Established 1961 17 Travel Thursday, August 2, 2018

Amazing safari Experience an untouched world of raw wildlife

our journey into the soul of Africa Aside from the beautiful scenery and The Garden Route is regarded as a critical species. Both these ground dwelling species trasts and a harsh climate that has meant that starts when you first hear the roar of a breath-taking natural splendour of the focus area. The Knysna estuary and live in large family groups for added protec- flora and fauna have had to adapt or die. Ylion echoing in the distance or feel the Augrabies Falls, the Augrabies Falls National Wilderness lake areas alone are rated number tion and can easily be seen throughout the Namaqualand includes the Atlantic Ocean, ground tremble as a herd of giant elephants Park offers a well-priced restaurant and com- one and six respectively; it is home to a sec- park. Honey Badger (Ratel), Pangolin (Scaly from where it extends all the way to the small cross right in front of you. It’s those early fortable accommodation. The game drive does tion of 60,500 hectares of indigenous forest - Anteater) and Bat-eared Fox are some of town of Pofadder in the east, the Orange hushed silences at sunrise, when you see the not provide sighting of abundant game, but is the largest continuous complex of such forest the park specials to search for. Excellent River to the north and beyond the little vil- wild come to life at a busy waterhole, or spot still recommended as a way of getting a big- in the country; and the of the Garden chances of seeing cheetah, leopard, brown lage of Garies to the south. The Namaqua the bright eyes of a leopard in a tree at sunset. ger overview of the reserve and its landscape. Route falls within the - a and spotted hyena and the definitive black- National Park lies within this vast landscape, This place is yours to explore with any kind of global diversity hotspot. The Garden Route maned lion exist. 495 kilometres from Cape Town, and close to safari through , deserts, forests, wet- National Park National Park is so large it falls across both the little town of Kamieskroon. lands, rivers and even beaches. And, with per- Bontebok National Park is the smallest in the Eastern Cape and and fect days ending in the comfort of luxury but has the highest density of brings together a series of tourist facilities Lying in the heart of the Lowveld is a Table Mountain National Park lodges or campfire stories under a million rare and endangered bird life, fynbos species that include camping areas, chalets, hiking wildlife sanctuary like no other, its atmos- At the south-western tip of South Africa, stars, you can’t help feeling like you never and animal life. This Western Cape Nature and mountain bike trails, forest trails, canoe- phere so unique that it allows those who the Table Mountain National Park encom- want to leave. Reserve in South Africa was established at the ing, diving and other local activities. enter its vastness to immerse themselves in passes the incredibly scenic Peninsula moun- foot of the Langeberg Mountains in order to the unpredictability and endless wilderness tain chain stretching from Signal Hill in the Different ways to see it all protect the Bontebok from extinction. It also Golden Gate Highlands National Park that is the true quality of Africa. north to Cape Point in the south, a distance of While game drives are the most well- contains indigenous plant life found nowhere Golden Gate Highlands National Park lies The Kruger National Park lies across the approximately 60 kilometres. The Table known way to enjoy a safari, the options are else in the world. Visitors in the Bontebok at the foothills of the Maluti Mountains of provinces of Mpumalanga and Limpopo in Mountain National Park has two world- endless: take a walking safari, self-drive safari, National Park have access to the lovely north-eastern Free State, roughly 300 kilome- the north of South Africa, just south of renowned landmarks within its boundaries; see it all by hot air balloon, try horseback or Breede River, for angling, canoeing and tres south east of Bloemfontein and 257 kilo- Zimbabwe and west of Mozambique. It now the majestic Table Mountain and the leg- go by river. Scout the bushveld for wildlife, go refreshing swims. metres south of Wepener on Route 701, the forms part of the Great Limpopo endary Cape of Good Hope. whale watching along the coast, try bird Thanks to the conservation efforts of Golden Gate National Park, through which the Transfrontier Park - a peace park that links Recognised globally for its extraordinarily watching in forests or see what the mountains Bontebok National Park, the species of ante- Caledon River flows, is also home to the Kruger National Park with game parks in rich, diverse and unique flora, this singular have in store for you. lope after which it is named, has been brought Welbedacht Dam situated in the southern Zimbabwe and Mozambique, and fences are land formation, with rugged cliffs, steep back from the brink to roam freely in sustain- parts of the reserve. already coming down to allow game to freely slopes and sandy flats, is a truly phenomenal Must do safari able numbers. Bontebok numbers have This 11,600 hectares of unique environ- roam in much the way it would have in the natural, scenic, historical, cultural and recre- It’s not easy to pick just a few, but these increased from a mere 17 in the park to ment is true highland habitat, providing home time before man’s intervention. When com- ational asset both locally and internationally. are some of the best safari