Media Release: Calitzdorp Hot Springs to host a Music, Arts, and Food Gathering with a purpose
6 July 2022 For Immediate Release
Echo Outdoor Gatherings is no stranger to the regional electronic music scene and for years they have hosted events of the highest quality.
After holding their flagship event – Elements of Life – successfully at De Hoek Mountain Resort near Cango Caves for the past five years, Daniel Mentz (event organizer), branched out to Calitzdorp Hot Springs in March with another exciting festival: Valley Of Dreams. The three-day event turned out to be a huge success, which was sold out completely, with people trekking from across the country to attend. According to David, the event attracted nearly 600 festival-goers, which was also a much-needed boost for business and tourism. Festival-goers venture out into the area during an event to explore and some opt to stay for longer as they usually travel from all over the country to attend such festivals.
“Our festival-goers want to make the best of their stay and frequently talk about what they were up to when venturing out to explore the area,” said Mentz.
This July, Echo Outdoor Gatherings will return to Calitzdorp Hot Springs with an even bigger event called ‘Elements of Fire’.
From Friday, 29 July to Sunday, 31 July festival-goers can look forward to a weekend that promises to be a visual and sonic experience like no other. Food stalls will sell falafels, breakfasts, steaks, and freshly pressed juice. Vegan and vegetarian options will also be made available.
Various craft stalls will sell items like dream catchers, leather works, jewellery, clothing brands, and macrame. There will also be two fire shows every night.
Winter Warmer Drive
Echo Outdoor Gatherings wanted to say thank you to the community of Calitzdorp for their warm welcome and decided to give back. This is why they are currently running a food and blanket drive for Friends Of Calitzdorp Animals (FOCA).
FOCA was launched six years ago when the founding member helped some friends to look after stray animals. Today they feed 250 dogs, 70 cats and facilitate up to 30 sterilisations a month. FOC are also constantly building kennels and continues to educate the local residents on animal welfare.
‘The amount of neglect FOCA witnesses every day is horrifying, to say the least,” said Mentz.
To supplement the Winter Warmer Drive, Echo Outdoor Gatherings and Feel Good Entertainment will donate 10% of the bar proceedings for the weekend to FOCA.
Garden Route District Municipality is proud to host the Echo Outdoor Gatherings events as Daniel takes pride in what he does. Every event is carefully planned and those attending must adhere to strict rules.
“Family is at the core of Echo Outdoor Gatherings and will always be,” said Mentz
Festival-goers loved the cold water swimming pools during the gathering that took place in March 2022.
Friends enjoy each other’s company whilst taking a break from the dance floor (March 2022).
Attendees ruffled some feathers with their amazing costumes (March 2022).
The dancefloor is always beautifully decorated (March 2022).
Media Vrystelling: Naam en kenteken van Calitzdorp Spa verander na Calitzdorp Warmwaterbron
Vir Onmiddelikke Vrystelling
22 Junie 2022
Die Tuinroete Distriksraad (Garden Route District Municipality Council) het vandag besluit om Calitzdorp Spa te hernoem en sy kenteken te verander na Calitzdorp Warmwaterbron wat in Engels bekend sal staan as Calitzdorp Hot Springs. Die besluit is geneem na verskeie reisagente en gaste hul kommer uitgespreek het oor die warmwaterbron wat nie spa-tipe fasiliteite bied nie, maar eerder by sy unieke verkoopspunt geïdentifiseer moet word. Tydens die World Travel Market Africa is die Distriksmunisipaliteit se oorde en kampeerterreine bemark en dis waar soorgelyke vrae opgeduik het oor Calitzdorp Spa se naam.
“Die naam Calitzdorp Spa is misleidend in die sin dat gaste wat nog nie die warmwaterbron besoek het nie van mening is dat hul verskeie geriewe en dienste verwag het – soos die ou naam wat “spa” insluit mens laat dink,” meen Tuinroete Distriksmunisipaliteit se Portefeulje Raadslid vir Eiendom en Batebestuur, Rdl. Jobieth Hoogbaard.
