De Rust

De Rust is a small village at the gateway to the Klein Karoo, South Africa. The name is Dutch and literally translates to "The Rest", referring to the town's original purpose of being a resting place for settlers en route through the challenging terrain of a nearby Swartberg gorge.^[2]

De Rust
De Rust Dutch Reformed Church
De Rust Show map of Western Cape De Rust Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 33°29′20″S 22°32′00″E
Country	South Africa
Province	Western Cape
District	Garden Route
Municipality	Oudtshoorn
Area [1]
• Total	17.63 km2 (6.81 sq mi)
Population  (2011)[1]
• Total	3,566
• Density	200/km2 (520/sq mi)
Racial makeup (2011) [1]
• Black African	2.5%
• Coloured	87.4%
• Indian/Asian	0.5%
• White	8.9%
• Other	0.8%
First languages (2011) [1]
• Afrikaans	93.6%
• English	4.1%
• Other	2.3%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	6651
PO box	6650
Area code	044

Location

De Rust is located at the foot of the Swartberg Mountain range between Oudtshoorn and Beaufort West.

De Rust is also known for the meandering Meiringspoort pass. Meiringspoort is a gateway that connects the Klein Karoo (little Karoo) and the (great) Karoo through a gorge with a 25 km road crossing the same river 25 times in the span of the 25 km.^[3][4] The annual Meiringspoort half marathon runs through the length of the pass and finishes in De Rust.^[5]

Climate

Climate data for De Rust
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Mean daily maximum °C (°F)	28.3 (82.9)	28.2 (82.8)	26.4 (79.5)	23.4 (74.1)	20.1 (68.2)	17.9 (64.2)	17.4 (63.3)	18.8 (65.8)	20.5 (68.9)	22.7 (72.9)	24.7 (76.5)	26.9 (80.4)	22.9 (73.3)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F)	13.7 (56.7)	14.2 (57.6)	13.0 (55.4)	10.1 (50.2)	7.3 (45.1)	4.8 (40.6)	3.8 (38.8)	5.1 (41.2)	6.6 (43.9)	8.6 (47.5)	10.8 (51.4)	12.2 (54.0)	9.2 (48.5)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	25 (1.0)	31 (1.2)	39 (1.5)	31 (1.2)	36 (1.4)	23 (0.9)	28 (1.1)	29 (1.1)	32 (1.3)	32 (1.3)	36 (1.4)	26 (1.0)	368 (14.4)
Source: Climate-Data.org[6]

Farming

This area is also well known for ostrich farming and most of the farmers in the area either farm exclusively with ostriches or as a sideline to their existing farming.