South African National Parks is home to a diverse, significant and rich cultural heritage. All of our national parks contain evidence of human interaction with the natural landscape over centuries.
Shell middens occur throughout the Alexandria dune field. These shell middens are excellent samples of human interaction with the environment. They provide important insight into the past dune environment. The middens in the Alexandria dune field are categorised into three groups, from 5000, 4000 and 2000 years in age.
The middens provide evidence of human exploitation of the coastline for their food and survival.
The Cape Agulhas Lighthouse was completed in 1848 and the lamp was lit in 1849. The building was declared a Heritage site in 1973. Over the years the building underwent two major restoration interventions, the latest being in 2012/13.
In 2016 the Lighthouse was recognized as an International Historic Civil Engineering Landmark.
The Khoi people called the Augrabies Falls 'Aukoerebis', the place of the Great Noise, referring to the Orange River thundering its way downwards for 56 metres in a spectacular waterfall. The falls are sacred to the Khoi who believe that a giant snake lives at the bottom of the falls. It is believed to be a powerful mythic creature with mesmeric eyes, shimmering scales and a huge flawless diamond on its head for a crown....
Two Hessequa captains and their followers lived in the area where the Bontebok National Park is now situated. The Park’s rest camp is named after the first of them, a remarkable female captain by the name of Lang Elsie. Between 1734 and 1800 she lived with her followers at the southern part of the Park, grazing their stock all the way to the Buffeljags River.
Visitors to the park can still see the open werf area where Lang Elsie’s kraal of woven reed huts was situated. Next to this open space are the ruins of a small stone house where Captain Lang Elsie lived, according to the author of Geskiedkundige Swellendam (Tomlinson, 1934).
The Millwood Museum includes the history of the emergence of the mining town in the 19th century and depicts the heydays of gold prospecting. The guided mine tour allows visitors to learn about the 19th-century gold rush. The last remaining building of a once thriving village currently houses a coffee shop. The gold rush left many prospectors disappointed and broke as it ended up proving to be a false gold rush.
Big rocks overhang along the eastern escarpment, along the border of the old Golden Gate Highlands National Park and QwaQwa National Park. The site consists of a large over-hang with a stone wall all along the edge of the cave. The paintings on the main wall are of unknown origin. The paintings are of a blue/ black coloration but not made from charcoal. A stone of a type not found in the park was found at the site. The stone is black in color and heavy for its size with a very fine grain. When rubbed against another rock and then wetted, the “dust” from the black stone becomes the same color as those of the paintings. The remains of stone tools and a kraal also indicates that the cave have been used by humans for a long time.
The “Ou Skuur”, or old shed, on Stolzhoek South farm, is a traditional structure built of Karoo stone and a thatched roof. Most thatched roofs in the hinterland were replaced because of the danger of fire caused by lightning. Also, corrugated iron roof sheets became available. These were easier to use in construction, they required less maintenance and so was cheaper roofing solution. Traditionally on old South African farms, such large sheds were built to house wagons and farm implements and to store any items of food or household equipment not currently in use.
Kgalagadi’s Auchterlonie museum consists of a restored stone-and-thatch cottage. The little museum has documents describing the pastoral lifestyle of the people who used to live here in the old days. The people that lived at Auchterlonie and similar cottages all along the riverbed towards what is now Mata-Mata on the border with Namibia, were placed here to look after the boreholes sunk along the Auob River during World War II. The area was proclaimed a national park in 1931 and the existing farmers relocated along the Kuruman River, abandoning their homes along the Auob River. SANParks restored Auchterlonie in 2004. Near the museum is a picnic area where people can get out of their cars.
Masorini hill is situated 11 km from the Phalaborwa Gate, en route to Letaba Rest Camp. During the 19th century, a group of smelters, smiths and their families lived on this hill. This site was inhabited by the Sotho-speaking BaPhalaborwa people, who developed an advanced and sophisticated industry of mining, smelting iron ore and trading in these iron products. The presence of huts, glass beads, grindstones and middens on site is indicative of everyday household activities.
Mapungubwe Hill is the first evidence in southern Africa of the development of class structured society or state with the rise of a royal class. This royal class stayed on top of the Hill while the commoners stayed below. The development of the royal class could have been through accumulation of wealth in the hands of a few, most likely from trade. The control of trade and resulting unequal distribution of wealth allowed a rapid increase in political power for a few.
The central position of Mapungubwe hill, near the confluence of Limpopo and Shashe rivers, made it easily accessible to traders. The goods were taken to the monsoon-based east African coast reaching as far as China. The Mapungubwe state commanded an estimated area of 30 000 square kilometres stretching out 50km on both sides of the Limpopo-Shashe confluence. 5000 people are believed to have lived at and around Mapungubwe.
It is believed that the chessboard was created during the early 1900s by British soldiers. They created the chessboard or draught board on a rock on top of Saltpeterskop, a 1 514m high hill. Also on the rock with chessboard are names and regiments of the British soldiers. The area was used as a lookout point during the Anglo Boer war.
The story goes that the soldiers played chess with their mates in an old fort in Cradock. The moves were transmitted by means of a mirror which had the official purpose of communicating warning signals.
The circular prefabricated cast-iron structure at Cape Point located at 262m above sea level operated from 1960 until 1919. The lighthouse had one flash every 12 seconds, with a 32-nautical-mile range. The lighthouse was often covered in cloud thus becoming invisible to sailors and after the sinking of the SS Lusitania, it was decided to build a new light house.
Locals believe that God pressed a hand down on this rock face in the Richtersveld, leaving his handprint on the mountains. The Hand of God is situated about 15 km into the Richtersveld National Park and a mere 150 metres from the main road. The boulder with the impression of a huge hand can be seen from the road. It is a rather amazing and eerie sight and definitely worth the stop.