|
Pearston
Pearston is a small town in the eastern Karoo, in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It lies between Graaff-Reinet and Somerset East at the foot of the Coetzeesberge, about north of Port Elizabeth. It falls within the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality and has a population of approximately 4,500 people. History In 1850 John Pears, the minister of the Dutch Reformed Church in the town of Somerset (now Somerset East) began holding services in the open under a large pear tree on the farm Rustenburg, then the property of Mr Casparus Jacobus Lötter, on the bank of the Voël River. In 1858 the church announced its intention to establish a village named Pearston on that location. A portion of the farm was purchased and lots sold, and the village was officially founded on 21 September 1859. It became a town with municipal government on 3 April 1894. Government Pearston falls within the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality, which has its seat at Somerset East, and forms part o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Somerset East
Somerset East ( af, Somerset-Oos) is a town in the Blue Crane Route Local Municipality in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It was founded by Lord Charles Somerset in 1825. The Blue Crane Route follows the national road R63 from Pearston, via Somerset East, to Cookhouse. Somerset East, at the foot of the Boschberg Mountains, is a small town that's known for its natural environment and for its provincial heritage sites and buildings. The forested, mountainous backdrop frames the town (which is within sight of 16 waterfalls). The wooded Boschberg Nature Reserve is in the area, and has a number of hiking trails - including a 15 km circular route to an overnight hut at the summit of the mountain. As the route's name suggest, Somerset East is a bird-watching destination - other outdoor adventures include trout fishing on five local dams, as well as rainbow and brown trout fishing in the Glen Avon Waterfall pools, malaria free safari and hunting operations. There is also a 9-hol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
R63 Road (South Africa)
The R63 is a tarred provincial route (South Africa), provincial route in South Africa that connects Calvinia with Komga via Carnarvon, Northern Cape, Carnarvon, Victoria West, Graaff-Reinet, Somerset East and King William's Town. It is cosigned with the N10 (South Africa), N10 between Eastpoort and Cookhouse (village), Cookhouse for 24 kilometres. Route Northern Cape and Western Cape The R63 begins 20 kilometres east of Calvinia, Northern Cape at an intersection with the R27 (South Africa), R27 Road. It heads eastwards for 92 kilometres to the town of Williston, Northern Cape, Williston, where it meets the R353 (South Africa), R353 Road. From Williston, the R63 heads eastwards for 128 kilometres to the town of Carnarvon, Northern Cape, Carnarvon, where it meets the southern terminus of the R386 (South Africa), R386 Road. At this junction, the R63 turns southwards and heads 63 kilometres to the town of Loxton, Northern Cape, Loxton, where it meets the northern terminus of the R381 ( ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
R337 Road (South Africa)
The R337 is a Regional Route in South Africa that connects Cradock and the R329 heading towards Willowmore via Jansenville. From its northern origin in Cradock at the R390, it heads south-west, passing to the south of the Mountain Zebra National Park. It heads through Swaershoek Pass, and on the other side, it reaches a T-junction with an unsigned route. The R337 is signed as the western route, which eventually bends south to Pearston. There it becomes cosigned with the intersecting R63 before continuing out the town heading south-west. It then reaches the R75. It becomes cosigned, and the routes head through the Soutpansnek pass to reach Jansenville. At Jansenville, the route leaves the R75 heading east-south-east to Klipplaat Klipplaat is a town in Sarah Baartman District Municipality in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. The town is some 185 km north-west of Port Elizabeth and 75 km south-east of Aberdeen. It takes its name from large slabs of rock on the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Blue Crane Route Local Municipality
Blue Crane Route Local Municipality ( af, Bloukraanroete Plaaslike Munisipaliteit) is an administrative area in the Sarah Baartman District of the Eastern Cape in South Africa. The municipality is named after the South African national bird, the blue crane. Main places The 2001 census divided the municipality into the following main places: Politics The municipal council consists of eleven members elected by mixed-member proportional representation. Six councillors are elected by first-past-the-post voting in six wards, while the remaining five are chosen from party lists so that the total number of party representatives is proportional to the number of votes received. In the election of 1 November 2021, the African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) is a social-democratic political party in South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the first post-apartheid elec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Graaff-Reinet
