Western Cape Information - Conference Venue Overberg, Western Cape

Western Cape Province of South Africa

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Western Cape

The Western Cape province of South Africa is a province of diversity and natural beauty. The Western Cape is bordered on the north by the Northern Cape Province, on the east by the Eastern Cape Province, on the south by the Indian Ocean, and on the west by the Atlantic Ocean.

The capital of the Western Cape is Cape Town which is home to the well known Table Mountain. Most of the Western Cape falls within the Cape Fold Belt, a range of sandstone folded mountains that range in height from 1000m to 2300m. The valleys between ranges are generally very fertile. The far interior of the Western Cape forms part of the Karoo Basin and is generally arid and hilly. The coastal areas of Western Cape range from sandy between capes, to rocky to steep and mountainous in places.

The Western Cape vegetation is diverse with more plant species occurring on Table Mountain than the entire United Kingdom. It is characterised by various types of shrubs, thousands of flowering plant species and some small trees. The arid interior of the Western Cape is dominated by drought-resistant shrubbery. The West Coast and Little Karoo areas are semi-arid regions and are typified by many species of succulents and drought-resistant shrubs and acacia trees. The Garden Route is extremely lush, with temperate rainforest covering many areas adjacent to the coast and along the mountain ranges.

Most of the Western Cape is considered to have a Mediterranean climate with cool, wet winters and warm, dry summers. The interior Karoo has a semi-arid climate with cold, frosty winters and hot summers with occasional thunderstorms. The Garden Route and the Overberg on the south coast have a maritime climate with cool, moist winters and mild, moist summers. Mossel Bay in the Garden Route is considered to have the second mildest climate worldwide after Hawaii.

The Western Cape Province’s total GDP is the third-highest contribution to South Africa’s total.The largest industry in the Western Cape is the clothing and textile industry. High-tech industries, international call centres, fashion design, advertising and TV production are niche industries rapidly gaining in importance in the Western Cape.

The Western Cape has an excellent network of highways comparable with any first-world country with all major roads tarred. Telecommunications in the Western Cape is highly sophisticated and most areas have internet access. Mobile cellular communications is world class with reception in all densely populated rural areas, all urban areas and along all major routes. All national banks are represented almost everywhere in the Western Cape.

History of Western Cape
Traces of the tools of early stone age hunter-gatherers found in the area of modern day Western Cape indicate that this area was inhabited by prehistoric people as much as 600 000 years ago. Most well known of these prehistoric hunter-gatherer is probably the the San (Bushmen) which relied almost solely on what the seashore had to offer for their food. About 2000 years ago the San was displaced by the Khoikhoi from the north, bringing with them their herds of cattle and sheep. By the time the first Europeans settled into the Table Bay area the Khoikhoi was the dominant tribe in the area....read more

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