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 West Coast National Park: 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 karoo 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: fynbos, Albany thicket reserve’s Groenefontein and Vaalhoek and succulent Karoo. 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 MORRIS gamkaberg nature reserve is 33 km southwest of oudtshoorn. carbon as some forests; local workers enthusiasts can dale Don’t miss a chance to stay in one of the acclaimed ecolodges. 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 bushveld 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 LE b IT’S IN THE NAME RIM park’s sparkling waters from the bird hide overlooking Bollo- n t A Marakele lies in g noto Dam or a safari tent at the edge of tlopi Dam. MOR the Waterberg, 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 Garden Route. 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 biome 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 Camdeboo national Park, 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.