“Calitzdorp Warmwaterbron gee ‘n akkurate aanduiding van wat gaste kan verwag,” sê Hoogbaard.
Die kenteken is deur die kommunikasie-afdeling van die distriksmunisipaliteit aangepas en addisionele kostes is nie aangegaan om diensverskaffers te betrek tydens die proses nie. Die Distriksmunisipaliteit sal voortgaan om die uitrol van die nuwe identiteit kostedoeltreffend te bestuur.
Noudat die nuwe kenteken en naam onthul is deur die raad se goedkeuring, sal’n handleiding en -gereedskapstel saamgestel word, wat onder meer template sal bevat wat alle vir bemarkingsdoeleindes gebruik kan word. Om mee te begin, sal die nuwe kenteken op ons verskillende digitale platforms aangebring word, wat betreklik goedkoop sal wees. Namate die Warmwaterbron se ander kontakpunte met die publiek dan bygewerk of vervang moet word, sal ons die nuwe kenteken stelselmatig infaseer.
Foto van embleme: Ou embleem (Calitzdorp Spa, links) en nuwe embleem (Calitzdorp Hot Springs, regs).
Media Release: Garden Route and Klein Karoo Tourism currently marketing the region at Indaba in Durban
For Immediate Release 4 May 2022
Garden Route District Municipality’s Tourism Section is currently attending Africa’s Travel Indaba in Durban from 03 to 05 May 2022. Africa’s Travel Indaba is one of the largest tourism marketing events on the African calendar and one of the top three must-do events of its kind on the global calendar. It showcases the widest variety of Africa’s best tourism products and attracts international buyers and media from across the world!
Media Release: Annual World Travel Market Africa attended by local and regional tourism representatives
For Immediate Release
11 April 2022
This year’s World Travel Market (WTM) Africa 2022 kicked off with virtual sessions from 4 – 5 April, and continues now, starting 11 – 13 April at the Cape Town International Convention Centre (CTICC). The Garden Route and Klein Karoo (GR&KK) Regional Tourism Office (RTO), several Local Tourism Offices (LTO) and Garden Route District Municipality (GRDM) Resorts, and other tourism products from the region are in attendance.
According to Amagene Koeberg, GRDM Senior Tourism Coordinator, the GR&KK and its LTO partners, seek to position the region as the preferred destination to live, play, work, and invest.
Passmore Dongi, Manager: Projects, Properties, Facilities & Resort Management, who is also in attendance with the GR&KK and LTOs, highlighted the importance of the GRDM Resorts being present at trade and consumer shows. “This is the first tradeshow for the GRDM Resorts to attend and it will certainly not be the last”. A marketing and promotional platform like this presents a perfect opportunity for the Municipality to network and build valuable relations across the globe. “It ensures that the Garden Route remains top of mind,” said Dongi.
WTM Africa provides a Business-to-Business platform for international travel professionals, buyers, exhibitors, and media to showcase the continent’s diverse offerings. The Tourism Industry embraces this much-needed promotional platform.
The WTM Africa includes a wide spectrum of speakers and events like the International Business Tourism Market (ibtm) Africa, EQUAL Africa, Travel Forward, the Sports and Events Tourism Exchange (SETE) and Responsible Tourism (RT) Conference and Awards.
The Garden Route and Klein Karoo region offers golf courses that are tailor-made to your taste. This area boasts 12 top golf courses, eight of which are championship courses that will challenge you from the beginning to the end! Our coast is dotted with an excellent selection of courses providing memorable shot values and links-style layouts. They truly make the region’s golf stand out amongst the rest.
Tee off at a sensational coastline location or with a view of never-ending river valleys, lagoons, lake frontages, and rugged indigenous fynbos, all of which add to a magical golfing experience.
Known as the Golfing Mecca of South Africa, the Garden Route boasts numerous award-winning and world-class golf courses. Garden Route golf courses and estates have received numerous awards, competing among global courses and estates globally. While we can’t guarantee a hole-in-one on each golf course, we can assure you that you will have a memorable golfing experience on the Garden Route.
We look forward to welcoming you soon!
