Parks in the spotlight

Gamkaberg Nature Reserve Fill your day with flowers We ask nine parks: How green are you? Wild Card’s 80+ partner parks and reserves provide fresh water, clean air, natural splendour that refreshes the soul, and more. By Morgan Trimble

Saving DALE MORRIS DALE : Cottages from R1 342 for two people the planet SANParks aims to be carbon neutral by 2045. Step one is to quantify the carbon footprints Let the wildflower spectacle form the backdrop for your spring-time adventures. CARBON of all 19 national parks, which kicked off last year with a study on SANParks headquarters in Go hiking among the daisies, explore along a mountain-bike trail, kayak on Groenkloof, Pretoria. CEO Fundisile Mketeni said, “Measuring our carbon footprint will enable Langebaan Lagoon, whale watch from Tsaarsbank and enjoy a picnic or braai us to introduce concrete interventions such as purchasing fuel-efficient vehicles and opting ZERO for telecommuting and video conference over travel.” Greener building and renewable energy in a stunning setting. The park’s renovated farm cottages offer a cosy stay while will also be important. Already, Tankwa National Park relies solely on renewable energy, Geelbek Restaurant serves up delicious fare in a national monument. as do ranger posts in Kruger. Eight solar plants in Kruger also partially power several camps and picnic spots.

Reservations (012) 428 9111 | E-mail [email protected] | www.sanparks.org www.wildcard.co.za SPRING 2019 WILD 21 Parks in the spotlight

Spekboom Portulacaria afra

carbon sucks gamkaberg nature reserve

What you see The region excels with a special Gamkaberg Nature Reserve started out plant: spekboom. These succulents are conserving a remnant population of sponges for carbon. They use two dif- Cape mountain zebra. As one of only ferent types of photosynthesis to suck three reserves with a surviving original carbon dioxide from the air, by day or population of the equids, it has an im- night. Absorbing carbon at night helps portant genetic resource for repopulat- the plants save scarce water. Remark- ing other parks. The reserve’s mandate ably for a semi-arid landscape, spek- has since expanded to include conserv- boom thickets store as much carbon as ing the wider biodiversity of the region, equivalent areas of some forests. known as the Gamkaberg World Heri- In the past, overgrazing practically tage Site and Nature Reserve Complex. eliminated spekboom from these parts. Three global hotspots of plant diversity “Restoration has taken place on the converge here: , Albany thicket reserve’s Groenefontein and Vaalhoek and . sectors,” said Loren Pavitt of Cape­ Nature. Replanting spekboom not only What you get captures carbon at an impressive rate Gamkaberg is part of the Gouritz of around 4,2 tons a hectare a year, Cluster Biosphere Reserve, which the plants also help rain soak into incorporates private landowners in the ground, prevent soil erosion and a sustainable living landscape. These feed many animals. The rehabilitation conservation networks are crucial for programme creates jobs as well. Since the ecosystem services they provide, 2011, local workers have planted near- which include maintenance of the ly three-quarters of a million spek­ water catchment, pollination and car- boom cuttings over 270 hectares in the bon sequestration. Gamkaberg area.

Spekboom thickets store as much SWEET REPOSE Hikers and 4x4 Gamkaberg Nature Reserve is 33 km southwest of . carbon as some forests; local workers enthusiasts can Don’t miss a chance to stay in one of the acclaimed ecolodges. morris dale have planted nearly 750 000 cuttings. stay in these herder huts in 22 WILD SPRING 2019 the heart of the reserve. Parks in the spotlight

Cape vulture Gyps coprotheres

Protecting headwaters ensures the flow of quality water to surrounding landscapes.

WATER FACTORY MARAKELE National Park

What you see leads to more successful prosecutions. At the heart of the Waterberg Bio- Many view parks as places that sphere Reserve, Marakele National conserve plants and animals, and that Park offers spectacular wilderness make for a relaxing holiday. Less vis- views. It also covers a large altitudinal ible are the vital ecosystem services range from lowland Kalahari parks provide and the benefits people to mountaintop fynbos. get from these. Marakele is described as a ‘water factory’ due to its location What you get in the Waterberg. Many headwater The park is home to the largest Cape streams arise within park boundaries, vulture colony in the world, a third of including the source of the Matlabas the global population. Another vital River and several others that eventu- species protected by the park is the ally flow into the Limpopo. Waterberg cycad Encephalartos eugene- Protecting headwaters ensures the maraisii, endangered by collectors who flow of quality water to surrounding dig them up for ornamental gardens. landscapes, both to keep aquatic eco- There are only around a thousand of systems working as they should and to this Waterberg endemic left in the wild. provide people downstream with clean To stop the illegal trade in cycads, SAN- water. To safeguard the services provided Parks works with the Department of by this catchment area, park manage- Environment, Forestry and Fisheries to ment focuses on maintaining riparian microchip and take DNA samples from vegetation, fighting erosion, controlling each plant. This helps authorities iden- alien vegetation, deconstructing old tify when a plant was illegally collected dams where necessary and, of course, from the wild, deters poaching and monitoring water quality.

Marakele National Park is 14 km from Thabazimbi. Admire the IT’S IN THE NAME park’s sparkling waters from the bird hide overlooking Bollo- a n t rim b le Marakele lies in g noto Dam or a safari tent at the edge of Tlopi Dam.

the Waterberg, mor known for its bountiful supply of XXfresh WILD water. SPRING 2019 www.wildcard.co.za SPRING 2019 WILD 25 Parks in the spotlight Parks in the spotlight

Honeybush Cyclopia meyeriana

Cultivating medicinal plants protects the wild varieties Plant power from illegal harvesting. Garden R oute National Park

What you see flavours, industrial ingredients and It doesn’t get greener than the chlo- much more can be made from certain rophyll-packed forest and fynbos of types of indigenous biodiversity. Some the . From the coastline products are made from species col- to the mountaintops of the Outeni- lected whole, some are harvested from qua and Tsitsikamma ranges, Garden living organisms, and others are devel- Route National Park protects forest oped based on the DNA or biochemis- and fynbos as well as the lakes, estuar- try within organisms. ies, wetlands and rivers in between. Bioprospecting doesn’t just mean There’s even an ocean component: collecting species from the wild. It the Tsitsikamma Marine Protected often entails cultivation. This is the Area. With such habitat diversity, the idea behind two of SANParks’ socio- park protects an astonishing assort- economic development projects ment of species. based in the Garden Route National Park area: the Covie Honeybush Tea What you get Project and the Harkerville Medicinal The park is managed with a long his- Plant Nursery. Covie is a small for- tory of human habitation in mind. mer woodcutters’ village of a handful The centuries-old, giant yellowwood of households dispossessed of land trees have presided over a fascinating rights in the 1970s and ’80s. Through parade of human history from hunter- restitution, they have regained access gatherers, to settlers, woodcutters and to areas where they intend to plant gold prospectors, to modern-day tour- Cyclopia bushes to harvest and sell ists. Some controlled forms of resource honeybush tea. collection are permitted in the park The project at Harkerville was under sustainable-use principles. One started in 2013 to provide a sustainable example is the use of certain plants for source of medicinal plants after illegal traditional medicine. harvest of species such as rooiwortel While the gold prospectors are long Bulbine latifolia became problematic gone, the park supports bioprospect- inside the park. Cultivating these ing, which entails finding commercial plants will not only protect the wild markets for indigenous biological re- varieties but will provide the commu- sources. Pharmaceuticals, fragrances, nity beneficiaries of the nursery pro­ cosmetics, essential oils, foods and ject with income and skills.

The Harkerville area of Garden Route National Park lies some GREEN BOUNTY 60 km from George. Drink in the scenery on a day hike or A forest walk is mountain-bike trail and stay in the heart of the Knysna Forest rewarding of itself, MORRIS DALE at Diepwalle Camping Decks. but this is also a source of valuable plants. www.wildcard.co.za SPRING 2019 WILD 27 Parks in the spotlight

Above left: The mountain zebra is conserved in the park by the same name. buffer zone Above right: A walk in , Graaff-Reinet in the distance. Mountain Zebra and Camdeb oo National Parks

