The coast has been inhabited for many thousands of years. In the caves of the Robberg peninsula archaeologists have found shell middens left by the strandlopers, dating back to the 7th century. It seems likely that the Khoi cattle and sheep herders were grazing their stock on the coastal strip 2000 years ago although the forested mountain country was left largely uninhabited. The trails beaten by large game migrating over the mountains were later developed into the modern passes between the Garden Route and the Little Karoo.
As the route around the Cape to the Indies opened up both Mossel Bay and Formosa Bay (later Plettenberg Bay) became stopping points for ships. The Khoi and Europeans established a trading relationship. By the mid 16th century ship’s captains used to leave messages for each other on ‘post office’ stones and trees.
From the end of the 17th century though, Dutch settlers began arriving in the region, creating conflict with the local Khoi. Within 50 years the Khoi were reduced to the status of slave labour.
Municipalities
George is the capital city of the Southern Cape and the seat of local government for the towns and villages of the Garden Route and Klein Karoo. The adjacent municipalities are:
South Cape Municipality, Western Cape (north) Knysna Municipality, Western Cape (east) Mossel Bay Municipality, Western Cape (west) Oudtshoorn Municipality, Western Cape (northwest).
Towns
Travelling from Cape Town (west) to Port Elizabeth (east) the main towns are:
Heidelberg - tranquil little village on the banks of the Duivenhoks River
Witsand - a popular sea-side resort offering a multitude of water sports, angling, deep sea fishing and whale watching.
Riversdale - offers much in the way of natural splendour such as magnificent flaura, fauna, hiking trails, rivers and mountains.
Still Bay - the navigable river and estuary spill onto kilometres of unpolluted sandy beach, offering watersports of every conceivable kind.
Albertinia - scenic views of the Gouritz River and it is a town with an enchanting, old-world atmosphere midway between Cape Town and PE.
Mossel Bay - having an excellent temperate climate offering the visitor pristine beaches, mountains and a rich archaeological and cultural history dating back approximately 350 thousand years.
Hartenbos - small town close to Mossel Bay and very popular holiday resort with ATKV providing a variety of accommodation.
Little & Great Brak River - is a quiet village with a beautiful beach. While nearby, Great Brak River flows into a lagoon, both of which offer unspoilt nature and excellent opportunities for birdwatching and watersports.
George - the administrative capital of the Garden Route, George is a picturesque town with streets lined by majestic oak trees and the ideal base to explore the Garden Route
Wilderness - on the banks of the Touws River Estuary, the sparkling white beaches, lakes and rivers of Wilderness are drawing visitors from all over. The Wilderness National Park is an ecotourist's paradise with a spellbinding beauty and blissful peace.
Sedgefield - a small town on the banks of the Swartvlei estuary (the largest natural inland saltwater lake in South Africa) in the heart of the Lakes area. It is a peaceful holiday resort surrounded by forest.
Knysna - situated between the Outeniqua Mountains and the sea, Knysna is surrounded by both indigenous forests and plantations. The lagoon opens into the sea between the well-known Knysna Heads. It is a popular tourist destination and is town of history and arts & crafts. The lagoon is home to the endangered Knysna seahorse as well as over 230 bird species.
Plettenberg Bay - surrounded by the Outenique and Tsitsikamma mountains and engulfed by indigenous forest, the town abounds with hotels, restaurants and shops to suit every taste. With 20km of beaches it is one of the most fashionable holiday destinations along the Southern Cape coast.
The Garden Route has a Mediterranean Maritime climate, with moderately hot summers, and mild to chilly winters. It is one of the richest rainfall areas in South Africa. Most of the rains occurs in the winter months, brought on by the humid sea-winds from the Indian ocean. The Garden Route's temperate weather falls between two climatic regions of summer and winter rainfall so it rains mostly at night which keeps the area perennially green.
You can feel spring in the air by the end of August and into September. October can be quite mixed because just when you think summer has arrived, another cold front moves in. Summer is from November to March and days are warmer, with December to February seeing mid-summer daily temperatures of about 24-30ºC.
Temperatures start cooling down from about April (Autumn) but it can still be very pleasant until June. June, July and August are the winter months. The days may be bright and warm, but it gets cold in the evening.
Locally, the Garden Route area is growing at an unprecedented rate, with an increasing wealth gap between rich and poor. Recent data indicates a slowing down of the economy, however, due to the global recession, especially in the construction industry, changing migration patterns and an ageing population. This poses new challenges in terms of the sustainability of development, particularly in relation to ecosystem services such as water security, nature tourism assets, biodiversity and coastal and marine resources. Agricultural productivity and per capita water availability in particular are showing steady declines.
George Municipality was the largest economy in the Garden Route and accounted for 49% of the Garden Route's economy. For all the municipalities the category Financial and business services and the category Wholesale and retail trade, catering and accommodation played important roles in the contribution to the GDP. Manufacturing, probably because of PetroSA, contributed most to the Mossel Bay economy. The percentage contribution by Agriculture, forestry and fishing to the economy is very stable across the municipalities and is relatively low with a contribution percentage of approximately 3%.
The magnificent beauty of the world-famous Cape Garden Route, with its famous stretch of luxuriant coastline, makes it a highly sought-after destination for holidaymakers and travellers from all over the world. The breathtaking combination of indigenous forests, lakes and lagoons, waterways and rivers, wild-life and fynbos, which are bordered by a rugged coastline possessing magnificent beaches washed by the warm waters of the Indian Ocean, offers the visitor much more than expected and everything they desire.
George was recently listed as number 6 on the Finweek top 10 places to do business. George scored well in a combination of gauges, including impressive economic growth levels, budgets for economic development, geographical positioning, large populations and tailor-made business incentive packages.
Population - Total 513,307 - Density 22/km2 - Households 141,577 Racial makeup - Coloured 52.23% - Black African 28.98% - White 18.32% - Indian or Asian 0.47% Languages - Afrikaans 75.61% - Xhosa 17.25% - English 6.21%
George is the tertiary hub of the Southern Cape, with the Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, together with a number of private colleges.
Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU), Saasveld, offers two centers of excellence – the Centre for Resource Management and the Centre for Business and Information Technology studies.
Schools include the Afrikaans-medium George High School established in 1947 and Outeniqua High School established in 1923. The English medium school is York High School and there is also a double medium technical school named PW Botha College. Glenwood House is an english medium co-ed Independent school from Grade 0 to Grade 12.
The Garden Route is still one of the safest places to live in order to avoid violent crime, but sexual and commercial offences are on the increase.
According to crime statistics released on a station-by- station basis recently Knysna, George, Plettenberg Bay, Oudtshoorn and Mossel Bay saw a decrease of 14% in reported murders.
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