Directory
Albertinia Golf Club Centre Brak and Golf Street
(028) 735 1646
Dolphin Creek Golf Estate Morrison Road, Great Brak River
(044) 620 3278
Goose Valley Golf Club Next to N2, Goosevalley Plettenberg Bay
(044) 533 5082
Fancourt (The Links, Montagu & Outeniqua courses) Montagu Street, Blanco, George
(044) 804 0000
George Golf Club Langenhoven Street, George
(044) 801 9295
Pinnacle Point Golf Resort 1 Pinnacle Point Drive, Mossel Bay
(044) 606 5300
Heidelberg Country Club 2 Station Street
(028) 755 1573
Knysna Golf Club Howard Street, Hunters Home
(044) 384 1150
Ladismith Golf Club Van Riebeeck Street
(028) 551 2568
Oubaai Golf Club Oubaai Golf Estate, Herolds Bay
(044) 851 1234
Mossel Bay Golf Club 17th Avenue
(044) 691 2379
Oudtshoorn Golf Club St Saviour Street
(044) 272 4201
Kingswood Golf Estate 1 Kingswood Boulevard, George
(086)172 7170
Media Release: Growth And Development Of The Agricultural Sector In The Garden Route
15 March 2022 For immediate release
Clyde Lamberts from the Western Cape Department of Agriculture was invited to speak at the first Garden Route Skills Mecca (GRSM) Forum of 2022 and his focus was on the growth and development strategy of the department for the Garden Route. He opened his comprehensive presentation with the following quote by Allan Savory:
“Agriculture is not crop production as popular belief holds – it’s the production of food and fiber from the world’s land and waters. Without agriculture, it is impossible to have a city, stock market, banks, university, church or army. Agriculture is the foundation of civilization and any stable economy”.
To put this quote into perspective, Lamberts shared one of the Department’s recent success stories: A farm in Herald was in a dilapidated state due to a lack of interest in purposing the land. A businessman who was passionate about farming bought it, and spent the next five (5) years turning it into a viable business that now produces honeybush and proteas. He is the first black commercial farmer to produce honeybush in the Southern Cape. It is because the Department assisted him that his business was able to create sixteen (16) permanent jobs, with opportunities for an additional twenty (20) seasonal workers.
Before this, in Waboomskraal, the Department assisted another farmer, who became the first black farmer in the area to produce proteas and hops.
Lamberts noted: “When all spheres of government work together in an integrated fashion, these are the type of results we will see”.
Lamberts listed the activities and services the Department provides to farmers and all other stakeholders as the following:
Independent agricultural advice and information
Supporting Livestock farmers – Development program. Livestock Forum
Performance testing/annual evaluation/ID limitations and opportunities
Investigating and implementing new hardy breeds and crossbreeding
Investigations in lowering inset cost through conservation agriculture – cover crops
Investigations into pasture species for marginal lands
Crop production advice and information
Niche crops/markets
Training
The type of training that is provided includes evidence-based and practice-based farmers’ capacity building. This is done through farmers’ days, demonstrations, peer-to-peer learning, and face-to-face interactions. Since 2018, the department trained 820 beneficiaries and this ranged from vegetable training to farm implement operation training.
Practical Based training done on site.
The Department has a memorandum of understanding with GRDM and vacant land has been identified that the municipality owns which is conducive for agricultural development opportunities. The Department is researching the potential of commodity processing facilities in the Garden Route, which will be a source of immediate job creation – a game-changer for job creation in the region.
The Department furthermore envisions the building of Agri-Business Platforms for clients where potential products can be processed ready for consumption. Through Conservation/Regenerative agriculture, farmers are encouraged to rehabilitate and look after their own soil to turn it into organic matter that fertilizes with very few chemicals. Trials on livestock projects have yielded very positive results to date, and the global view is that going regenerative holds many financial and ecological benefits.
Agritourism needs to be promoted as it holds several untapped opportunities for the tourism sector. There is a need to compile tour packages to visit farms and processing facilities for both local and international tourism. The Roads Department has a role to play as well, as it must ensure easy access through regular road maintenance and upgrades.
