PARK IN THE SPOTlIGHT

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Equidistant from Bloemfontein, Johannesburg and durban, Golden Gate in the middle of the country is an accessible destination for the middle of the year. By dale Morris

THE HIGH lIFE The luxurious log cabins of Highlands Mountain Retreat have breathtaking views.

TOP TO BOTTOM A bearded vulture; exploring Basotho culture; Highlands Mountain Retreat; rolling grassland; Annashoop 4x4 trail

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WINTER 2011 WILD XX

GOldEN GATE

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Equidistant from Bloemfontein, Gauteng and durban, the park is ideally located for a weekend away.

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T WAS A LOVELY SUMMER’S EVENING are commonplace as are misty mornings and it is then IN THE FREE STATE’S BEAUTIFUL the park takes on a mystical magical ambience. Walls GOLDEN GATE HIGHLANDS NATIONAL of mist and cloud roll in like slow-moving tsunamis, PARK and I was hidden amongst a jumbled engulfing entire mountains before burning off to repile of rib cages on the side of a hill. The veal clear blue skies above. The hills are as green as a dwindling light was perfect for photographgolf course at this time of year whilst waterfalls, both ing vultures; the sandstone cliffs that characterise this permanent and ephemeral, are a familiar sight. highland park were awash with sunset hues whilst the The winters are just as delightful, but the park clouds above were pink and red and orange. looks very different when the weather turns cold. A Pretty little flowers rippled in the warm breezes honey-coloured brown, the hue of dormant grasses, and a jackal, completely unaware of my presence, dominates the landscape with the exception of those gnawed away on a desiccated zebra’s hoof. No vulunpredictable, yet wonderful, times when a dusting of tures though ... snow will turn the scenery white. I was parked at Golden Gate’s bearded vulture Naturally, it’s a great park to hike in no matter what restaurant; a place where expired antelope and livethe season, and there are plenty of designated trails stock are regularly offered by park staff to the region’s (both long and short) where you can exercise the calf dwindling vulture population. Unfortunately though, muscles and appreciate the views. Most of the shorter by the time I got there, any carcasses which had been routes encompass some of the park’s most dramatic dropped off had already gone and, of course, so had and beautiful scenery. the vultures. One particularly nice trail is the 45-minute walk to I had been stationed at the park for almost a week the Cathedral Cave; a giant bowl-shaped cavern which already, exploring its many wonhas a wispy little waterfall at its ders with the help of my family. center. The trail cuts across open We had driven all over the mounplains and woody valleys before tains where road conditions entering a sheer-sided kloof which would permit and trekked on has been sculpted into smooth horses too. We had swum in idylwavy contortions by a small tricklic water holes, discovered secret ling stream. caves full of ancient paintings “Once upon a time, more than and counted innumerable herds two hundred million years ago,” I of wildebeest, zebra, blesbok and told my family as we sat next to a eland. lovely little pool, “this whole area But I hadn’t seen a vulture yet, was a huge flowing swamp.” I was and as Golden Gate is a very imreading aloud from a guide book portant stronghold for the bird, I whilst the kids splashed in the shalfelt it was important I photograph low water. one. “Keep an eye out for them,” “Rivers then laid down the redI told my wife and kids as we dish layer you can see at the base traipsed about through valleys of the cliffs,” I continued whilst and along the edges of beautiful pointing to a corresponding deescarpments. posit on the nearest mountain. The Golden Gate Highlands “Then a desert moved in followed The sandstone of Cathedral Cave was National Park is named after the by a wave of lava from some nearby weathered away over millennia, leaving this spectacular cavern. glowing quality of the sandstone volcanoes and that’s why these cliffs cliffs that dominate here. At sunresemble a slice of layer cake. set, on a clear day, the looming walls of the Maluti “Water wears down sandstone much faster than it Mountains radiate both light and warmth, looking for does the harder basalt lava layer, and this is why the all the world as if they are lit up from within. mountains in the Golden Gate National Park have a During the summer months, afternoon rainstorms characteristic overhanging quality to them.”

