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CAPE PRIVATE RESERVES

CAPE PENINSULA | CEDARBERG WILDERNESS

CAPE PENINSULA NATIONAL PARK

Several reserves have been incorporated under the SA National Parks umbrella and now the Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, Table Mountain Nature Reserve and Silvermine Nature Reserve, plus the Boulders beach penguin colony, are cohesively administered.

The Cape Peninsula is the thin finger of land in the south-western most corner of Africa, with the city of Cape Town at its head. As you travel south towards Cape Point, the land gets narrower until it disappears into the ocean, with nothing beyond except Antarctica.

The Cape Peninsula National Park is one of South Africa's newest creations, only proclaimed in its final entirety in 1998. It is a happy ending to the efforts made to conserve the rich natural and cultural history of this most famous of all cape's.

Recognised globally for its extraordinarily rich, diverse and unique flora, this singular peninsula - with the rugged Table Mountain range meandering down the centre and soft white sandy beaches, rocky coves and sand flats - is a truly remarkable recreational asset. Nowhere else in the world does an area of such spectacular beauty and such rich bio-diversity exist almost entirely within a metropolitan area - the thriving and cosmopolitan city of Cape Town. Numerous scenic drives are so impressive they require an unhurried approach, to appreciate their stunning beauty.
The cold Atlantic Ocean (46°- 59°F (8°-15°C), runs down the western edge of the peninsula, while the warmer waters of False Bay (55°- 68°F (13°-20°c), caress the eastern shores. These bodies of water are both visible in some places along the route, and it is often said that the Atlantic finally meets the Indian Ocean at Cape Point. This is not strictly true as satellite images show that the warm and cold currents mingle off Africa's southernmost point at Cape Agalhus, 106 miles (170km) south east of Cape Town. However, there are days when a distinctive line is visible in the ocean at Cape Point, but the sea know no boundaries and call them what you will, these waters will become the great Southern Ocean.

The infamous Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope - two separate places in very close proximity - were rounded by the fearless Portuguese navigator, Bartholomew Dias in 1488. Dias returned in 1500 to double the cape again, but this time a violent storm sank his ship in the deep waters of the Cape. Cape Point, also known as ‘Cape of Storms,’ has claimed over 20 shipwrecks and it is said that the phantom ship ‘The Flying Dutchman’, still appears in the mist on occasions. In 1578 Sir Francis Drake described it as “The fairest cape in the whole circumference of the globe.”

FLORA

The Cape's flora is quite unique, containing the world's Sixth Floral Kingdom, named Fynbos. This encompasses Proteas, Ericas, Reeds and Bulbous plants, which flourish in the nutrient poor soils. Under such conditions, an astonishing diversity of 2,256 species has emerged - more than the whole of Great Britain (which supports 1,500 species), in an area 5,000 times smaller!

The Cape contains 526 of the world's 760 erica species and 96 out of the world's 160 types of gladiolus, and Table Mountain alone supports 1,470 species.

ANIMALS & BIRDS

In the pristine Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve, keep your eyes open for beautiful brown and white bontebok antelopes, dawdling tortoises and dashing ostriches and be on the lookout for cheeky baboons in the parking lot.
In the oceans around the Cape, Southern Right whales entertain thousands of spectators each year when they come so close to shore that you can smell their fishy breath. These wonderful gentle giants of the sea come to the Cape peninsula from August to October to mate and calve. Sightings peak in September, and there are a number of well-placed viewpoints along the coastline.
Boulders Beach is home to a growing colony of the vulnerable African penguins, which can easily be viewed at close quarters from a wheelchair-friendly boardwalk. They were commonly called 'Jackass' penguins, and when you hear a noise like a donkey being strangled, you will understand why.

The birdlife along the peninsula is prolific with iridescent sunbirds, long-tailed Cape sugarbirds, rare black oystercatchers, gulls and arctic terns, plus raptors like eagles, kestrels, kites and buzzards.

