Caledon, Western Cape, Swartberg, wild flowers

A mere 110 km east of Cape Town,against the backdrop of the Swartberg, surrounded by fields of barley and wheat, lies Caledon.Discovered by the early Khoi-Khoi and developed around its iron-rich springs , a sick house and later a sanatorium was built. The latter was later destroyed by a fire.

The seven springs, one of which is cold and the other six thermal, are warmed by contact with rocks heated by pressure deep under the ground to a steady temperature of 49.5° Celsius. The waters of Caledon are also free of any organic matter and in 1893, they were awarded first prize as the world’s top quality mineral waters at the Chicago World Fair.

Caledon’s wild flower garden is world-renowned and forms part of a reserve at the entrance to Venster Kloof, so called because of an interesting rock, which looks like a window. The garden has an annual show during September at the time of year that best displays the abundant array of indigenous wild flowers that bloom in this season. You can hike through the Nature Reserve to experience the indigenous fynbos vegetation, indigenous trees, prolific bird life and flowers, as well as the gorgeous mountain views of the Swartberg