The Overberg
Flocks of Blue Cranes, the
national bird of South Africa can
be seen in the wheatlands.
Cape Sugar Bird
The Overberg lies at the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom which is the smallest and
richest in the world. The low-growing fynbos vegetation rewards closer scrutiny with
its infinite variety of plants and fascinating adaptations to winter rainfall, summer
drought and fire. It emits an aromatic fragrance and is used in the flower and
herbal industries. Visitors can gain information on the plants at the Harold
Porter Botanical Garden in Betty's Bay, Fernkloof Nature Reserve at
Hermanus and at Caledon’s famous wild flower garden.
Diversity worthy of protection
An hour’s scenic drive from Cape Town, one encounters the barrier
of the Hottentots Holland range. These jagged fold mountains may be
traversed by the dramatic Sir Lowry’s Pass or skirted on a precipitous
coastal road to reveal the Overberg: a rural gem patterned with wheat,
fruit and sheep farms, interwoven with fragrant wild flowers and
dotted with small towns. Each town reflects a distinctive character
that is a blend of its setting and history. Since 1652, when Autshumoa
and his Khoekhoe followers mounted a spirited and cunning resistance
to Dutch expansion, the people have been fiercely proud and protective
of the region. Today visitors can enjoy many pristine protected areas
where ecotourism is encouraged.
African penguins nest
at Stoney Point near Betty’s
Bay. Between Dyer and Geyser
Islands off Gansbaai, divers
and photographers can have
the ‘experience of a
lifetime’ by cage diving
amid great white sharks
that feast on penguins
and Cape fur seals.
CAPE TOWN
Protea mundii
Avoid touching the blister bush,
as sunlight activates a toxin that
causes painful brown blisters that
last for weeks.
Take time to explore the Overberg, watch a sunset from
the Kogelberg peaks or rest in the shade of an ancient
milkwood. Although one may walk among the fynbos,
no flowers may be picked without a permit.
N1
N1
Leucodendron bush
WORCESTER
R60
BRANDVLEI DAM
N2
HOTTENTOTS HOLLAND MOUNTAINS
ROBERTSON
VILLIERSDORP
THEEWATERSKLOOF DAM
BREEDE RIVER
MONTAGU
GORDON'S BAY
SIR LOWRY’S PASS
ASHTON
GRABOUW
KOGELBERG
BIOSPHERE RESERVE
N2
The delicate paper nautilus that washes
ashore around March, is one of many
marine treasures waiting to be
discovered along this shore.
R60
RIVIERSONDEREND RIVIER
BOTRIVER
The endemic bontebok
was saved from
extinction in 1837,
when local farmers
established the
first nature
reserve to
protect them
from hunters.
They used metal
rails, salvaged from
shipwrecks, for fencing. Today, a network of protected areas
helps to preserve the rich biological diversity of the region,
both on land and sea.
R62
RIVIERSONDEREND MOUNTAINS
R43
PRINGLE BAY
T
N2
HANGKLIP
BETTY'S BAY
E
R
U
E
N
S
KLEINMOND
BOTRIVER LAGOON
LANGEBERG MOUNTAINS
R316
R320
BABILONSTOREN MOUNTAIN
RIVIERSONDEREND
SHAWS PASS
HAWSTON
MUDGE POINT
R326
SWELLENDAM
KLEINRIVIER MOUNTAIN
R317
R326
VERMONT
ONRUS
KLEINRIVIERSVLEI
STANFORD
HERMANUS
KLIPDALE
AKKEDISBERG PASS
N2
PROTEM
BONTEBOK
NATIONAL PARK
R319
R316
WALKER BAY
DE KELDERS
GANSBAAI
DANGER
POINT
KLEINBAAI
Rock-angling, fly-fishing and diving are
a few of the water sports on offer. The
lagoons and bays are a haven for boating
enthusiasts and the mountains above
Hermanus and Gansbaai are
excellent hang-gliding and
paragliding sites.
NAPIER
R324
BAARDSKEERDERSBOS
R316
FRANSKRAAL
DYER ISLAND
UILENKRAALSMOND
PEARLY BEACH
OUPLAAS
SALT RIVER
ELIM
MALGAS PONT
R316
R317
BREDASDORP
R319
DE HOOP VLEI
DE HOOP NATURE RESERVE
BREEDE RIVER
BUFFELJAGS
BUFFELJAGS MOUNTAIN
QUOIN POINT
SKIPSKOP
DIE DAM
RYS PONT
WAENHUISKRANS/ARNISTON
AGULHAS
NATIONAL PARK
STRUISBAAI
L’AGULHAS
The Overberg coast offers some
of the best whale-watching in the
world and is an important
breeding area for the protected
Southern Right Whale. Dolphins,
humpback, Bryde’s and killer
whales can also be spotted.
An entire village, displaying the simple
grace of thatched cottages, a waterwheel
and a church with the oldest working clock,
is preserved at Elim, a mission station
founded in 1824.
H
CALEDON
The fishing village at Kassiesbaai
next to Waenhuiskrans is well known
for its picturesque fishers’ cottages
that are national monuments.
Commercial, subsistence and
recreational fishing is important
around the coast.
At the southern tip of Africa, Cape Agulhas is the guardian of the sea
lanes with its famous lighthouse built in 1849. L’Agulhas is considered,
by some, to be the meeting place of the mighty Atlantic and Indian Oceans.
More than 130 ships have met their wretched end on this treacherous
coast. Bredasdorp records the terrors and tragedies in its shipwreck
museum.
VAALKRANS
CAPE INFANTA