Drakenstein

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A brief description


Drakenstein Municipality is a local municipality located in the Cape Winelands District Municipality. Drakenstein is divided into thirty-one wards and has sixty one councillors. The area itself is divided into 2 subsections namely: Klein, and Groot Drakenstein. The name Drakenstein comes from H.A. van Reede tot Drakenstein who visited the Cape as Commissioner-General in 1685. As of 2007, the population of the Drakenstein area was approximately 217,089 and had about 51,614 households. The municipality has a total area of 1,538 square kilometers in total and consist of the towns Paarl, Wellington and Saron ( Western Cape ), and the surrounding villages and farms.

In the municipality 76.7% of residents speak Afrikaans at home, 3.4% speak English, 0.0% Ndebele, 18.9% Xhosa, 0.0% Zulu, 0.0% Northern Sotho, 0.6% Sotho, 0.0% Tswana, 0.0% Swati, 0.0% Venda, and 0.0% Tsonga. 0.2% of the population speaks a non-official language at home. 6.4% of residents aged 20 and over have received no schooling, 19.3% have had some primary school, 9.1% have completed only primary school, 35.1% have had some high school education, 20.9% have finished only high school, and 9.2% have an education higher than high school level. Overall, 30.1% of residents have completed high school. 14.7% of the population aged 15-65 is unemployed. Of the unemployed persons, 48.7% are Black African, 49.0% Coloured, 0.2% Indian/Asian, and 2.2% are White. 32.5% of Black Africans are unemployed, 11.5% of Coloureds, 10.1% of Indians/Asians, and 2.1% of Whites. (Details from the census of 2001 - see wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Drakenstein_Local_Municipality)

The Drakenstein area has a large area of unspoilt, natural beauty, especially in the Paarl Mountain Nature Reserve. The reserve has beautiful Fynbos vegitation and large granite rock foundations, wild olives and different species of trees, such as Rock Candlewoods and Wagon Trees. The Reserve gives you the option of various adventure oriented activities, such as Fishing, Hiking, mountain climbing, mountain biking, and for the more romantic or relaxed types - picnics in the outdoors.

Cities and towns of the Drakenstein area: