The Kanna Biodiversity Route is situated in the Little Karoo Priority Area of the Succulent Karoo. This is in the eastern part of the Western Cape and forms part of the scenic Route 62. Towns that form part of this route are Ladismith, Van Wyksdorp, Zoar, Calitzdorp and De Rust. Neatly placed amongst majestic mountains and passes such as the Swartberg, Gamkaberg, Rooiberg corridor, Seweweekspoort, Huisrivier and Meiringspoort, the area boasts some of the most spectacular rock formations in the region. This is the land of succulents and their thick, fleshy diversity is unparalleled anywhere else in the world. The odd bush and tree gives the Karoo its character with the land appearing dry, arid and flat, and with hot days and cold nights one might think that nothing can grow. The area represents a great variety of vegetation in three distinct biomes ranging from the Succulent Karoo, to Fynbos and Subtropical Thicket - all three globally important and enjoying CEPF biodiversity 'hotspot' status.

This dry arid area was only explored by European settlers in the late 17th Century, where they found only Khoisan people who inhabited the area for centuries before them. Herds of buffalo, elephant and kudu once dominated the vast plains only to be hunted or driven out by modern development. Even though this semi-arid area seems inhospitable, it was turned into a productive farming district by making use of modern farming methods that turned the valley into a productive and wealthy part of the district.

Travellers interested in people, biodiversity, history, culture and nature will find that the route provides a range of attractions that will encourage many return visits.

Ladismith:

The little town of Ladismith in the little Karoo is handsomely set against the foot of the Klein Swartberg mountain range and is overlooked to the north by some of the finest peaks of the Swartberg mountains., Directly above the town soars the 2,126m high Toringberg (towering mountain), named for its steep cliffs and its sharp peak. West of the Toringberg stands one of the most famous mountains in Souhern Africa, the Towerkop 2,197m high and an extraordinary landmark from whichever angle it is viewed.

This area was first settled by Europeans in the middle of the 18th Century. As in other areas of the Little Karoo, strong men wandered across the southern mountains, hunting, grazing cattle and hoping to escape the grasping hand of the tax-gatherer. Ladismith started as a permanent place for worship for surrounding farmers. In 1851 a portion of the farm Elands Vallei was bought from Balthazar Kloppers. The town was established in 1852, named after Lady Juana Smith, wife of the Governor of the Cape, Sir Harry Smith. The original Ladysmith was changed in 1879 to Ladismith to prevent confusion with a similarly named town in Natal. At first the town was administrated by the Dutch Reformed Church until it received local government status in 1862 and became a municipality in 1903.

The ostrich feather craze converted Ladismith into a boom town, like many other Karoo towns, with 50 000 birds feeding on lucerne fields around the town. The feather crash of 1914 brought the district to bankruptcy and economic relief and rehabilitation only came in 1924, when the branch railway was opened connecting Ladismith to the main line at Touws River. The link provided an outlet to markets for farmers to sell their products. In 1981 a tremendous flood severely damaged the railway line, and is now replaced by road transport.

Beautiful mountain scenery and fertile farmlands are some of the proudest assets of the town. The town serves as an extensive farming area with ideal climate for the production of quality fruit. Ladismith produces a third of the country’s apricots, peaches, plums, and nectarines that are mainly exported. The fertile valley is also ideal for cultivating wine and this resulted in a winery that is part of the Little Karoo wine route. When travelling through the beautiful Hoeko Valley you have breathtaking views of these orchards that can also be seen around the old farmhouses of Dwarsrivier, Voorbaat and Van Zylsdamme.

The area is rich in a variety of flora, but also has an interesting population of fauna. Vegetation varies and ranges from fynbos in the mountains to Karoo broken veld, spekboom and succulents on the koppies.

Attractions in Ladismith:

Parmalat shop:

The Parmalat Shop offers real dairy delights - traditional Gouda and Cheddar (some awarded Dairy Product of the Year), or Simonsberg Brie and Creamy Blue for the more adventurous palates. They also offer Parmalat yoghurts, and a variety of other dairy products. Special prices often call for a good cooler box. They also have a small coffee shop where you can enjoy a healthy yoghurt shake or tea with scones. For pets there is a doggy stop with fresh water.

Art Gallery @ Ladismith:

The Otto Hager Church building in South Street has a permanent exhibition of local artists’ work on display. Viewing times are  from Monday to Friday 09:00 to 17:00 and Saturdays from 09:00 to 16:00.

