Garies is located on the N7 – NATIONAL ROUTE 7. Garies is situated approximately 115 km’s in a southern direction out of Springbok. This is the last town on the N7 as you travel from the Northern Cape to the Western Cape province. In 1845 the owner of the farm Goedeverwagting donated land to the Dutch Reformed Church and the town of Garies was established on this land. The town was named after the farm Goedeverwagting but later changed to Garies, which is a Khoisan word meaning “couch grass”. Garies has a grocery store, two petrol stations, a hospital, boarding schools, ATMs, restaurants, cafés, a farm stall and accommodation establishments.

Garies is the chief town of the Namaqualand district part of the Kamiesberg Local Municipality which is a Category B municipality situated within the Namakwa District in the Northern Cape Province. It is one of the smaller municipalities of the six that make up the district. It was established in 2001 in accordance with the demarcation process. The municipality spans three topographic zones: from the sandy coastal lowlands (Sandveld) to the mountainous central Kamiesberg escarpment (Hardveld), and to the eastern plateau of Bushmanland.

NATURAL WONDERS – The area has 1200 different plant species, hundreds of which are found only in Namaqualand and also 150 bird species. The Letterklip at Garies is a national monument and together with Betelsklip and the Spoegrivier caves are both natural wonders and of great historical value to this region.

There are no perennial rivers in the area. Water is obtained from subterranean sources. Some of the water is pumped up by windmills, but most of the water to the communal areas comes from natural springs. Many of these springs are semi-perennial and the salt content of the water can vary from year to year, causing problems.
Four main types of vegetation are found in the area: Mountain Renosterveld, Succulent Karoo, False Succulent Karoo and Namaqualand Broken Veld. However, overall plant life is in a deteriorating state and non-edible, undesirable and poisonous vegetation is taking over.

Cities/Towns in the same municipality as Garies are Hondeklip Bay, Kamieskroon, Koingnaas and Leliefontein/Kamiesberg

Tourist information

Kamiesberg Municipality tel: (027) 652 8000
Garies Tourist Stall (open during the flower season from August to September)
tel: (027) 652 1220

Attractions
Letterklip: Comprises enormous megalithic boulders carrying the names of early travelers to the Namakwa region
Roodebergskloof Hiking Trail: tel: (027) 652 8000
Spring Flower Displays
Accommodation
Garies Hotel
Tel: (027) 652 1042
Fax: 027 652 1141
Email: garieshotel@telkomsa.net

Key Statistics 2011

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