Golden Gate National Park

The Golden Gate Highlands National Park has a diverse history. Numerous people populated this area long before it was bought by the government and declared a National Park in 1963. Originally, the Bushmen or San hunter-gatherers occupied this land, which teemed with wildlife. They left signs of their existence via a vast array of rock paintings and stone tools in the National Park. High-detail paintings, mostly of eland, and much younger low-detail paintings of farmers on horseback, may be observed on the smooth rock faces. After occupying this area for thousands of years, the Bushman moved away in the early 1800s.

Voortrekkers, under Piet Retief's leadership, resided in the area for six days from the 23rd of September 1837. After Retief permitted his men to hunt game, his men returned with nine wagons full of African wild meat. It is a testament to the great natural abundance that occurred here. Multiple skirmishes happened in the area now Golden Gate, mostly between the Basotho under the leadership of Moshesh and the Boers of the Orange Free State, which became an independent republic in 1853.

The Golden Gate Highlands National Park is not your typical safari area. Instead of introducing any member of the Big Five, the park board opted to reintroduce vulnerable species like the sungazer lizard and water mongoose. You will find the threatened oribi among the many species of antelope in the Park. One might easily spot this rare creature on the 'Oribi Loop.' Other plains game species include black wildebeest, eland, blesbok, red hartebeest, mountain reedbuck and springbok. The dazzling Burchell's zebra might give you a perfect photo opportunity against the epic backdrops. There are no large predators that occur naturally, making this an ideal environment for hiking.

There is a good chance of spotting the very cunning black-backed jackal, and if you are fortunate, you might sneak a glance at the elusive caracal. This reserve also provides excellent birding. One of the key features is the 'vulture restaurant' where carcasses are dumped to feed Cape and bearded vultures. More than 210 bird species have been documented. The Park hosts many raptors, ranging from eagles to buzzards and kestrels. The bald ibis is a sought-after species, and there are also a wide variety of small birds like cisticolas and sunbirds. Seven snake species occur, including the highly venomous puff adder, mountain adder, and rinkhals.

Golden Gate is known for its terrain's main features: the geological variances that have created the famous cliff formations over millions of years and the distending grasslands that seem to climb the mountains. The famous cliffs are distinguished by their red, yellow, and dark basalt layers and are exceptionally brilliant as the sun sets. The variety of colors are accentuated by the strange contours of the rock formations caused by centuries of erosion in the form of rivers and streams. The layers were formed millions of years ago, and much of the area's history and previous terrain types can be interpreted by examining them.

The Park is also known as South Africa's only grassland national park, with over 60 species of grasses to be found. The Highland-Sourveld and the Themeda-Festuca veld dominate the veld, while woodland areas are predominantly Ouhout (Oldwood) and scattered protea. The Ouhout tree, which is part of the rose family, is another one of the Park's characteristic features; its warped, flaking barks and smooth leaves are seen everywhere. The Ouhout trees also bring an immense variety of beetles; 117 species have been documented amongst the Ouhout family in the Park.