Caledon's history goes back a long way. The Khoisan's name for this place was "Hacqna". The land around Caledon is fertile and it is one of the centers of wheat production in the Overberg. The road between Caledon and Stanford and between Caledon and Bredasdorp is the best place to spot flocks of the Blue Cran. This big and stately bird is a rare and endangered species and South Africa's national bird.

The Blue crane's distribution is restricted to South Africa (and a bit of Southern Namibia). Thanks to the Blue Crane Project, a co-operation between Cape Nature Conservation, local farmers and volunteers, The Overberg Blue crane population is thriving with an estimated number of 12'000 individuals, half of the world's population. The nests of Blue cranes are marked in the field by volunteers and farmers take care to go around the marked nesting sites with their tractors. The use of chemicals is managed in such a way that the Blue cranes will not be affected.

Caledon might be an agricultural town with some beautiful old houses, this did not stop it from having a hotel, a casino and a spa. The spa is located around the hot springs that have attracted people to "Hacqna" for ages.