Calitzdorp

Name

Calitzdorp is named after the brothers JJ and MC Calitz, the owners of the farm on which the town was established. The area is called Kannaland, after a Khoisan word that means valley with no grass.

Attractions

Also see the neighbouring towns

Calitzdorp is surrounded by mountains:

The Great Swartberg mountain range lies to the north, the Little Swartberg to the west, the Rooiberg range to the south. Further south lies the Langeberg mountains. Westward towards Ladismith the road leads through the Huisrivier Pass. The town is located at the Gamka River, which is joined there by the Kruis River.

There are three mountain passes on the way to Calitzdorp: Swartberg Pass, Huisrivier Pass, Rooiberg Pass. And there are two poorts: Seweweekspoort, to the northwest, and Bosluiskloof, a bit further.

Gamka Mountain Reserve

The Gamka Mountain Reserve lies southeast of Calitzdorp. The Pale Chanting Goshawk is abundant in the area. The endangered Cape Mountain Zebra, of which fewer than 800 exist, can be seen in the reserve.

Gamkakloof

The Gamkakloof lies to the north of Calitzdorp. This remote valley used to be called Die Hel.

For more on the Gamkakloof, see Prince Albert.

Port Festival

The Calitzdorp Port Festival is held in July.

Spa

Calitzdorp Spa is 17Km from town. It is a mineral-rich hot spring (50°C) which reaches the surface on the banks of the Olifants River.

Activities

Birding: there are about 160 bird species to be viewed in the area.

Horse riding and trails, mountain biking, canoeing, fishing (yellow fish, eels, bass, carp,
4x4 routes. You can take a 1-hour walk through the Hennie Cloete Nature Garden.

Architecture

The architecture is mainly Edwardian and Victorian architecture, with a neo-Byzantine Dutch Reformed Church.

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History

In early days this location teemed with wild life and was inhabited by Khoisan people. There are still many rock paintings to be viewed.

In 1821 the farm, Buffelsvlei, on which the town is built was granted to the Calitz brothers, Jj and MC. In 1845 the farm Buffelsvlei was selected as the centre of the church ommunity. In 1853 they donated some land for a church to be built, which was eventually done in 1857. The town grew around this church, which became a national monument in 1991. Calitzdorp became a municipality in 1913.

The first concrete road built in South Africa was between Calitzdorp and Oudtshoorn.

Climate

Due to Calitzdorp's location in a valley surrounded by mountains, it gets pretty hot in summers, and cold in winters when snow fall on the mountains.

Summer: 40°C, dry and very hot during the day, cool in the evenings due to a breeze from the south where the Indian Ocean lies

Winter: Sunnry days, very cold at night, especially after snow in the surrounding mountains.

Rainfall: 200 mm per year

Winds are mainly from the south in summer and hot wind from the north in August.

Nature

Calitzdorp lies in the Klein Karoo, and in the WWF's Lowland fynbos and renosterveld ecoregion (WWF AT1202).

Economy

Farming: Dried and fresh fruit, ostriches.

Calitzdorp is said to be the Port capital of South Africa. It has similar climate to the Douro Valley, which is the main port producing region in Portugal.

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