Graaff-Reinet is a town in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is the oldest town in the province. It is also the sixth-oldest town in South Africa, after Cape Town, Stellenbosch, Simon's Town, Paarl and Swellendam. The town was the centre of a short-lived republic in the late 18th century. The town was a starting point for Great Trek groups led by Gerrit Maritz and Piet Retief and furnished large numbers of the Voortrekkers in 1835–1842. Graaff-Reinet is home to more national monuments than any other town or city in South Africa. It is also known for being a flourishing market for agricultural produce, noted for its mohair industry, and sheep and ostrich farming. History Graaff-Reinet was established by the Dutch East India Company in 1786, after Cape Town in 1652, Stellenbosch in 1679, Paarl in 1687 and Swellendam in 1745. The town is named after then-governor of the Cape Colony, Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff, and his wife. The town was originally established ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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] |
Cookhouse (village)
Cookhouse ( af, Kookhuis) is a small village located in Eastern Cape province, South Africa, some north of Port Elizabeth and east of Somerset East, on the west bank of the Great Fish River. Cookhouse is part of the Blue Crane Route Municipality, situated in Sarah Baartman District, in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. Cookhouse was an early colonial settlement. The Scottish abolitionist and poet, Thomas Pringle mentions Cookhouse in his journal. The town was also visited by early explorers and writers such as Dutch military commander Robert Jacob Gordon and French traveller François Levaillant. Gordon's stay in South Africa produced scientific writings, drawings and maps about the region. The town is home to the Cookhouse Wind Farm which comprises 66 turbines. The farm became operational in November 2014 and supplies clean energy to the Eskom grid. History The Great Fish River formed the eastern boundary of the Cape Colony until 1819. The current village is said to take its ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sneeuberge
The Sneeuberge or Sneeuberg mountain range was historically known as “Sneeuwbergen”, meaning ‘snow mountains’ in Cape Dutch, and refers to a significant portion of Southern Africa's Great Escarpment in the Cradock, Murraysburg, Richmond, Graaff-Reinet, Nieu-Bethesda and Middelburg districts of the Great Karoo, most of which are in the Eastern Cape Province.Clark, VR, Barker NP and Mucina, L. 2009. The Sneeuberg: A new centre of floristic endemism on the Great Escarpment, South Africa. South African Journal of Botany. pp 196 – 238. They are geologically part of the Karoo System and fall within the Karoo semi-arid climatic region. As their name suggests, the mountains have frigid winters, with occasional snowfalls during strong cold fronts. Summers are hot with some late afternoon thunderstorms. The highest peak, called Kompasberg (2502m) (Afrikaans for Compass Mountain), is north of the small village of Nieu-Bethesda and dominates all surrounding areas with its promine ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
African National Congress
The African National Congress (ANC) is a Social democracy, social-democratic political party in Republic of South Africa, South Africa. A liberation movement known for its opposition to apartheid, it has governed the country since 1994, when the 1994 South African general election, first post-apartheid election installed Nelson Mandela as President of South Africa. Cyril Ramaphosa, the incumbent national President, has served as President of the ANC since 18 December 2017. Founded on 8 January 1912 in Bloemfontein as the South African Native National Congress (SANNC), the organisation was formed to agitate, by moderate methods, for the rights of black South Africans. When the National Party (South Africa), National Party government came to power 1948 South African general election, in 1948, the ANC's central purpose became to oppose the new government's policy of institutionalised apartheid. To this end, its methods and means of organisation shifted; its adoption of the techn ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cacadu District Municipality
Sarah Baartman District Municipality (formerly Cacadu District Municipality) is situated in the western part of the Eastern Cape province, covering an area of 58 242 square kilometres. The area of the district municipality includes seven local municipalities. The seat of Sarah Baartman is the city of Gqeberha, although Gqeberha is not itself in the district (it is in the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality). The languages most spoken among the 388,201 people are Xhosa and Afrikaans (2001 Census). The district code is DC10. The municipality is a multi-ethnic administration, formed by the ANC government through the merging of the predominantly Afrikaans-speaking western part of the Eastern Cape, together with Xhosa areas near the Fish river, and the English district of Albany (with its own distinctive local culture, dating back to the 1820 settlers). The name Cacadu is regarded by the Xhosa as covering the entire area of the district municipality, but in fact it is taken ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
