Kleinmond is a small coastal town in the

Overberg __NOTOC__ Overberg is a region in South Africa to the east of Cape Town beyond the Hottentots-Holland mountains. It lies along the Western Cape Province's south coast between the Cape Peninsula and the region known as the Garden Route in the ...

region of the

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,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

. It is situated inside a UNESCO-declared

biosphere The biosphere (from Greek βίος ''bíos'' "life" and σφαῖρα ''sphaira'' "sphere"), also known as the ecosphere (from Greek οἶκος ''oîkos'' "environment" and σφαῖρα), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be ...

about 90 km east of

Cape Town Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...

between

Betty's Bay Betty's Bay is a small holiday town situated on the Overberg coast of South Africa's Western Cape province. It is located 100 km from Cape Town beneath the Kogelberg Mountains on the scenic R44 ocean drive between Pringle Bay and Kleinmond. This v ...

and

Hermanus Hermanus (originally called ''Hermanuspietersfontein'', but shortened in 1902 as the name was too long for the postal service

. The town's name, meaning "small mouth" in

Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...

, refers to its location at the mouth of the

Bot River Bot River is a river in the Western Cape province of South Africa. The river mouth is located at Fisherhaven. Its tributaries include the Swart River. It falls within the Drainage system G. Nicky Scarfo aka Jayden was born in this river. See ...

lagoon. Stone ax heads found in the area indicate that people already lived in the vicinity of nearby Hangklip 20,000 years ago. Information about the area has existed in writing since the seventeenth century.

Tourism

Tourism plays a large role in the town's economy due to its popularity with holiday makers from across the Western Cape and Cape Town in particular.

Environment

From June to November,

southern right whale The southern right whale (''Eubalaena australis'') is a baleen whale, one of three species classified as right whales belonging to the genus ''Eubalaena''. Southern right whales inhabit oceans south of the Equator, between the latitudes of 20 ...

s can be seen from the coastline, where they come to mate and calf. A herd of wild horses is known to roam free in the marshlands at the Bot River lagoon area, next to Rooisands Nature Reserve. They are believed to be South Africa's only herd of wild horses in a wetland habitat. The

Kogelberg Nature Reserve Kogelberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve of comprising the Kogelberg Mountain Range, to the east of Cape Town, South Africa. With about 1600 plant species, it contains a floral diversity per unit area that is greater than anywhere else in t ...

borders the town. Kleinmond's beach is a

Blue Flag beach The Blue Flag is a certification by the Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) that a beach, marina, or sustainable boating tourism operator meets its standards. The Blue Flag is a trademark owned by FEE, which is a not-for-profit non-gov ...

and is popular with South African holiday makers.

Notable residents

* Pieter Kuyper Albertyn (1897 – 1973), rugby player. *

Barry Streek Barry Streek (30 August 1948 – 21 July 2006) was a South African political journalist and anti-apartheid activist. Early life and education Barry Streek was educated at Michaelhouse in Kwazulu-Natal after which he completed his national serv ...

(1948-2006), journalist and anti-apartheid activist. *

Johannes Kerkorrel Johannes Kerkorrel (27 March 1960 – 12 November 2002), born Ralph John Rabie, was a South African singer-songwriter, journalist and playwright. Career Rabie, who was born in Johannesburg, worked as a journalist for the Afrikaans newspapers '' ...

(1960 - 2002), singer-songwriter, journalist and playwright.

References

External links

Kleinmond Xplorio
Community Website for Kleinmond {{Authority control Populated places in the Overstrand Local Municipality