Goegap Nature Reserve

The Goegap Nature Reserve is a protected wildlife area in Northern Cape province, lying 15 km east of Springbok in South Africa.

After a number of expansions, the current size of this nature reserve is now a total of 16,000 hectares. The reserve is a part of Namaqualand and on average receive around 150 mm of rainfall annually. Temperatures in these parts , especially at certain times of the year, can be rather extreme. During the winter there can be frosts when the temperature falls below zero, while in the summer temperatures can soar to above 40° C.

The district is hilly (the highest mountain is Carolusberg which measures 1,345 meter above sea level) with sandy soils. The main attraction here is the desert landscape itself - which often bursts into bloom in the spring – as long as there was enough rain during the winter – transforming the area into a glorious sea of flowers. The main flowering period is in August and September. Incredibly, to date, over 600 different plant species have been recorded in this district.

It is possible to see many interesting animals here, including species such as oryx, klipspringer, duikers and Hartmann’s mountain zebra. There are also many other smaller species of mammal, 100 species of birds, including ostriches, 26 species of reptile and 3 species of amphibians.

There are some roads suitable for cars, while others call for a 4x4. The whole area has many view points and parking places all along the different routes it is possible to take trough the Goegap Nature Reserve. Typically you will find a view point/parking place around every 4-12 kilometers along the route.