Kannaland Municipality

The Kannaland Local Municipality is a Category B municipality situated within the Garden Route District in the Western Cape Province. It shares its borders with the Central Karoo District to the north and Cape Winelands District in the east. It is one of seven municipalities in the district.  Kannaland is situated about 340km north-east of Cape Town along the famous tourism Route 62. It is linked by tarred main roads to all other major centres, such as Oudtshoorn (100km), Montagu (139km), George (160km), Mossel Bay (185km) and Port Elizabeth (420km). Both the administrative and legislative seats of Kannaland Municipality are located in Ladismith, with satellite offices in Calitzdorp, Vanwyksdorp and Zoar.  The municipality is responsible for basic service provision to the towns of Calitzdorp, Ladismith, Vanwyksdorp and Zoar, as well as the surrounding farming communities. Kannaland’s climate is ideal for the production of apricots, peaches, plums, nectarines and grapes. The well-known Parmalat and Ladismith dairy products come from the area. The quaint little haven of Calitzdorp is known as the port-wine capitol of South Africa by virtue of the top quality wines, produced mainly by Boplaas, De Krans, Axehill and Calitzdorp wine cellars.  The Kannaland municipal area lies huddled between two mountain ranges, the Swartberge and Anysberg. An impressive mountain peak called Towerkop (2 198m) looms above Ladismith. Another impressive site is Elandsberg (2 128m). Halfway up Elandsberg is a famous landmark, sometimes referred to as Ladismith’s extra star in the galaxy: Stanley's Light (1 500m). A wide variety of scenic routes criss-cross the area. Kannaland has its own individual building style, which makes it unique. For example, the so-called Ladismith Style is a simplified Georgian design and dates from the 1830s.