We share the secrets of Route 62
One of the secrets of Route 62 is the sudden onset of a stark and dramatic landscape. It arrives with a rush at Barrydale on the western perimeter of this fascinating region, continues 180 kms to Calitzdorp at the heart of the Klein Karoo, then on through Oudtshoorn and De Rust at its eastern extremity. It’s startling for the abrupt change from fertile farmland and vineyards to the arid, dry and apparently flat countryside seemingly devoid of living matter and given over to hot days and cold nights.
The Klein Karoo is a broad valley stretching from Uniondale in the east as far as Montagu in the west and hemmed in by fierce and forbidding mountain ranges to the north and south. Its beauty is as harsh as it is spectacular. Vast windswept plains are broken by great mountains with deep ravines and breathtaking passes. Rain is usually scarce and in summer, the heat is intense, with temperatures up into the mid-forties; winters are bitterly cold. Many visitors nevertheless fall under the spell of this seemingly arid semi-desert.
The Best Kept Secret
But the best kept secret of Route 62 is Calitzdorp, at the centre of the Klein Karoo. This sleepy village is worth a visit not only for the well preserved 200-year diversity of its housing architecture, the stunning and colourful Bougainvillea proliferating in virtually every garden and the seven wine estates that produce South Africa’s prize winning Port, but most importantly because Calitzdorp is renowned as the Heart of the Klein Karoo. The village is perfectly positioned for visitors as a base to access the world-class tourist attractions of the region, all within a couple of hours driving time of your luxury Klein Karoo accommodation at Calitzdorp Country House.
The Secret of the Klein Karoo
The Klein Karoo is a broad valley stretching from Uniondale in the east as far as Montagu in the west and hemmed in by fierce and forbidding mountain ranges to the north and south. Its beauty is as harsh as it is spectacular. Vast windswept plains are broken by great mountains with deep ravines and breathtaking passes. Rain is usually scarce and in summer, the heat is intense, with temperatures up into the mid-forties; winters are bitterly cold. Many visitors nevertheless fall under the spell of this seemingly arid semi-desert.
The bleak Klein Karoo landscape is, on closer acquaintance, an area of precipitous cliffs, towering peaks and clear streams in a unique biome dominated by fleshy succulents and proud aloes with their scarlet and yellow spears serviced by tiny, but brilliantly plumed sunbirds in the shoulder seasons. Majestic mountains lend a blue haze to a mysterious horizon and spring flowers draw numbers of tourists from all over the world for a few weeks every year when sandy wastes transform into a tapestry of flowers.
The region’s astonishing geological shapes and formations are home to the famed Cango Caves, a series of spectacular caverns fashioned over millennia by the seepage of water through porous limestone rock.
The Newest Secret
The newest and one of the most exciting of all the region’s secrets is to be found in a hidden railway now plying its discrete trade between the coastal city of George and the surrounding Outeniqua Mountains. The Outeniqua Power Van is a converted railroad inspection unit, now transformed into a twin carriage people carrier for a small number of fortunate passengers.
The Power Van departs from the George Transport Museum (itself a worthwhile visit) and takes a three-hour trip up into the soaring Outeniqua Mountains, offering privileged passengers the experience of primeval forest and dramatic views of four historic mountain passes. See waterfalls and tunnels, indigenous Fynbos (meaning "fine bush" in Afrikaans, the colourful shrubland or heathland vegetation occurring in a small belt of the Western Cape of South Africa) and Proteas. See abundant bird and shy animal life and stop for a refreshing hour at a magical panoramic picnic site. You don’t need George or even Oudtshoorn accommodation to enjoy this special experience; it’s not much more than an hour from your base at Calitzdorp Country House.
The Secret Skies
And that night, the clear skies will over Calitzdorp Country House will entertain you to an awesome display of pyrotechnics virtually unknown to dwellers in the Big Smoke, including the spectacular Southern Cross, majestic Orion and the billions of stars of the Milky Way in their infinite magnificence. For many of our visitors, it’s breathtaking evidence of a Greater Power.
Your five star Route 62 accommodation awaits.
Escape with that special someone.
