The Cathedral of the Mountains holds a deafening silence that tells a story without saying a word. Narrating a hundred million years’ of Mother Nature's power and eternity, the experience of this park is almost otherworldly.
Hello, and welcome to the fifth episode of Know Your Nature - A newsletter released every Sunday by ReWild Africa exploring the National Parks of South Africa (and beyond). Know Your Nature aims to showcase off-the-beaten-track parts of Southern Africa, and to encourage the support of our natural heritage #PreservationBeforeRestoration.
Camdeboo National Park 🌄
Volcanic and erosive forces over a period of 200 million years creates a humbling sense of awe. This is the breathtaking Valley of Desolation in the Camdeboo National Park, which virtually surrounds the town of Graaff-Reinet. The name Camdeboo The name Camdeboo derives from the Khoikhoi language, meaning green heights. Today it is also known as the Cathedral of the Mountains. The mountain today provides panoramic views of the landscape of the Camdeboo and further afield.
Watch on to learn more.
🦓 Conservation and Camdeboo
Recently proclaimed as a National Park in 2005, Camdeboo was formed from the nucleus of the Karoo Nature Reserve. An extraordinary future may exist for this park and the wilder one it protects. The vision is to ultimately link Camdeboo National Park with Mountain Zebra National Park, protecting a huge diversity of plant and animal species. This will assist in the conservation of the endangered Cape mountain zebra.
The objective is to create a single mega-conservation area over 120-kilometres in length which includes up to 520, 000 hectares of land under conservation as a public/private partnership.
The Karoo is home to the largest variety of succulents on earth. Here you can find the richest desert floras in the world, and 40% of these species are not found anywhere else on earth. Originally recognising the urgency for conservation measures in the Karoo biome, the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) listed the Karoo Nature Reserve as a world conservation priority. A deep thank you to their efforts and foresight.
News from ReWild 🐘
ReWild heading to an African country that's the source of the Nile - can you guess the country?
It’s ReWilds first international trip this year, and we’re working on a new series to promote an sustainability through eco-entrepreneurs with SEED (an organisation that's doing incredible work throughout Africa)
Watch out for a “thats a wrap” celebratory dance on our instagram
ReWild is hiring!
We’re looking for a Business Development Specialist
If you know someone who understands ReWild’s film production standpoint (from a clients perspective), please send them to check out our careers page to apply to work at ReWild
The Climate Series is to be launched this Saturday (on the 20th of March)!
Check out Action 24 to take action
Fish For Good - a program that has taken ReWild into a deep dive of our oceanic world for the last year is wrapping on the 12 of April.
Understanding what it’ll take to improve fishing practices and restore healthy fish stocks is an immense challenge, but one that is incredibly important!
🔥 Closing
The Camdeboo National Park is filled with activities for nature lovers and adventure seekers. This includes the picnic and braai sites, 4x4 trails, short and long hiking trails, mountain biking, game viewing, birding and water-sports and fishing which are done at Nqweba Dam.
We highly recommend adding the Camdeboo National Park to your bucket list! Please consider supporting the park and / or sharing this article with a loved one #sharetheadventure
A big thank you to Drive South Africa, SAN Parks and SA Tourism for making this project a reality.
Watch on and wild regards,
Elvi the Elephant
#PreservationBeforeRestoration #LocalisLekker