Klein Karoo Kannaland is the stunningly beautiful area along the R62 between Barrydale and Uniondale. The drive along the R62 is an excellent alternative to the Garden Route, and a completely different experience.

Rugged mountain ranges are always in the picture and stand guard over orchards, vineyards and livestock farms. Considered the “longest wine route in SA”, towns like Calitzdorp, the port capital of South Africa, Oudtshoorn, the ostrich Mecca, historic Prince Albert and Montagu come to mind, and the magnificent Swartberg and Meiringspoort passes make the Klein Karoo a  favourite with tourists.

Historic,scenic Montagu, the most westerly town of this region and closest to Cape Town, is blessed with an excellent year round climate, natural hot water springs and dramatic mountains, evident as you enter the town through the Cogmanskloof Pass. Montagu is a magnet for climbers and adrenalin sports lovers, week-enders and baby-boomers.

Barrydale lies at the foot of the beautiful Langeberg Mountains, in the Tradaux Valley. The good weather and fertile soil is ideal for farming and Barrydale is a hub for apple, peach, apricot and other soft fruit production. The Barrydale Wine Cellar has won many awards and is part of the R62 wine route. Just past Barrydale is the Tradaux Wine Estate and Deli, (great for a light lunch), and the interesting Ronnie’s Sex Shop.

Ladismith is close to the fertile Hoeko Valley where breathtaking views of orchards in the spring and autumn can be added to your photo album. Take the back road through the Hoeko Valley from Ladismith town which brings you back out onto the R62. Ladismith produces a third of South Africa’s apricots and many other fruits.The Ladismith Wine Cellar produces a variety of white and red wines as well as pot-stilled brandy, several of which have won awards in recent years. The town has several interesting historic buildings, in its own style, that are national monuments.

Calitzdorp, the port wine capital of South Africa, lies in the dramatic Gamka Valley. Boplaas Cellars is a family concern with Carel Nel, a Cape Wine Master, as owner and cellar master. Expect beautiful old buildings and a quaint village. Consider taking the 54km back road from Calitzdorp to Oudtshoorn via Nels Valley. It comes out at the Cango Caves, and is one of the most beautiful drives, through farmlands, surrounded by the red hills of the Swartberg.

Oudtshoorn is set in a picturesque farming valley, surrounded by the majestic Outeniqua mountains. Once the world ostrich feather capital, from the mid 1800′s to 1914 when the fashion faded. The ostrich kings made a bundle of “feather” money during this period, and the beautiful sandstone buildings and houses in the town reflect this. Today, ostrich meat and leather, is still very much part of the economy  and tours to the farms are popular. But there is a lot more to Oudtshoorn than ostriches. The Klein Karoo National Arts Festival that takes place in the first week in April, Oudtshoorn’s top class animal sanctuaries, restaurants, interesting shops, wine route and olive industry, all support a thriving tourism industry.

De Rust is a quaint farming town which the art and film making community have discovered. It won South Africa’s Best Town Award for 2011. Uniondale is the most easterly town in the Klein Karoo before entering the Langkloof fruit farming valley.