Gouritsmond is a small South African tourist town in the
municipality
A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate.
The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...
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 ...
Province. It is situated about 36 road kilometres south-east of
Albertinia
''Albertinia'' is a genus of flowering plants in the daisy family described as a genus in 1820.Gouritz River
estuary
An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...
and on the
Indian Ocean
The Indian Ocean is the third-largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, covering or ~19.8% of the water on Earth's surface. It is bounded by Asia to the north, Africa to the west and Australia to the east. To the south it is bounded by th ...
. In 2011, Gouritsmond had 515 inhabitants in 206 households.
Description
The landscape surrounding the village is a section of the coastal plains of the Cape and is characterised by overgrown
sand dunes
A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, fl ...
. Its name is derived from the mouth of the Gouritz River, which flows into the ocean here.
As an official administrative settlement, Gouritsmond is a young settlement, although European immigrants have been farming in the area since 1730. In the process, the present settlement area was a fishing ground and was therefore called The Fisheries. Gouritsmond was granted town status in 1915 and changed its name to Gouritzriviermond between 1915 and 1966 and finally to the current version.
Landmarks
In Gouritsmond, tourism offers form an essential economic basis for the inhabitants. The village is situated on a sea beach and a large sandbank (barre) in the estuary of the river. Typical activities here include sea fishing, surfing and wildlife watching. There are four designated hiking routes of varying lengths.
The Gouritsmond Conservation Trust, a regional conservation group, provides information about the sensitive plant communities of the fynbos biome with the support of the local community. There is information about this at the hiking trails.
Traffic
The town can be reached by road via the 26-kilometre R325 regional road, which branches off the N2 national road between Albertinia and
Mossel Bay
Mossel Bay ( af, Mosselbaai) is a harbour town of about 99,000 people on the Southern Cape (or Garden Route) of South Africa. It is an important tourism and farming region of the Western Cape Province. Mossel Bay lies 400 kilometres east of the ...
. A bridge over the Gouritz River creates a rural road connection to Mossel Bay. Originally the village was only accessible via a gravel road with a total of 25 gates along the way. In 1938, a tarmac road was built, which has since contributed to quick accessibility.