Throwback Thursday: 31 December 2020

Good day everyone,

This is the last Throwback Thursday for 2020…. Looking forward to sharing many more posts with you in 2021.

We continue our Tour De Sanparks and we are revisiting 10 September 2013. Today we enter the Goegap Nature Reserve just outside of Springbok. Over next few posts we will travel through the park.

The Goegap Nature Reserve is a semi-desert nature reserve in Northern Cape, South Africa, 8 km (5.0 mi) east of Springbok. Livestock used to graze on the land and was proclaimed in 1966 as a reserve. In 1969 it was fenced in and, wildlife was introduced shortly afterward. Originally known as the Hester Malan Nature Reserve.

After several extensions, the park currently covers an area of 150 km2 (58 sq mi). The name Goegap comes from the Khoekhoe word for “watering hole.” Goegap is part of the Succulent Karoo transitioning into the Namaqualand Broken Veld, with an average rainfall of 150 mm (5.9 in) per anum. The temperatures are extreme, including frost in the winter and temperatures over 40 °C (104 °F) in the summer.

The area includes mountains, the highest is Carolusberg at 1,345 m (4,413 ft), and wide, sandy plains. The main attraction is the desert bloom covering the sand with flowers in the spring provided enough winter rain. August and September are the most popular months to visit. Approximately 600 plant species, 45 mammal species, 94 types of birds including, the Ostrich, and Megafauna such as oryx, klipspringer, duiker, and Hartmann’s mountain zebras call the park home. Other wildlife includes smaller mammals, 26 reptile species, and 3 amphibian species.

There are roads for sedan cars and tracks for 4×4 in the reserve. The Hester Malan Wild Flower Garden has an information library with valuable resources on the succulent plants of the Namaqualand, to accompany the planted, labeled examples of those succulents. Trails ranging in length from four to twelve km start from the parking lot.