The Garden Route District Municipality (Afrikaans: Tuinroete-distriksmunisipaliteit; Xhosa: uMasipala weSithili sase Garden Route), formerly known as the Eden District Municipality, is a district municipality located in the Western Cape province of South Africa.
The Garden Route District Municipality covers an area of 23,331 square kilometres (9,008 sq mi) in the southeastern part of the Western Cape, covering the regions known as the Garden Route and the Little Karoo. It stretches to the Breede River mouth and the Langeberg mountains on the west, where it abuts the Overberg District Municipality and (for a short distance) the Cape Winelands District Municipality. To the north the boundary with the Central Karoo District Municipality runs along the Swartberg mountains. In the east the municipality runs up to the Eastern Cape provincial boundary. The district is divided into seven local municipalities
The council of the Garden Route District Municipality consists of thirty-five councilors. Fourteen councilors are directly elected by party-list proportional representation, and twenty-one are appointed by the councils of the local municipalities in the district: six by George, four by Mossel Bay, three each by Oudtshoorn and Knysna, two each by Hessequa and Bitou, and one by Kannaland.
After the election of 3 August 2016 there are twenty-one councilors from the Democratic Alliance (DA), twelve from the African National Congress (ANC), and one each from the Independent Civic Organization of South Africa (ICOSA) and the African Independent Congress (AIC).
The Garden Route begins about four hours outside Cape Town, and includes one of the most beautiful stretches of coastline, the starting point of which is constantly contested as towns such as Witsand, Stilbaai and Albertina join the route that winds its way for some 200 km via George, Wilderness, Sedgefield and Knysna on to Plettenberg Bay culminating in the Tsitisikamma Forest – a fairyland of giant trees, ferns and bird life.
Mountains crowd close to a shoreline dotted with beaches and bays, and vividly coloured wild flowers delight the eye. Between Heidelberg and Storms River, the Garden Route runs parallel to a coastline featuring lakes, mountains, tall indigenous forests, amber -coloured rivers and golden beaches.
Meandering trails are followed by hikers, the forests invite long, leisurely drives, and the lakes and rivers lend themselves to swimming boating and fishing. A wide range of leisure options, spectacular scenery and a mild climate guarantee an unforgettable holiday experience when visiting the Garden Route in South Africa.
The region provides a stirring study in contrasts. The delightful town of George, known as “The Gateway to the Garden Route”, graces a coastal plateau in a fertile area of lush greenery at the foot of the Outeniqua Mountains. Oudtshoorn, “Capital of the Klein Karoo”, is set in a semi-arid valley, providing the ideal habitat for ostriches which are farmed here on a grand scale.
The Garden Route stretches on the southern coast from Heidelberg to the Tsitsikamma Forest and Storms River. It’s a nook of the country that offers inspiration to writers and artists whose presence gives the Garden Route a trendy flavor. It is also a top priority of many a foreign visitor. The coastal drive links a series of charming towns interspersed with natural beauty.
Along the way, every kind of adventure activity is possible; scuba diving, abseiling, fishing and more. The Tsitsikamma National Park, perched on a tumultuous Indian Ocean shore is one of South Africa’s most dramatic protected areas, combining marine and land attractions. Its indigenous forests are a haven for birdlife. One of the most geologically interesting parts of South Africa is the Klein Karoo, with its towering mountains and sheer gorges.
An important geological feature is the Cango Caves, a series of caverns and chambers naturally hewn out of limestone, situated outside the city of Oudtshoorn. The Cango Caves are among the top ten most visited South African attractions.
Oudtshoorn itself, the heart of the ostrich feather industry when it was in its hey day the late 1800s and early 1900s, is well worth a visit. The grandiose, old feather palaces are still to be seen, while ostrich farms, now involved in the commercial production of meat, leather, eggs and feathers, can be toured, with the possibility of riding an ostrich.
The Klein Karoo (Little Karoo) is a spectacular 350 kilometre long valley stretching from Montagu in the west to Uniondale in the east, and is almost completely surrounded by mountains. The Klein Karoo is only between 40 and 60 kilometres wide, sandwiched between the imposing Swartberg Mountains (Black Mountains) in the north, and the continuous Langeberge (Long Mountains) and Outeniqua Mountains in the south.
Klein Swartberg north of Ladismith
The Langeberge and Outeniqua Mountains act as a rain-shield from the well-watered coastal plains to the south. What rainfall penetrates the Klein Karoo tends to concentrate against the southern slopes of the Swartberg Mountains, ensuring that many of the towns and villages are concentrated along the northen edge of the Klein Karoo. Almost all of the southern sections of the Klein Karoo, in the lee of the Langeberge and Outeniqua Mountains, tend to be more arid than the areas immediately adjacent to the southern slopes of the Swartberg Mountains in the north.
