Rivers of Gold in Namaqualand
After the splendors of the Goegap Nature Reserve, I suggest you move on to the Skilpad section of the Namaqua National Park. Whilst the flowers don’t begin and end in this section, it is likely the most spectacular part of the park during flower season, and if you don’t have time on your side, then this is definitely the spot you don’t want to miss. The rest of the park is also spectacular, but the ‘rivers of gold’ are bold and abundant in this area.
The Namaqua National Park was formally proclaimed as a national park on 29th June 2002, for the purpose of conserving the incredibly rich diversity of succulent plants in the area. However, it all originated from the 1988 purchase of a farm which became the Skilpad Flower Reserve, after which the park was officially opened on 4th August 1999. The Namaqua National Park is still in the process of development, having grown to its current size of 141,000ha (including the coastal contract area between the Groen and Spoeg rivers) in nine years, thus expanding the park to include more succulent habitats and an important coastal section.
Culturally, the history of Namaqualand stretches back hundreds of thousands of years. It spans from ancient human presence, as evidenced by stone tools (hand axes, presumably made by humans Homo erectus, have been found in the park) and rock engravings, to the nomadic lifestyles of the San people and later European farmers. The Rooifontein site contains ancient rock engravings and other evidence of early human habitation.
The Namaqua National Park is unlike any other. Brilliant stars twinkling overhead at night, huge granite outcrops, the freezing Atlantic Ocean breaking against its shores and, in season, the flowers. With its winter rainfall, Namaqualand is home to the richest bulb flora of any arid region in the world – more than 1 000 of the estimated 3 500 plant species are found nowhere else on earth. Should you choose, it is possible to stay here. I cannot imagine anything better than waking in this environment – but one needs to book really early (likely a year in advance).
Due to the arid nature of the park, amphibians and reptiles are also well represented, with a number of endemic species – including the world’s smallest tortoise, the Namaqua Speckled Padloper. Weighing in at 95 – 160g, their petite stature and attractive appearance have made them targets for the illegal pet trade. Combine this with the habitat destruction in the area, and the challenges of low survival rates in captivity, and you will have the reasons that this little fellow is endangered.
There’s also a reasonably wide selection of mammals that have adapted to these harsh conditions. These include gemsbok, springbok, red hartebeest, klipspringer, aardvark, baboon, steenbok, duiker, porcupine, black-backed jackal and leopard. Birds found here are those typical of the dry arid western regions of the country.
We have previously written an article on Anatolian dogs, so we won’t be doing a deep dive into the subject again. It is, however, an interesting project which was located here (see article in info box). The Namaqua National Park’s history with Anatolian dogs began in 2008 with a SANParks breeding program to supply affordable guardian dogs to farmers, reducing predator conflict with wildlife and livestock. However, at the time of our visit, there were no dogs – and I believe that has been the case for some time. On asking, no definitive answers were forthcoming. When I asked AI, the answer was “The Anatolian dog project in Namaqua National Park stopped because of a lack of long-term feasibility, stemming from limited capacity to care for the dogs and difficulties in training and maintaining them within the park’s framework. Although the project initially showed promise for predator conservation, the ongoing resource demands and operational challenges proved unsustainable for park management.” So, I would surmise that this would be a great project for someone in the corporate sector to sponsor??
All-in-all, this is a superb park, which is relatively unknown in South Africa. It is definitely worth a visit – in particular, during the flower season…
Jacqui Ikin & The Cross Country Team
INFO BOX:
The Anatolian Shepherd Dog breeding project in Namaqua National Park:
https://open.uct.ac.za/server/api/core/bitstreams/47bad3e7-a2fd-441c-9a1a-3f6ee894c0bf/content