experiences on around 3,000 worldwide. This region to a variety of mammals including black plete, the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Nowhere else in the world does an area of offer in South Africa: between the Langeberg Mountains and the wildebeest, eland, blesbok, oribi, springbok Park will extend across 35,000 square kilo- such awesome beauty and such rich bio- Breede River is also home to around 200 bird and Burchell’s zebra - and birds, including the metres, 58 percent of it South African, 24 diversity exist almost entirely within a metro- Addo Elephant National Park species including Stanley’s Bustard, Blue rare bearded vulture (lammergeier) and the percent Mozambican and 18 percent politan area - the thriving and cosmopolitan If it is elephants you want to see then head Crane and Secretary Bird. Visitors can also equally rare bald ibis, which breed on the Zimbabwean territory. . to Addo Elephant Park. Now South Africa’s see Cape Mountain Zebra, Red Hartebeest ledges in the sandstone cliffs. Activities This is the land of baobabs, fever trees, The Table Mountain Aerial Cableway third largest national reserve, Addo Elephant and Grey Rhebok amongst other wildlife. include Short nature trails varying from 1 hour knob thorns, marula and mopane trees under- provides access to the top of Table National Park lies in the malaria-free Sundays Guests in this Western Cape Nature Mountain, while a funicular carries visitors River valley in the Eastern Cape, just over an Reserve in South Africa can enjoy outdoor to Cape Point. Restaurants and curio shops hour’s drive from Port Elizabeth. activities and picturesque views of the operate at Rhodes Memorial, Kirstenbosch, Addo is home to one of the densest mountain or take a short drive into Cape Point and on Table Mountain. Scenic African Elephant populations on earth, rough- . This historic Overberg town has drives can be taken along Boyes Drive, ly 550 of them. They once roamed the entire all modern amenities, a great choice of Chapman’s Peak Drive, Victoria Road, the continent. By 1979 there were only 1.3 million restaurants and there are interesting things Ou Kaapse Weg, from Simon’s Town to African elephants left, and in 1989 they were to do in the vicinity. Bontebok National Park Smitswinkel Bay, from Kommetjie to added to the international list of the most offers accommodation such as Guest houses Scarborough and to Cape Point. endangered species, with only sixteen left in and country lodges, the activates include, Popular picnic spots are located at the the Greater Addo area. Game viewing, birding, swimming, canoeing, Signal Hill lookout, The Glen, Van Riebeeck More recently the Addo Elephant National fishing and hiking. Park, Newlands Forest, Constantia Nek, Park has expanded to become the only park Oudekraal, Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens, in the world to lay claim to Africa’s ‘Big 7’ - Tokai, Soetwater, Buffels Bay, Bordjiesrif, elephant, rhino, lion, buffalo, leopard, southern One feels a humbling sense of awe when Miller’s Point and Perdekloof. Southern right whale and great white shark. Hiking trails you’re standing on top of towering dolerite Right Whales entertain thousands of specta- in the reserve include the Alexandria Hiking columns overlooking the vast Karoo plains. tors each year as they come close to shore trail - a 2-day, 36km trail in the Woody Cape Particularly so when you find yourself at eye to mate and calve. Sightings peak in part of the park, Tree Dassie Trail - a 7km day level with a magnificent soaring black eagle September, and there are a number of view hike, Zuurberg Mountain Trails that range and pause to contemplate the fact that these sites along the scenic coastline and Boulders from 2.4km to 8km in length, and the PPC pillars, rising to heights of up to 120 meters, to 5 hours, game viewing at leisure in own neath which lurk the Big Five, the Little Five Beach is home to a growing colony of the Discovery Trail through the Albany thicket were formed by volcanic and erosive forces vehicles, guided excursions, night drives, (buffalo weaver, elephant shrew, leopard tor- African penguin. ecosystem. over a period of 200 million years. video shows and lectures during school holi- toise, ant lion and rhino beetle), the birding This is the breathtaking Valley of day periods. Activities also include environ- Big Six (ground hornbill, kori bustard, lappet- Tankwa Desolation in the Camdeboo National Park, mental education courses, horse-riding during faced vulture, martial eagle, pel’s fishing owl The 80,000 hectare Tankwa Karoo Lying in what is known as the Agulhas which virtually surrounds the town of Graaff- peak periods and swimming in the natural and saddle-bill stork) and more species of National Park was proclaimed in 1986. After Plain at the southernmost tip of Africa is the Reinet. Also known as the Cathedral of the pool at Glen Reenen. mammals than any other African Game the occasional shower, the park erupts into a Agulhas National Park, just 45 kilometers Mountains, the site was declared a national Reserve. dazzling display of flowering succulents. With from the popular village of Gansbaai. This monument of geological and scenic signifi- Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park The Kruger Park is a self-drive destina- an average rainfall of 80mm a year, even a might be the meeting place of the Atlantic and cance in 1935. The road to the top of the val- Africa’s first formally declared trans-bor- tion, although there are guided tour opera- scant shower is reason for