In the words of poet Don Maclennan, " winter sunlight, clean as a cut orange" shines down on the Karoo landscape and the exuberant display of winter flowers that have temporarily transformed the face of the Tankwa Karoo National Park.
The 85 000 hectare park protects one of the most starkly beautiful tracts of the Tankwa Karoo. It teems with life and character, from the dramatic landscapes, wide silences, eccentric richness of plant diversity, rare and prolific birdlife and the sense that time was born here, and with time, life.
With rainfall isohyets of 30-400mm per year the western section of the Tankwa Karoo National Park can be described as a true desert park. Even so, after the occasional shower, the park erupts into a dazzling display of flowers of varying species. With an average rainfall of 80mm a year, even a scant shower has dramatic results.
So far this year the park has received approximately 73mm of rainfall at the Roodewerf weather station, between mid April and June. This explains the uncommonly early flowering this year, which is expected to last until early August, slightly longer depending on further rainfall.
The Tankwa Karoo National Park has a unique environment gradient from the top of the Roggeveld escarpment in the east to the Cedarberge in the west. The park protects tracts of what is commonly referred to as the Succulent Karoo, one of only 25 Biodiversity Hotspots in the world.
Biodiversity Hotspots are regions that harbour a great diversity of endemic species and, at the same time, have been significantly impacted and altered by human activities. To qualify as a hotspot, a region must support 1,500 endemic plant species, 0.5 percent of the global total.
The existing primary vegetation is used to assess the human impact in a region. To qualify as a hotspot, a region must have lost more than 70 percent of its original habitat. Plants have been used as qualifiers because they are the basis for diversity in other taxonomic groups and are well-known to researchers. As with the Succulent Karoo, diversity of endemic vertebrates in hotspot regions is also extraordinarily high. The 25 Biodiversity Hotspots contain 44 percent of all plant species and 35 percent of all terrestrial vertebrate species in only 1.4 percent of the planet's land area.
The Succulent Karoo is widely recognized as hosting the world’s richest succulent flora, as well as high reptile and invertebrate diversity. Compared to other hotspots, the vegetation remains relatively intact, assisted by low population figures and the fact that 90% of the hotspot is used for natural grazing. However, only 30,000 square kilometers of the original vegetation remains in a relatively pristine state.
While the Tankwa Karoo National Park protects this important migrating corridor for succulent plants, it is also the most southerly explored environment where the Black Rhino has previously been seen in its natural habitat and the most southerly turning point of the migrating routes for antelope such as the Springbuck.
The park is home to a wealth of wildlife too, ranging from the Black-backed jackal, the Cape golden mole, the Yellow mongoose, the African wildcat, the Caracal, the Small-spotted genet, the Porcupine, Kudu, Duiker, Grey rhebok, Aardvark and more, as well as various bird and reptile species. Small groups of Gemsbok, Springbuck, Red hartebeest and Cape mountain zebra have also been reintroduced to the park.
For information on visiting the park, please contact Letsie Coetzee, 027 341 1927
