Calitzdorp

Calitzdorp is a town on the Western side of the Little or Klein Karoo in the Western Cape Province of South Africa and lies on South Africa's Route 62.

Calitzdorp
Clockwise from Top: Calitzdorp Main Road, Calitzdorp sign, Dutch Reformed Church of Calitzdorp.
Calitzdorp Show map of Western Cape Calitzdorp Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 33°32′15″S 21°41′07″E
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
District	Garden Route
Municipality	Kannaland
Area [1]
• Total	26.33 km2 (10.17 sq mi)
Elevation	240 m (790 ft)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	4,284
• Density	160/km2 (420/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	4.3%
• Coloured	85.5%
• Indian/Asian	0.5%
• White	8.9%
• Other	0.8%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Afrikaans	94.2%
• English	3.3%
• Other	2.5%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	6660
PO box	6660
Area code	044

History

The land on which Calitzdorp is located, known as Buffelsvallei, was originally granted to Jacobus Johannes and Matthys Christian Calitz in 1831. The Calitz brothers contributed a portion of their farmland for the construction of a church in 1853; by 1858, the church had initiated the sale of plots to its congregation. The town's development continued with the opening of a railway line in 1924, followed by the completion of electrification and a new cement road to Oudtshoorn in 1937.

Geography

The Swartberg (in the North), Rooiberge (to the South) and the Mountains of the Huisrivier Pass (to the West) surrounds Calitzdorp's challenging landscape with floods, droughts and extreme weather, from very hot to snow clad mountaintops in the winter.

Climate

Summers are very hot during the day, mainly a dry heat, up to 40 °C. Wind from the sea every afternoon allows for moderate, cool evenings. Winters have sunny days, very cold nights with occasional frost and snow often falling on the surrounding Swartberg Mountain Range. Rainfall is approximately 200 mm per year, often with the changing of seasons. Prevailing winds are mainly from the south in summer and hot wind from the North in August.

Tourism

Calitzdorp is a haven for enthusiasts of fishing, bird-watching, 4×4 and other scenic routes, horse-riding and wine tasting.

Calitzdorp is renowned as a centre of the port wine industry in South Africa with several major wine estates famous for their award-winning products.^[2][3][4] A Port festival takes place in the town in mid-June each year.^[5]