Calvinia

Situated on the banks of the Oorlogskloof River and at the foot of the Hantam Mountains, Calvinia is a pretty and stereotypical Afrikaans Karoo town with great examples of typical 1800’s Karoo architecture and a beautiful ‘neo-gothic’ church.

It is the centre of the sheep farming and wool producing industry of the Hantam Karoo, and like many Karoo towns, it has been described as being in a ‘time warp’ where life is lived slowly, often in old restored homes, and where donkey carts are not an unusual sight on the streets. There are no traffic jams, you cannot assume the shop has credit card facilities, the locals are warm and friendly and people still know what stars look like because there is no pollution.

Calvinia is the closest town to the Hantam Karoo National Park, and also close to Nieuwoudtville and the natural attractions found there, including the Oorlogskloof Nature Reserve.

The gardens, fields and landscapes of Calvinia burst into a carpet of flowers between August and October each year – along with the rest of the Hantam Karoo – and after a good rainfall, the display with all its different colours can be more beautiful than that of the Namaqualand further north.

Getting there: Calvinia lies on the juncture of the R27 and the R355. Take the N7 north from Cape Town towards Malmesbury. Travel north for 217km, then tun on to the R364 for Calvinia. Travel on this road for about 120km, then turn right on to the R27 for Calvinia.