What you see disaster such as a fire, storm or disease conservation landscape is the goal for the Karoo biome just by farming sus- Mountain Zebra National Park was orig- outbreak could wreak havoc. Small the Mountain Zebra and Camdeboo tainably,” said Maryke. As members of inally proclaimed to protect a remnant parks are also susceptible to climate Protected Environment, declared by the the Protected Environment, they still group of Cape mountain zebra, of which change because species don’t have Minister of Environmental Affairs in manage their properties and continue as few as 100 individuals survived at the much room to migrate if local condi- 2016. So far 67 private landowners work their businesses, but they get access to time. With protection, the zebra thrived, tions become unsuitable. together over some 270 000 hectares to information, opportunities and assis- and the park evolved to conserve the “Everything that happens outside manage alien species, rehabilitate wet- tance on projects. As Bronwyn Botha, wider biodiversity of the region. Simi- the park has an influence inside the lands and control soil erosion, among buffer-zone coordinator for Mountain larly, while Camdeboo got its start as a park,” explained Maryke Stern, ecolo- other activities. In phase two of the Zebra and Camdeboo put it, “The scenic national monument protecting gist for a project working to protect project, the number of landowners and partnership between the Protected the Valley of Desolation, it expanded in the area around the parks. “We cannot area included are expected to double. Environment and SANParks truly lives area and scope over the years. manage them like islands.” “Most of the landowners already up to the vision, ‘conservation through Both parks encompass the transition Take alien plant control for example. play a big role in the conservation of collaboration’.” zones between three : grass- “We can pour all the money and time land, and Albany thicket, into clearing alien plants in these na- Small parks face unique challenges, so private land- all of which need greater protection. tional parks, but if you don’t clear on owners work with them to conserve the Karoo biome. properties next to the park, you will What you get never be able to control and manage the Camdeboo National Park surrounds the town of Graaff-Reinet; 2 challenge successfully,” Maryke said. Both less than 300 km , Mountain Ze- Mountain Zebra National Park is 16 km from Cradock. The drive bra and Camdeboo are among South “Plants from neighbouring properties between them takes roughly 75 minutes. Enjoy vistas of the Africa’s smallest national parks. Small will just spread to the parks again.” surrounding landscape on the Koedoeskloof and Sonnenrust parks face unique challenges. A chance Combining parks into a wider 4x4 trails in Camdeboo and Mountain Zebra respectively.

28 WILD SPRING 2019 www.wildcard.co.za SPRING 2019 WILD 29 Parks in the spotlight

The Kgalagadi is a hot spot for big cats.

first people Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

What you see come tourists at !Xaus Lodge. Not only is the Kgalagadi Transfrontier The Khomani San also have ac- Park among the world’s biggest con- cess to a section of the park called servation areas at nearly 38 000 km2, it the Khomani Cultural Landscape, was the first formally declared trans- recognised as a UNESCO World frontier park in Africa. The treaty link- Heritage Site in 2017. To reclaim ing the Kalahari Gemsbok National cultural ties to the land, educational Park in with the Gems- programmes reconnect the com- bok National Park in Botswana under- munity with the lifestyles of their lines that conserving the environment ancestors through art, traditional requires international co-operation. medicine and veld school. Cultural heritage offers tourism What you get potential and a chance to take part in The park recognises the region’s long the green economy. The Khomani San history of occupation by the original opted to create a game farm on land people of South Africa’s Kalahari. The south of the park. SANParks has as- Khomani San and Mier communities sisted by donating over 500 animals to – groups with deep cultural ties to the the Khomani San Communal Property land – were awarded ownership of the Association. Last year, donations in- Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park, south cluded 47 ostrich, 20 gemsbok, nine of the Auob River, which is contiguous Hartmann’s mountain zebra and seven with the national park. Here, they wel- red hartebeest.

Art, traditional medicine and veld school reconnect the community with the lifestyles of their ancestors. TT RAMSAY O C uk er / S Legendary tracker Toppie Kruiper Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park is 265 km from Upington. ch erm b r was a member of the Khomani San. !Xaus Lodge has a craft village and offers guided walks k ari n s led by members of the Khomani San.

30 WILD SPRING 2019 www.wildcard.co.za SPRING 2019 WILD 31 Roan antelope are rare, but efforts are afoot to boost numbers.

Mlilwane offers sanctuary to city slickers, too.

Endangered roan antelope have been reintroduced to wild African habitat at Mkhaya Game Reserve.

Endangered roan antelope have been reintroduced breed apart to wild African habitat at Mkhaya Game Reserve. mlilwane wildlife sanc tuary

What you see What you get Harsh droughts and tick-borne roan herd has grown to more than 50 The 20th century was hard on the Mlilwane’s roan breeding project seeks diseases have challenged the fledgling animals. wildlife of eSwatini (Swaziland). Con- to rebuild its own population and to roan herd. “It is still, after all these “We started free-releasing male servation efforts took off in the 1960s, restock the parks in eSwatini. Big Game years, too early to claim the success of progeny on Mkhaya Game Reserve,” when Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary Parks developed a strategy with Back to the project,” he said, “but we can say said Ted, “as a pilot exercise to test the was proclaimed on Ted Reilly’s family Africa, a non-profit organisation that the project promises to be successful strategy of spreading the population.” farm. The family nursed animal popu- reintroduces threatened species from and we are happy with the results so These bulls will surely welcome the lations back to health, allowed the zoos back to wild African habitats. far.” From the few individuals intro- next step in the project, introducing a

fields to return to nature, and kicked They brought captive roan from facili- s duced in 2004 and 2007, Mlilwane’s larger group of females. off a tradition of formal conserva- ties in the United Kingdom and Czech tion in the country. But not all animal Republic to start a breeding project in populations could come back on their Mlilwane. Mlilwane Wildlife Sanctuary is 32 km from Mbabane, eSwatini, own. Several species had been extir- Ted Reilly, CEO of Big Game Parks, th ardi ng / A lamy Af ri P i c o b er some four hours from Gauteng. For a unique Swazi experience pated, including the roan antelope, explained that what was envisioned as stay in a beehive hut. The Roan Drive is a 1.5-hour guided out- which is rare and endangered in south- a six-year project is now approaching ing to the breeding project. ale morris / R ern Africa. 20 years. D