Beyond Ladismith the R62 passes by the historic mission stations of Zoar and Amalienstein before plunging through the Huisrivier Pass (House River Pass), a steep ravine through the twisted legions of rocks, before crossing the Gamka River.
Beyond the Gamka River the road ascends the eastern slopes of the steep valley before rounding a spur in the mountainous terrain and emerging at the western end of a wide open plain that descends gradually into Calitzdorp, the Port Wine Capital of South Africa.
Beyond Calitzdorp the R62 runs due east across a seemingly featureless plain with distant views of the Swartberg Mountains to the north and the Outeniqua Mountains to the south before entering Oudtshoorn, the principle town of the Klein Karoo. Vast numbers of ostrich are farmed in the area and are a common sight in the farmlands along the road.Beyond Oudtshoorn the R62 joins with the N12 highway south towards George across the Outeniqua Mountains on the coastal littoral. Before ascending the Outeniqua Pass towards George the R62 swings east in concert with the N9 highway towards Uniondale at the eastern end of the Klein Karoo.
Feather Baron Era Residence in OudtshoornAn alternate route from Oudtshoorn to Uniondale continues east along the N12 highway towards De Rust and beyond via the R341 and R339 to Uniondale through the beautiful valley between the Swartberg Mountains in the north and the Kammanassieberge to the south of the road.
Beyond Uniondale the R62 exits the Klein Karoo via Uniondale Poort and the spectacular Langkloof towards Port Elizabeth.
These mountain passes were mostly constructed during the nineteenth century by renowned road-builders Thomas Bain and his father Andrew Geddes Bain and either pick their way through steep ravines following the course of rivers that have cut their way through the mountains, or up and over the precipitous heights of the surrounding mountains.
Meiringspoort, Seweweekspoort and Toorwaterspoort linking the Great Karoo with the Klein Karoo, Cogman’s Kloof at the western end of the Klein Karoo and Tradouw Pass linking Barrydale with Swellendam are examples of mountain passes that follow the course of rivers that have cut their way through the sheer barrier of twisted rock of the surrounding mountains.Renowned mountains passes such as the Swartberg Mountain Pass, linking the towns of Prince Albert in the Great Karoo with Oudtshoorn, and the Outeniqua Mountain Pass and the now little-used Montagu Pass carry travelers over the Outeniqua Mountains from Oudtshoorn to George on the Garden Route.
Lesser known mountain passes include the spectacular Prince Alfred Mountain Pass linking Uniondale with Knysna, Garcia Pass linking Ladismith and Van Wyksdorp with Riversdale and the gentle Ghwarriepoort at the north-eastern end of the Klein Karoo linking Uniondale along the N9 highway to Willowmore and beyond to Graaff-Reinet in the Camdeboo region of the Great Karoo.
Although other regions of the Karoo, especially the western end of the Koup and the Hamtam Roggeveld are rich in succulent plants, the Klein Karoo has probably the richest and most diverse succulent habitats in the World. In the wider southern Africa region taxonomists have recorded more than 5000 species of succulents represented in about 60 families.
Fields of Aloes in the Kammanassie Valley represents nearly 50% of succulent species in the World and these unusual and unique plants are most easily accessible and widespread in the Klein Karoo. The Klein Karoo is also a transition zone between the Fynbos Plant Kingdom and the Succulent Karoo habitat prevalent in the area and it is common to encounter both fynbos and succulent plants growing naturally together.The Klein Karoo is also home to the longest wine route in the World, stretching some 270-kilometres from Montagu to De Rust. The wine culture in the Klein Karoo has been established over more than 200 years.
In the late eighteenth century, before the advent of railways, casks of heavy brandy were often loaded onto ox-drawn transport wagons on their journeys from the fledgling Cape Colony into the interior, and from this the culture of drinking wine has developed.
Despite the size of the Klein Karoo wine region, production is focused more on quality than quantity with seven co-operatives and five private cellars, which offer a veritable feast of wines, including the world-famous port-wines of Calitzdorp.
Rooiberg Pass between Calitzdorp and Van Wyksdorp is the most accessible region within the Karoo and attracts the greatest number of visitors. As a destination the region is probably the most varied of the seven regions in the Karoo and this can largely be ascribed to its topography and the relatively higher rainfall.
The Klein Karoo is rich in culture with well-established communities that can trace their ancestry back across the centuries. The towns and villages are on the whole beautifully maintained, with a rich variety of historic buildings, many of which can be as old as two hundred years.
The diversity of the landscapes, with rugged mountains always in view, and the rolling hills and valleys within the Klein Karoo provide an endless source of delight and wonderment.
Despite being the most developed part of the Karoo there remains a sense of space and solitude across most of the region and the Karoo landscape fringed by mountains is always as one with the blue dome of the sun-splashed sky.