celebration. Only Indian Oceans, but the Agulhas National ley was tarred in 1978 and today provides der conservation area, the Kgalagadi tors, with an excellent infrastructure that two Southern African regions have been park’s focus is on some of the most splendid tourists with easy access to the viewpoints Transfrontier Park, on the border of South includes picnic sites, rest camps, waterholes bestowed the honour of designation as examples of lowland fynbos and lowland fyn- with their panoramic views of the landscape Africa and Botswana, was officially launched and hides. The Kruger Park is a remarkable Biodiversity Hotspots by Conservation bos on limestone soils - considered endan- of the Camdeboo and further afield. on May 12, 2000 by then South African reserve offering an incredible experience of International. One is the Cape Floral gered and restricted largely to the southern The park is filled with activities for nature President Thabo Mbeki and Botswana Africa at its most wild. (See Kruger Park Kingdom, and the other the . Overberg. lovers and adventure seekers. This includes President Festus Mogae. Tours for overnight and package tours lasting For those whose image of the south-western Cape lion and hippo are amongst the ani- the picnic and braai sites, 4x4 trails, short and The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is situat- from 1 night and 2 days to weeks long safaris Karoo is a shimmering wasteland to be mals to be re-established in this former long hiking trails, mountain biking, game ed approximately 250 km from Upington in or see Kruger Park Day Tours for single day endured as briefly as possible en route to ‘Serengeti of the Western Cape’. Other high- viewing, birding and watersports and fishing the far Northern Cape and 904 km from guided trips into Kruger National Park). Cape Town or Johannesburg, this may come lights of a visit to the Agulhas National Park which are done at Nqweba Dam. Johannesburg. The absence of man-made as a surprise. include the cairn that marks the southern- barriers (except to the west and south of the Though the remarkable endemism and most tip of Africa, the lighthouse at Cape Garden Route National Park Park) has provided a conservation area large Namaqualand not only has some of the diversity of the Succulent Karoo flora (at its Agulhas, the graveyard of ships that lie just off The Garden Route National Parks extents enough to maintain examples of two ecologi- richest bulb flora of any arid region in the most spectacular from August to October) is the coast once known as ‘the Cape of Storms’, an impressive 121,000 hectares and includes cal processes that were once widespread in world, but more than a 1,000 of its approxi- its most renowned aspect, the Karoo as a where some 250 ships have been wrecked the existing Wilderness and Tsitsikamma the savannahs and of Africa. The mate 3,500 plant species are not found any- whole naturally has a great deal to offer the over time, and whale watching in season. national parks, the Knysna Lakes area and large scale migratory movements of wild where else on Earth. Whilst for most of the birder. The Park protects one of the most roughly 52,000 hectares of newly pro- ungulates; and predation by large mammalian year Namaqualand is a semi-desert, July to starkly beautiful tracts of the Tankwa Karoo Augrabies Falls National Park claimed land. It is no surprise to learn that carnivores. It is especially renowned for pred- September sees a burst of colour after the and is well worth visiting for several reasons, One of the most popular tourist destina- the Garden Route is one of the most impor- ator watching and for the seasonal movement rains resulting in literally millions of flowers among them its koppie-studded, moon-like tions in South Africa’s Northern Cape tant conservation areas in the country in of large herbivores such as blue wildebeest, that literally transform the landscape of the landscape, diversity of succulent plants, fine Province, the Augrabies Falls are a 145m terms of biodiversity and that its sheer beau- springbok, eland and red hartebeest. Namaqua National Park into a show that eas- Karoo birding and, perhaps most notably for waterfall and is a magnificent sight to behold. ty attracts a major number of tourists, both Ground Squirrel and Suricate (Meerkat) ily rivals the natural wonders on Earth. hardened birders, above-average chance of The Augrabies Falls waterfall and the adjoin- local and from overseas. are two more of the park’s more prominent Namaqualand is an area of striking con- finding the enigmatic Burchell’s Courser. ing ravine are considered one of the most spectacular sights in South Africa and is a highly recommended destination. Located in an arid-area, the reserve offers spectacular scenery and is one of the best locations in South Africa to view Klipspringer and Dassies (Rock Hyrax). The nature reserve is not only about the waterfall and visitors should take time to explore the surrounding area as well. The Klipspringer Hiking trail is a 3 day, 2 night hiking trail that leads one further into the reserve, providing an excellent overview of the landscape. There are a number of observation points near to the waterfall from which visitors can enjoy spectacular views of the waterfall. The game viewing road network allows visitors to explore the reserve and enjoy sightings of the 48 different mammal species found here, including Springbok, Red Hartebeest, Greater Kudu and Giraffe. Steenbok are also common along the open sand-flats and Klipspringer are regularly seen in the rocky areas.