1. The quaint rondavels at the Basotho Cultural Village, which offers a glimpse of kraal life.

3. A moody view of the undulating grassland.

2. Black-backed jackals can be spotted hanging around the vulture restaurant.

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Walls of mist and cloud roll in like slow-moving tsunamis, engulfing entire mountains before burning off to reveal clear blue skies above. 2

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4. A hearty welcome awaits at the cultural village.

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WINTER 2011 WILD XX

Golden Gate The Brandwag outcrop is Golden Gate’s best known landmark.

The Maluti Mountains radiate both light and warmth

ROCK OF AGES The layers in the rock were formed between 300 and 180 million years ago.

looking for all the world as if they are lit up from within.

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WINTER 2011 WILD XX

Golden Gate At that, we all peered up towards the curved and sculpted roof of the cave. It looked like we were on the inside of a giant brown ostrich egg with a neat hole cracked into the top. In through this hole poured the waterfall, a delicate cascade which swirled in the wind and sent fragmented rainbows dancing through the air. “Pretty,” said Mia, my two-year-old daughter. “Yes, it is,” replied my son, “just like everything else is here.” xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxxxxx xx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx xxxxxxxxxxx

The only national park concerned with grassland, Golden Gate is a haven for herbivores.

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A park for outdoorsy family

Golden Gate Highlands National Park is a great place to bring the family, as long as you like hiking and climbing and swimming that is. Earlier in the week, my son and I went riding up into the mountains on a steed named Bushman. It was awesome, especially when we gingerly plodded along precarious trails and meandered amongst herds of eland and zebra. For the less actively inclined though, Golden Gate still has a lot to offer. It has two scenic loop drives that really do give you a good sense of the park as well as a plethora of accommodation that allow you to sit back on a stoep and enjoy the scenery without having to move a muscle. There are also a number of beautifully situated drive-in picnic sites with splendid views across majestic cliffs and mountains.

But Golden Gate is not just about pandering to the whims and needs of visitors, although it does this rather well. Conservation and local poverty alleviation are the primary purposes for the park’s existence, starting off with the very important fact that the Maluti Mountains are the source of much of Gauteng’s fresh water. It’s also the only national park in the country that is primarily concerned with grassland habitats and, as such, an important sanctuary for many of the region’s herbivores. An exploration into some of the more remote areas of the park, especially the newly opened 4x4 trail, will reward the visitor with numerous sightings of large herds of zebra, blesbok, wildebeest, springbok, eland and hartebeest. The lucky ones may even catch a glimpse of the very rare oribi, a diminutive antelope no bigger than a goat. Originally, Golden Gate was quite a small reserve, but in November 2008 the adjacent QwaQwa region was incorporated, expanding the park from 11 500 hectares to a whopping 33 000 hectares. Presently, an electrified fence of nearly a hundred kilometres is being erected around this area to stop game from wandering off onto neighbouring private lands. “The fencing job, along with other labour-intensive projects such as alien plant removal and fire manage-

It was awesome, especially when we meandered amongst herds of eland and zebra.

Explore hill and dale on horseback – you don’t even have to know how to ride.

ment, are creating a great deal of employment in an area that is generally very poor,” explained park manager Johan Taljaard. “The park also stimulates the local economy. For example, we recently spent R30-million to upgrade the Golden Gate Hotel and an additional R92million on other projects over a three-year period.” Then, of course, there is the park’s importance to the vultures. With less than a hundred breeding pairs in the whole of Southern Africa, and only around 30 in the Maluti Drakensberg region, Golden Gate is one of the last places that these birds can come to feed safely. Poisoned carcasses left out by farmers to kill jackals also kill vultures, but the meat at the vulture restaurant is guaranteed free from toxins (or additives). It’s the bearded vultures best chance for survival. And so, on my last day in the park, I again snuggled down amongst the piles of rib cages, skulls and femurs that litter the ground around the vulture restaurant and waited, camera in hand, scented handkerchief taped to my face. The aromatic remnants of a rhebok lay ahead of me. The hoof-chewing jackal was back, and smiling. Then, out from behind the mountain mist, two giant vultures sailed overhead right in front of my camera. Click, click went the shutter, and then they plunged into the long grasses and were gone. It had been a final crescendo to a marvelous symphony of wonderful walks, beautiful weather and the gorgeous glowing mountains that are Golden Gate Highlands National Park. www.wildcard.co.za

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