Golden Gate Highlands National Park

Less a Wildlife Park, More a Wilderness Experience

It’s sometimes said that the best things come in small packages and this little park (just 116km²) is a real gem for anyone who wants to get their boots on the trails among some of the most spellbinding mountain landscapes in Africa.

There’s some unusual wildlife too and the Blesbok Loop road gives you a chance of spotting grey rhebok, black wildebeest, eland, mountain reedbuck, zebra and oribi. This is also fantastic birding country with some varied habitats from riverine woodland, montane forest and vast expanses of grassland. There’s a vulture restaurant where you’ll see Cape vultures and, if you’re lucky, bearded vultures.

But it’s the hiking that draws visitors. An early morning hike up to Brandwag Buttress (the soaring ‘sentinel’ that gave Golden Gate its name) is achievable for any moderately fit walker. There are seven other trails in the park and, while most are accessible without a guide thanks to good signage and maps, the intrepid 28km Ribbok Trail is not to be taken lightly. The legendary Cathedral Cave Hike can only be walked with a guide and must be booked in advance.

For an insight into the region’s cultural background be sure to spend a few hours at the excellent Basotho Cultural Village, a community-run initiative on the location of what was once a traditional Basotho community. The buildings and compounds have been faithfully reconstructed and local (English speaking) guides provide a highly informative insight into Basotho history, traditions and also current lifestyle.

To go even further back into history – much, much further – join Clarens-based paleontologist Gideon Groenewald on a fossil-hunting tour where you can even walk in (although, preferably, alongside) the footsteps of early dinosaurs.