SEASONS
Cape Town enjoys a Mediterranean climate with hot dry summers and mild wet winters and a distinctive spring and autumn. However, with nothing but water all around, the weather can be a little unpredictable and the wind can whip itself into a fury.
Rainy Season: the north-westerly wind brings rain to the peninsula usually between May and September. The coldest winter months are June, July and August with temperatures ranging from 45°-70°F (7°-20°C). Days are often clear and bright but the wind can be very chilly and snow sometimes falls on nearby mountains.
Dry Season: By October the rain has usually stopped and summer kicks in fast with the days getting hotter until the temperatures reach a peak in December, January and February at around 60°-80°F (15°-27°C). The summer southeaster can make days on False Bay's beaches very unpleasant, so when this 'Cape Doctor' is blowing, choose the more sheltered Atlantic beaches nearer Cape Town.
Spring: the spring flowers of the Western Cape are a wonderful spectacle and emerge in force in about August or September when heat and moisture encourage them to bloom.

There is no accommodation within the parks.
The Cape Peninsula National Park covers 10,928 acres (7,750 hectare).

CAPE PENINSULA NATIONAL PARK SPECIALITIES

· A trip up Table Mountain by cable car or on foot
· Spectacular landscapes and scenic drives
· Best land-based whale watching in the world
· Swimming with penguins at Boulders Beach
· Spring and summer flowers
· Fynbos - sixth floral kingdom
· Numerous sandy beaches and coves
· Famous Cape Point and Cape of Good Hope
· Bonteboks and baboons

FACTS
This is a non-malarial area.
The separate parks that comprise the whole are open to the public on payment of an entrance fee.

CEDERBERG WILDERNESS AREA

The Cederberg is a massive rock wilderness whose giant sandstone boulders have been sculpted by wind and rain into bizarre and artistic shapes. In places the earth is a rusty red and the rocks are every shade of orange, cream, yellow and brown. The towering bastions of rocks piled precariously one upon the other are the perfect setting for a wild west movie and you almost expect Red Indians to be silhouetted along the ridge.

The Cederberg is hot and dry but comes to life with winter rains that encourages an abundance of spring flowers.

Although this extraordinary mountain range is only a three-hour drive north of Cape Town, it feels very far from civilisation. Many people find solace in this wilderness and spiritual retreats are often facilitated in these mountains. Its infinite space and solitude seems to inspire inner peace and tranquillity.

The area is abundant in the oldest type of human art form- rock paintings and engravings - many of which have never been discovered. It is quite possible when hiking in the area, to find Bushmen paintings in caves and on overhangs, which have remained unseen for thousands of years. The paintings show handprints, hunting and sleeping figures, and animals such as elephants that used to roam the area. It is presumed that Shamans, in a trance-like state, were the artists.

The Cederberg has areas of grasslands and rocky bushland and many rivers coursing through - some only flow after winter rains, while others are perennial. On the Bushmans Kloof estate in the northern Cederberg, are several dams which bring relief to grazing animals during the intense summer heat.

In a deep valley within the Cederberg mountains is a village that time has almost forgotten. Wuppertal is a picture postcard whitewashed village of thatched cottages, which was a Rhenish Mission Station. It is amazing to think that as far back as 1830, missionaries found this isolated spot and taught their flock millinery skills, shoemaking, joinery and thatching. This little place is now renowned for its hand-made ‘velskoene’ soft leather shoes, and tannin-free herbal Rooibos (red bush) tea, which comes from a reed grown around here.

ANIMALS & BIRDS
Leopards and caracals (the African version of a lynx), live here and generally prey on small mammals like dassies (rock hyrax - rather like very large guinea pigs). But leopards are quite capable of hunting small antelopes such as springbok, klipspringer and reedbuck. Some larger antelopes including bontebok, eland and oryx are found in parts of the Cederberg, as are rare mountain zebra who graze on the bushy hillsides and areas of open grasslands. Meerkats and mongooses live in sociable groups and eat scorpions, beetles and other small creatures.
Raptors cruise the sky and small twittering LBJ's (little brown jobs) inhabit the scrubland.

SEASONS

Summer: November to March is summer in the Cederberg which is hot and dry with intense mid-summer heat over 86°F (30°C), which is increased by heat radiation from the rocks.
Winter: Rain usually falls between May and September but the coldest winter months are June, July and August with temperatures dropping to freezing point with snow not uncommon on higher ground. Days are often clear and bright but the wind can be icy.
Spring: Spring flowers emerge in force usually in August and often last until early September - but it all depends on the rain and the sun!

CEDERBERG WILDERNESS SPECIALITIES
· Spectacular weathered rock formations
· Bushman rock art
· Hiking and climbing
· Spiritual renewal
· Space and solitude

FACTS

This is not a malarial area.