32 WILD SPRING 2019 www.wildcard.co.za SPRING 2019 WILD 33 Parks in the spotlight

Light pollution interferes with the natural world; wilderness areas ensure the night sky stays dark.

Go camping in the to enjoy star-studded DARK SKY night skies. Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park

What you see and buildings are prohibited. Wilder- When hiking in the rugged terrain of ness areas not only maintain the true the Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg, take character and solitude of wild lands, a break to absorb the overwhelm- they ensure the night sky stays dark. ing natural beauty. The jagged peaks, On a map of light pollution in reaching to the sky, were once in- South Africa, the crescent-moon- habited by nomadic San people who shaped Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg decorated rocks with thousands of National Park cuts a dark swathe, artworks. The park earned World indicative of inky-black night skies Heritage Site status for both cultural and dazzling star views, especially of and natural values, a rare dual listing. the Milky Way. Even in the surround- ing rural landscapes of KwaZulu- What you get Natal and the Free State, the lights at Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is the night are surprisingly bright, while South African component of the Ma- nearby cities and their suburbs shine loti Drakensberg Transfrontier Park, like beacons. collaboratively managed with Lesotho. Researchers increasingly recognise Co-operation between these neigh- the ill-effects of light pollution on the bouring nations translates to protec- natural world. Artificial light inter- tion for a wide variety of species, feres with the sunlight, moonlight and including dozens of endemic plants starlight cycles that trigger species’ and animals. But biodiversity and cul- sleep patterns and behaviours such tural heritage aren’t the only aspects as mating, feeding and migration. protected here. Nearly half of the park Keeping the wilderness dark is an im- is designated as wilderness where portant green initiative for Wild Card signs of human impact such as roads parks and reserves.

Ukhahlamba-Drakensberg Park is a four- to five-hour drive Naturally dark O N places are refuges from Gauteng. The five-day Giant’s Cup Trail explores the for wildlife and southern section of the park, with nights spent in rustic huts humans alike. MAR K D U M B LE T deep in the mountains.

www.wildcard.co.za SPRING 2019 WILD 35 Parks in the spotlight

Rolling invite hikers and trail runners. graSs roots golden gate highland s National Park

What you see a SANParks socio-economic devel- Golden Gate Highlands National Park opment project underway in nearby protects an awe-inspiring landscape. Phuthaditjaba, will focus on com- Natural monuments such as the mercial propagation and processing of Brandwag Buttress and Mushroom plants including Hypoxis and Pelargo- Rock, plus kilometres of sandstone nium species. cliffs glow golden in the afternoon Like all our parks, Golden Gate light. Green hills roll between valleys provides a refuge for local wildlife. blanketed in trees. Eland, blesbok, oribi, springbok, While is South Africa’s mountain reedbuck and Burchell’s ze- second biggest biome, it’s among the bra depend on these grasslands, as do most threatened because so much has the black wildebeest bulls defending been transformed. Only about three patches of grass they hope will attract per cent of the grassland biome is for- female herds. mally protected in South Africa. To the Golden Gate is a key habitat for untrained eye, grasslands might look threatened birds such as black stork, like a uniform collection of, well, grass. bald ibis, Cape vulture and the re- gion’s most iconic avian dweller, the What you get bearded vulture. The latter two benefit South Africa’s grasslands harbour from Golden Gate’s vulture restaurant, some 3 000 plant species, only one which provides a three-pronged green in six of which are grasses. Many of benefit. The restaurant offers vultures the rest are bulbous species such as a safe supplement to dwindling meal orchids and other wild flowers. Some opportunities, gives farmers an eco- plants have important cultural or friendly option to dispose of livestock medicinal value to local communities carcasses, and teaches and entertains and wider markets. Lefika Herbarium, park visitors.

Golden Gate Highlands National Park lies 22 km from Clarens OUTDOOR GOODS and 320 km from Johannesburg. Stay at Highlands Mountain

a n t rim b le SINCE 1977 g Retreat for sublime views of rolling grasslands plus the chance mor to sleep under a sod roof.

36 WILD SPRING 2019