who visited his apiaries. The elevation reaches at Grootberg peak, located at the center of the wilderness area. The tributaries of the Duiwenhoks River, which drain its southern slopes, tumble along precipitous gorges to above sea level on the southern perimeter. In the southwest the wilderness area encloses the Grootvadersbosch Nature Reserve of , the most western natural forest in South Africa. The wilderness area conserves mountain fynbos and valley forest. Among the special fynbos plants conserved are Erica and everlasting species as well as the rare Langeberg rambling aloe. Important forest tree species occurring in the valleys are sickle-leaved yellowwood, stinkwood and red ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Marloth Nature Reserve
Marloth Nature Reserve is a nature reserve in Swellendam Local Municipality, Western Cape, South Africa. It conserves the central Langeberg mountains, between the towns of Swellendam, Ashton, Barrydale and Suurbraak. The reserve includes the Clock Peaks, two prominent landmarks near Swellendam. The reserve is 14,123 ha in extent and is managed together with another 16,532 ha of privately owned proclaimed mountain catchment land. The reserve's office is approximately 15 km from Swellendam and adjacent to the Swellendam State Forest. It is named after Rudolf Marloth, a South African botanist. See also * Protected areas of South Africa The protected areas of South Africa include national parks and marine protected areas managed by the national government, public nature reserves managed by provincial and local governments, and private nature reserves managed by private landow ... * South African National Parks {{Western Cape Provincial Parks Nature reserves in South ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Fynbos
Fynbos (; meaning fine plants) is a small belt of natural shrubland or heathland vegetation located in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape provinces of South Africa. This area is predominantly coastal and mountainous, with a Mediterranean climate and rainy winters. The fynbos ecoregion is within the Mediterranean forests, woodlands, and scrub biome. In fields related to biogeography, fynbos is known for its exceptional degree of biodiversity and endemism, consisting of about 80% (8,500 fynbos) species of the Cape floral kingdom, where nearly 6,000 of them are endemic. This land continues to face severe human-caused threats, but due to the many economic uses of the fynbos, conservation efforts are being made to help restore it. Overview and history The word fynbos is often confusingly said to mean "fine bush" in Afrikaans, as "bos" means "bush". Typical fynbos foliage is ericoid rather than fine. The term, in its pre-Afrikaans, Dutch form, ''fynbosch'', was recorded by Nob ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Riversdale, Western Cape
Riversdale ( af, Riversdal) is a town located on the N2 (South Africa), N2 highway between Cape Town and George, Western Cape, George on the Agulhas Coastal Plain of the southern Western Cape province of South Africa. It is an agricultural service oriented town, being a hub for shopping and other services for surrounding farming communities, smaller towns, and coastal resorts, like Witsand and Stilbaai. It is located beneath the imposing Langeberg Mountains to the north, with Sleeping Beauty Mountain overlooking the town. History The town was founded as a church on the farm, Doornkraal, and was subsequently named after Harry Rivers, the then incumbent Civil Commissioner of Swellendam. It was proclaimed a town on 30 August 1838. Riverdale is the seat of the Hessequa Local Municipality. It is also sometimes considered the westernmost point in the Garden Route region. Notable residents *Willem Botha, singer * Dyan Buis, Paralympic athlete *Dalene Matthee (13 October 1938 – 2 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Worcester, Western Cape
Worcester ( ) is a town in the Western Cape, South Africa. It is located north-east of Cape Town on the N1 highway north to Johannesburg. Being the largest town in the Western Cape's interior region, it serves as the administrative capital of the Breede Valley Local Municipality and as regional headquarters for most central and Provincial Government Departments. The town also serves as the hub of the Western Cape's interior commercial, distribution and retail activity with a shopping mall, well developed central business district and infrastructure. Worcester is located at an elevation of and can be reached by road either travelling on the N1 highway through the Huguenot Tunnel or by driving through spectacular mountain passes. From Cape Town Du Toitskloof, from Wellington Bainskloof, from Malmesbury, Western Cape Nieuwekloof, from Ceres Mitchells, from Robertson Goree, from Hermanus Rooihoogte and from Johannesburg Hex River, with vistas over the Hex River Valley. Geograph ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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