SANParks Visit
As SANParks Coordinator for GVI I get to
travel to various South African National parks, where we have interns (for 6
months or 12 months) on the GVI SANParks Internship Program. Interns get to
work along side the People and Conservation (P&C)supervisors at the various
parks. The P&C department is involved in educationg the local communities
surrounding the park about the history of the park, the local fauna and flora,
and why it is important to have national parks in South Africa.
On this trip I visited 3 of my countries
national parks: Mokala National Park, Augrabies Falls National Park and
Tsitsikamma National Park, which forms part of the greater Garden Route
National Park. Each one of these parks differ greatly in their special beauty and
history.
Mokala National Park is situated in the
Northern Cape, close to Kimberley (the capital city of the Northern Cape
province). I have never been to Mokala NP and I was absolutely blown away by
the amount of antelope species they have there. The first 15 min in the park
was full of gasps, and me exclaiming “OSTRICH”, “GEMSBOK”, “RED HARTEBEEST”.
All of these species, and more, could be seen on an open plain on the way to
reception. Mokala NP was awarded with “The Best National Park of 2013”, and I
was there to see the proud employees receive their special new shirts and caps.
I also saw the most beautiful and spectacular sunset EVER at Mokala NP (see
below). We also got the opportunity to visit the SANParks Game Capture centre. This was really interesting, we saw the boma's and the different transport vehicles. The Game Capture is extremely active in the Northern Cape area, and are planning on capturing 40 buffalo in Mokala National park in March.
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| Mokala National Park: Extraordinary Sunset |
Augrabies Falls National Park is also
situated in the Nothern Cape, close to the Namibian Border. Augrabies is known
for its spectacular 53m waterfall. The reason for it being so special is the
fact that it is in a semi-desert area. It is absolutely breath taking to walk
in the semi-desert park and then to see the waterfall in all its glory.
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| Augrabies Falls National Park: The Falls |
While I
was at Augrabies Falls NP, they were also running their yearly Kids In Parks
program. Kids In Parks is a great program where local schools go into the
national parks and stay over for 2 nights. During this time they learn about
the different National Parks, the fauna and flora of the parks, and they play
various educational games. It was very fun to be a part of this amazing
program, even if just for two nights.
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| Augrabies Falls National Park: A Group of Kids Getting Ready to go Home |
Tsitsikamma National Park forms part of the
three Garden Route National parks. Tsitsikamma is situated near and in the
small town of Stormsriver. What makes this park really special is the contrast
between indigenous forest on the mountain slope, and the sheer drop to the
ocean. You get the best of both worlds. If you are lucky you might even get to
see the Knysna Turaco in the forest, or the dolphins playing in the waves.
Tsitsikamma is also where the well-known “Otter trail” begins. The forests and
areas that are in the Garden Route NP have a lot of history linked to it. Tales
of elephants once roaming amongst the tall trees, people living in the depth of
the forests, and gold being discovered in the heart of it all.
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| Tsitsikamma National Park: Suspension Bridges at Stromsriver Mouth |
My trip was truly amazing, and it made me
realize what a privilege it is to live in a country with such vast differences
in natural beauty.