Touwsberg Nature Reserve:

The reserve is untouched by human intervention and offers a rapidly disappearing quality of living to resident owners, as well as excellent security combined with unrestricted adventure. Within the confines of resident-controlled entrance, the reserve entertains a large variety of game and flora in self-contained biological and geological eco-systems.

Touwsberg Private Game and Nature Reserve possess what can only be regarded as a divine abundance of the vital components of a successful game farm. The 2,500 hectares of wide open spaces, a seemingly unlimited supply of the purist drinking water and a unique combination of mountain fynbos and typical Karoo veld provide visitors with an ideal getaway.

Ladismith Cheese Company:

Ladismith Cheese has been manufactured in Ladismith since 1940 under the leadership of Roy Taylor. Ladismith Cheese Company (Pty) Ltd was founded in June 1999 and cheese production started in a brand new factory on 1 November 1999. The quality products from Ladismith Cheese are now available in supermarkets throughout the major centres of South Africa. The factory shop stocks a variety of their products.

Southern (Hoeko) approach:

From Ladismith, take the road eastwards towards Calitzdorp/Oudtshoorn for about 11km to where a sign indicates ‘Hoeko’.  Turn off here (north) and just after that right again on the Balmoral dirt road. 
 
Please call Mr. Gerrit Nel in advance on +27 28 561 1628 to get permission for crossing over his farm to the start of the route.  With a diff-lock bakkie or 4x4 SUV one can drive up a steep track to gain some height and cut out 30 minutes of hiking before parking your vehicle.  If you're driving a sedan you can park at the start of this steep section.
 
From the parking area the trail starts as an old forestry jeep track and continues until a hut/shelter is reached after 1½ - 2 hours.  From here a hiking trail continues to zig-zag up the hill for about 10 minutes (approximately 200m from the hut) whereafter it starts turning left (north), crosses a small stream (often dry) and continues along the base of a rocky ridge.  Eventually a rain gauge will be found.  This is unfortunately the end of the visible trail and you need to look out for stone beacons that guide the way further.  From the rain gauge you climb the steep slope to the top of the ridge and follow it all the way until the cave area is reached.  Look out for a large rock leaning against the rock face, cross underneath and the cave is about 50m further on the right hand side, although it's not easily seen.  Seweweekspoort Peak Cave is roughly (poor signal) at S33˚24'12.6"  E021˚22'09.5''  at 2,015m above sea level.  The cave's water puddle is between thick grass near the rocks, approximately 10m from the cave.
 
From the start from the cars to the cave will take 6-8 hours hiking and although streams may be crossed after rains, it is recommended to take enough water from the parking area to cover the trip.  Most call it a day after reaching the cave and go to the summit the next day before descending back down.  Between the cave and the leaning rock, you scramble very steeply upwards in a narrow gully until more even ground is reached.  From here on it takes a sharp eye to follow the stone beacons between the rocks and boulders and some exposed scrambling will be necessary before reaching a large plateau..  Cross the plateau in the obvious (northern) direction of the summit and after some more scrambling and a short chimney/gully you will see the old trig beacons on top.  Descend the same way down to the cars.

*Information courtesy of http://sites.google.com/site/towerkopinfo/nearby-hiking-routes/seweweekspoort-peak 

Zoar:

In 1817 a mission station was started when two farmers, JL and GC Nel handed the farm Elandsfontein to the government for mission work. Petrus Johannes Joubert, a missionary of the South African Missionary Society, with approval of the governor named the mission on 27 March of the same year. The mission station was named Zoar after the biblical town on the Red Sea.

The Berlin Missionary Society started the work and the first inhabitants were slaves and other coloured people from Cape Town, Zuurbraak and Genadendal. In 1822 the missionaries informed the governor that the land allocated was only grazing land and a further portion of land suitable for gardening was allocated. P.J Joubert managed the mission untill 1833, before it was taken over by two missionaries from the Berlin Missionary Society. The land was formerly transferred to the Berlin Missionary Society, to be held in trust for the local inhabitants. Zoar was run by Reinhold Gregorowski of the Berlin Mission Society from 1837. In 1838 Zoar had a church and huts forming a village which was inhabited by 300 to 400 Khoi people. The inhabitants were taught farming methods and religious instruction and received an education. After emancipation, slaves settled at the mission stations.

