Witsand Nature Reserve
Make a booking
John Martiens
Contact number: 083 656 2117
Reception (For bookings): 083 234 7573
Email: reception@witsandkalahari.co.za
The Witsand Nature Reserve (WNR) lies at the southern tip of the southern Kalahari. It gained nature reserve status on proclamation in April 1994 and was established primarily for the conservation of components and processes associated with the dune ecosystem and the biotic communities that converge in that area. The reserve has become renowned because of the white sand surrounded by red Kalahari sand. The habitat diversity and variety of endemic plant species offer opportunities to study biological processes. The Witsand Nature Reserve also has a major source of water with a shallow water table which is visible in some parts of the reserve. Witsand Nature Reserve is situated 80 km south of Olifantshoek and 70 km south – west of Postmasburg in the Northern Cape Province. The reserve is about 3 200 ha in size of which the dunes comprise 2 000 ha (Badenhorst et al.1999). WNR is also situated 5km to the west of the Langberg mountain range which forms part of the Griqua Fold Belt.
Witsand is on the border of two different biomes; the Nama-Karoo and the Kalahari Savanna Biome. This area is classified as part of the Shrubby Kalahari Dune Bushveld. The reserve falls within the boundaries of the Griqualand West Centre of plant endemism.
The reserve is located in a summer rainfall region. This is in the form of scattered showers and thunderstorms. The wettest period is from January to April. The reserve falls within an area with an average annual rainfall between 130mm and 300mm. The Kalahari has the highest means of daily maximum temperatures in the country during January. The temperature ranges with lows from -10˚C in the winter to summer highs of 45˚C (Veldsman, 2003).
Witsand Nature Reserve is known for an acoustical phenomenon which occurs in the accumulation of whitish and light yellowish sands with a dune-like appearance. The dunes make a roaring sound when disturbed. The roaring sands (Brulsand) occur at the edge of the dunes with an average angle of 30˚ and mainly the dunes that face a southerly direction.
The dune complex of the reserve overlies two natural water basins, located in quartzite gray subwacke and conglomerate of the Matsap quartzite Formation. The Witsand basins are primarily recharged with rain water, although it is also likely that water from the ephemeral drainage lines of the western slopes of the Langberg may feed into this system. The volume of water contained in the southern-most basin has been estimated to be more than 1 211 million cubic meters.
Please find the link: Witsand Intergrated Management Plan
http://daerl.ncpg.gov.za/index.php/resource-center/strategic-documents/witsand-documents
Several sites dating from the Stone Age have been found on Witsand NR. The discovery of these sites indicates that the water supply on the reserve must have been accessible and that the area must have been inhabited periodically at least during the last 40 000 years.
There is evidence that Stone Age herders such as the Korana used the area. The stone tools found were dated within the period of 17th to 19th AD. It is also recorded that the Tswana farmers moved through the area (Veldsman 2003).
Two colonial wars were fought in the region in 1878 and 1896/97. Boer rebel troops under the command of General Kemp, in 1914, went through the area on their way to the then German South-West Africa.
Tourism facilities and activities are managed by Northern Cape Economic Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (NCEDA). These facilities and activities include:
- Chalets
- Bungalows
- Picnic sites for day visitors
- Camping (basic and luxury)
- Sand boarding
- Hiking (3.2 km)
- Bird watching
- 4x4
- Mountain biking
- Game viewing
A total of five different vegetation units (Mucina & Rutherford 2006) form the vegetation of WNR. Classification from a study done by Veldsman (2003) revealed seven different plant communities. From this, two broad vegetation categories emerged: Mesic vegetation and Pan Vegetation. The Mesic vegetation was further divided into sandy vegetation and quartzite outcrop vegetation. The sandy vegetation was again divided into light yellow brown to whitish sand and reddish sand. The light yellow brown to whitish sand category is divided into dune vegetation and sandy plains and dune edges.
Many different birds occur on Witsand, most of which are superbly adapted to live in a semi-desert environment. Sandgrouse are one of the most interesting and uniquely adapted of these desert birds. Three species of sandgrouse occur at Witsand. Burchell’s Sandgrouse (Pterocles burchelli) and Namaqua Sandgrouse (Pterocles Namaqua) are particularly numerous. The Double-banded Sandgrouse (Pterocles bicinctus) is less numerous.
 |
 |