Woody Cape

Introduction

Listen for the haunting calls of the rare tree dassie by night and awake to a chorus of birds in flitting through the forest canopy.

The Alexandria dune field is considered to be the best example in South Africa of bare coastal dune field, often referred to as a dune sea. It offers a unique and extraordinary wilderness resource which only a few other landscapes in South Africa provide. It is the largest and least degraded coastal dune field in the southern hemisphere. The dune field imparts a unique experience of solitude, infinity and spatial freedom.

The Alexandria dune field has a surface area of about 15 800ha, stretching over 80km in length, with a width of up to 5km in places. The dune system is extremely dynamic with sand being continually blown in, building up and traversing inland. Some 375 000 cubic tons of sand is deposited into the dune fields each year.

The Langebos huts are available to hikers on the two-day Alexandria Hiking Trail, as well as those simply wanting an overnight stay in the forest. The 7km Dassie Day Trail begins at the huts and the breathtaking Woody Cape coastline of the Park is a short drive and walk away.

5 things to seek

• Trumpeter hornbill
• Ground hornbill
• Knysna turaco
• Tree dassie
• Bushbuck

Contact Matyholweni

• Tel: +27 (0) 41 4680916/8
  Fax: +27 (0) 41 4680949
  Email: matyholweni@sanparks.org

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