The Dutch Reformed Church took over the missionary in 1895 and the government added two more portions of land (from the farms of Vlugt on 31 October 1895 and the farm Koes Karoo on 28 January 1899). The Berlin Missionary Society bought the adjacent property and named it Amalienstein.

Neatly placed along a fertile valley, 22km from Ladismith, on the R62 leading to Calitzdorp and Oudtshoorn, Zoar lies surrounded by breathtaking landscapes with mountains in its background. The area is a developing tourism gem with hiking trips that can be arranged by the local community. Seweweekspoort lies next to this community and is an ideal last stop before heading further.

Attractions in Zoar:

• The Lutheran Church has a unique architectural design, character and rich history.
• The Little Karoo Mermaid Trail - There is a legend in the Karoo - which talks about a beautiful mermaid, seen sitting on a rock at rivers and waterfalls, combing her long black hair.  This legend was explored in a popular documentary on SABC television called 'Magic Places'. The filmmakers travelled from Cape Town, along the R62, over the Swartberg Pass and beyond – following an intriguing trail of indigenous stories, firsthand sightings of mermaids, fossils, and mysterious San rock art of mermaid-like creatures which occur only in this area.  The DVD can be ordered by mailing Wendy Hardie at hardie@iafrica.com

Van Wyksdorp:

This small quiet hideaway in the Klein Karoo is situated on a gravel road on the R327, 42 kilometers from Ladismith and 75km over the Garcia Pass to Riversdale. The town was established in 1839 as a Dutch Reformed Church parish, on the farm Buffelsfontein which was owned by Gerrit van Wyk. The name Van Wyksdorp was a result of the large number of Van Wyk residents in the area. During the years of the ostrich boom, it was the centre of education in the Little Karoo. The school was built in 1912; at one time the school had well over 200 pupils, who came in from all the surrounding towns.

Van Wyksdorp is a rural village situated in the valley between the Langeberg and Rooiberg mountain ranges. The town can only be accessed on a gravel road. The Rooiberg Pass leads you 45km towards Calitzdorp and the Cloete and du Plessis passes 81km towards Herbertsdale. These three passes are gravel and very popular with mountain bikers and off road motorbikes.

Vanwyksdorp is the principal village of the area known as Kannaland and is renowned for its dried flower industry. Wild flowers are harvested from the mountain sides, dried, dyed and exported. Stock is also present in this farming community with some of the popular stock being angora goats, sheep, cattle and ostriches. Crop farming includes fruit; and particularly apricots are grown in the area.

The source of water for the village is a mountain spring known as 'the eye', a fault in the Rooiberg Mountain Range. The railway links which were made in the 1920’s to Ladismith and Riversdale caused these towns to grow, whilst Van Wyksdorp slowly shrunk to its present state. The town has a population of about 2,000 people that includes the surrounding villages and farms.

Popular tourism activities include 4x4 trails, hiking trails, mountain biking and camping (possible on farms and bush camping in stone houses next to the Groot River). Stargazing is a popular pastime and the sunsets are amazing. Bird-watching is good and the area has abundant wildlife.

Attractions in Van Wyksdorp:

• Game-viewing;
• Assegaaibosch Ranch;
• Bird-watching; and
• Hiking.

Calitzdorp:

This typical little Karoo town of Calitzdorp lies on the R62 along a fertile valley that was originally a lake. Surrounded by the Swartberg (in the north), Rooiberge (to the south) and the mountains of the Huisrivier Pass (to the west), streams meander through the mountains to provide a source of water for the surprising amount of fruit grown in the area.

The Klein Karoo is a sparse, dry and arid area interjected with surprisingly fertile valleys that host a huge number of plant species. The Khoi people called the area Kannaland – valley with no grass. There is evidence of early San and Khoi people in numerous rock paintings found in the surrounding mountains. Land was granted to J.J and M.C Calitz who named the area Buffelsvlei (derived from the local vegetation and animals found here) in 1821. In 1853, land was donated by the Calitz brothers so that a church and school could be built. With growth in the population in 1910, there came a need to build a bigger church and school and these were both completed in 1912. The first cement dam wall was also built in the same year which marked the building of many more cement dams in South Africa. During the same year a Standard Bank was built on Queen Street, but now houses a well illustrated museum. Queen Street is one of the oldest streets in town and begs a stroll to properly absorb the number of Edwardian, Victorian and Karoo style buildings hea