Tarkastad

Tarkastad
Clockwise from top: The main street in Tarkastad in 2012, Dutch Reformed Church Tarkastad, Nature around Tarkastad, World War I Memorial.
Tarkastad Show map of Eastern Cape Tarkastad Show map of South Africa
Coordinates: 32°01′S 26°16′E / 32.017°S 26.267°E / -32.017; 26.267
Country	South Africa
Province	Eastern Cape
District	Chris Hani
Municipality	Enoch Mgijima
Population
• Total	1,604
Racial Makeup (2011)
• Black African	54.0%
• Coloured	29.9%
• White	14.5%
• Indian/Asian	0.5%
First Languages (2011)
• Afrikaans	44.9%
• Xhosa	41.6%
• English	10.0%
• Others	2.5%
Time zone	UTC+2 (SAST)
Postal code (street)	5370
PO box	5370

Tarkastad is a Karoo semi-urban settlement situated on the banks of Tarka River in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Tarkastad is on a plain to the north of the Winterberg mountain range on the R61 between Cradock and Komani and only three hours from Gqeberha. The name Tarkastad is believed to come from the Khoi-Khoi word Traka (meaning women) or the Celtic word Tarka (meaning otter) and the Afrikaans word Stad (meaning city). The fact that the town is overlooked by Martha and Mary; two peaks which look like two women resting after a hard day's work, also lends to the name.^[1]