Infrastructure Of The Garden Route
The Department is in the process of revisiting mechanization which would allow for a central point that offers services such as ploughing, for example, as well as repair and maintenance services on farm implements.
Lamberts concluded his presentation by saying that we can be very proud of our district and that the Department is very excited to continue its work in the area.
MEDIA RELEASE: Floods, tourists and the Garden Route environment
For Immediate Release
12 January 2022
“The very real threat of the renewed lockdown and travel restrictions with the emergence of the COVID-19 Omicron variant in South Africa over December 2021 did not materialise. With golden beaches, lakes and rivers open for use after closure in the summer of 2020, tourists flocked to the Garden Route in their thousands,” says Cobus Meiring, convener of the Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF).
Just prior to the festive season, heavy rains and fairly severe floods did do their usual damage to infrastructure in and around George, with some roads and related infrastructure damage still in need of repair.
“Natural infrastructure, such as mountain catchments and rivers, was also not spared. There are visible fresh scars on feeder streams on the George (Outeniqua) mountainside and damage to certain river channels was also reported. There were also reports about dam walls on farmland that collapsed causing even more downstream havoc,” says Meiring.
“Heavy rainfall and subsequent floods are perfectly normal occurrences and the Garden Route, most certainly, is no stranger to them. However, we can expect and prepare for a lot more in coming years. Predictions regarding changes in South African rainfall patterns brought about by a changing climate indicate that the Garden Route will increasingly be subjected to episodic rainfall events and less of the soft but persistent rainfall the region has been accustomed to.”
“Severe weather patterns affecting the Garden Route are nothing new, but as the most recent rainstorms and flooding causing havoc in the town of George and surrounds are testimony of, their impact can be severe and seem to be on the increase with the passing of time enhanced by the advent of the unpredictable impact of a changing climate and resultant changes in rainfall patterns.”
Says Meiring: “The way in which urban and semi-urban areas contend and cope with severe downpours of rainstorms differs completely from how nature would be able to do so if left undisturbed and in a natural state.”
“The energy from flooding and fast-flowing water following hard and sustained downpours in an urban context is multiplied exponentially by a lack of indigenous vegetation on the landscape, degraded and denuded riverbanks and systems as flooding water gains momentum and volume when it flows over hardened (paved/ tarred) surfaces, stormwater channels and eventually river systems.”
“In a natural environment, flooding occurs as a natural phenomenon and is a part of a healthy system, but the severity thereof is curtailed by natural barriers such as vegetation on the landscape, wetland systems that slow flooding waters down considerably and trapping sediment, plants such as Palmiet and reeds.”
Population influx posing many challenges to local authorities
The Southern Cape is falling victim to its own scenic beauty, perceived political stability and capable governance and is fast becoming a top destination for many living in the South African interior.
According to Meiring, the significant influx of people poses a huge challenge in many respects, both from environmental management and a local government perspective. As a mere example, it is reported that as many as two thousand new housing units will be built over the next three years alone between George and Mossel Bay, and that excludes informal and undocumented urban sprawl.
“Not only are the Garden Route towns not designed to accommodate unlimited expansion, but the regional environment suffers permanent and irreversible damage as biodiversity cannot survive a fast-shrinking natural habitat which inevitably has to make way for ever-increasing developments and urban sprawl,” says Meiring.
“Perhaps, more importantly, the Garden Route has limited resources – the supply of fresh water and the availability of land suitable for development are but two limitations.”
“For the Garden Route to maintain at least a semblance of a viable environment, and without losing its sense of place, much more attention must be given to planning for the future. Interaction between those responsible for local government and those managing the environment is vital,” concludes Meiring.
The Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF) is a regional forum and public platform for collaboration in conservation, environmental adaptation and community interaction. It is a think tank for national, regional and local government, conservation bodies, academics, the media, landowners and land managers, active in the full spectrum of environmental matters in the region. Website: https://www.scli.org.za/gref/
MEDIA ENQUIRIES
Cobus Meiring: Convener of Garden Route Environmental Forum (GREF)
The Garden Route’s nearly 300km long beaches stretch from the whitest sandy beaches of Witsand, past the sky-blue waters of Plettenberg Bay, ending at Natures Valley. Known for offering a safe destination, the Garden Route is a preferred destination for families, adventure-seekers and beach-goers, to name a few.
Coastal municipalities boast twenty blue flag beaches offering locals and tourists quality water and clean public facilities. Numerous coves and lagoons, as well as untouched indigenous forests, can be seen along the N2 from east to west.
Amagene Koeberg, Garden Route District Municipality’s Tourism Coordinator, says that offshore there is the possibility to see Southern Right Whales, dolphins, and great white sharks.
“Come and explore the Garden Route, you will surely become a returning visitor of our area,” said Koeberg.
Media Release: Garden Route Coastal Resorts Perform Exceptionally Well Over the Festive Season
For Immediate Release 12 January 2022
The 2020 festive season was very bleak for most of South Africa and other countries. Tight lockdown restrictions, which included the beaches being closed, as well as longer curfews and a ban on the sale of alcohol, placed a damper on everyone’s holiday spirit. In 2020, people had no choice but to cancel their holiday plans. However, the recent festive season was a stark contrast compared to a year ago because restrictions were almost completely lifted. Holiday-goers flocked in their thousands to the Garden Route.
Like many other resorts, Garden Route District Municipality’s (GRDM) coastal resorts benefited from this. Victoria Bay and Swartvlei Caravan Parks reported a bumper holiday season, which started with a visit from the Berg-en Toerklub (BTK) from Stellenbosch University in early December. The group started their journey at Swartvlei Caravan Park, stayed there for one night and then hiked to Victoria Bay Caravan Park along the coast. There they enjoyed another braai, swimming and a well-deserved night’s rest.
As for the rest of the season, Marelize Claassen, Resort Manager, reported that Victoria Bay was at full capacity since early December. According to her, bookings are now decreasing slowly.
Swartvlei bookings increased from 12 December and reached capacity between 18 December 2021 and 2 January 2022. Holidaymakers are now heading home to tackle the new year.
It was a very busy season, and it was as if people waited two years to have this holiday – Marelize Claassen
On behalf of GRDM and its coastal resorts, the Municipality would like to thank everyone for their ongoing support and looks forward to seeing return visitors throughout the year.
WELCOME TO THE MOST BEAUTIFUL PART OF SOUTH AFRICA, THE GARDEN ROUTE
This is our second year of living through an unprecedented time. However, as Garden Routers, I continue to believe that we will bounce back from this situation as we are a resilient district.
South Africa, including the Garden Route District’s Tourism Sector, remains the backbone of our country’s economy; this is why we need people to visit us from all over the world. Support of our regional tourism sector is imperative because it advances prosperity, drives inclusive and sustainable development.
Last year, I also encouraged you to seek the little adventures the Garden Route offers, indulge yourself, take a break, and support our businesses. This year, my plea is the same. Please support our local businesses. Explore the region and the many tourist activities that are right on your doorstep; in turn, you will be contributing to the growth of the tourism sector. We depend on tourism for jobs and livelihoods. Thank you to the businesses that remain conscious of the current economic climate and provide budget-friendly tourism packages. This clever approach will attract more visitors to our region.
Before visiting us or when you arrive here, you will be able to find a myriad of activities to do in our region. A few that come to mind, include iconic sightseeing spots, fun-filled days and unmissable events, in particular this December. To see what I am talking about, visit our regional tourism website, www.visitgardenrouteandkleinkaroo.com.
While enjoying your time with us, you have to exercise caution and be tolerant while travelling. Please obey speed limits; road rules; do not text or call while driving; do not drink and drive, and always wear a seatbelt. Save our 24/7 emergency call centre number if you find yourself in a troubling situation – 044 805 5071. As we head into the festive season we’d like to keep the Covid-19 infection rates low, so please, adhere to the Covid- 19 protocols and regulations. Remember to wear your mask, wash your hands, sanitize, avoid large crowds, and keep your social distance – hang outside with friends and family!.
Thank you for all the efforts to keep safe and move forward. See you in the Garden Route!
Alderman Memory Booysen Executive Mayor Garden Route District Municipality
