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The proverbial place that time forgot
Richtersveld World Heritage Site
The starkly beautiful Ai-Ais Richtersveld National Park.
© South African Tourism
Did you know?
Water is so scarce in the Richtersveld that small animals depend on early morning fog to survive.
In a deceptively sparse, strangely beautiful mountainous desert of the Northern Cape, lies the Richtersveld National Park, declared a South African World Heritage Site in 2007. Here live the Nama, a semi-nomadic group of people, who have followed the same seasonal migratory pattern for tens of thousands of years.
Descended from the Khoi-khoi, a long-gone indigenous people, the Nama are pastoralists. Dispossessed of their land during the apartheid years, they have fought hard to reclaim its ownership which were recently successful in their efforts. This makes the operation of this World Heritage Site distinctive, in that it is owned and managed by the Richtersveld community.
And sustainably so. States UNESCO: ‘The extensive communal grazed lands of the Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape are a testimony to land management processes which have ensured the protection of the succulent Karoo vegetation and thus demonstrates a harmonious interaction between people and nature.' The Ricthersveld flora, is valuable from a medicinal point of view and includes some oddities, like the strange ‘halfmensboom' or ‘halfperson tree' which is topped by a bunch of leaves resembling a human head.
To facilitate their annual migration cycle between stockposts in the Richtersveld National Park, the Nama simply take their houses with them, keeping alive a practice that was once widespread in Southern Africa. Their domed huts, constructed of rush matting are portable, and can be struck down for re-erection somewhere else.
More permanent communities live in former mission stations, outside the proclaimed World Heritage Site, in villages such as Lekkersing, Eksteenfontein and Kuboes.
This park adjoins a recently-formed cross-border national park that binds the country with Namibia across the Orange River. Called the |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, it contains some comfortable rest camps and offers river-based activities.
Travel tips & Planning info
Who to contact
Richtersveld National Park
Telephone: +27 27 831 1506
Email: richtersveld@sanparks.org
How to get here
From Cape Town take the N7 to Springbok (605km), then Port Nolloth and Alexander Bay. A gravel road road then takes you past Sanddrift to the Sendelingsdrift entrance to the park. Flights are available as far as Upington.
Tours to do
* The Richtersveld Circle Route is the best way to see as much of the area as possible. It runs west from the N7 to Port Nolloth, northwards along the coast, inward along the Great !Gariep and back to the N7 through the towns of Kuboes and Eksteenfontein.
* Other routes include the Crayfish, Diamond Coast, Kamieskroon Mountain, Hardeveld and Nama Routes
Get around
For the gravel roads a 4x4 vehicle must be used. Note that unleaded petrol is not available in the Richtersveld.
What will it cost
Camping site: from R130 per night for two people
Self catering chalets: R475
Accommodation in the guesthouses in the small towns sells for around R150- R350 pp per night.
Daily conservaton fee: R35 (SA); R35-R48 (SADC); R48-96 (foreign)
Length of stay
3 nights at least, although a week is recommended
What to pack
The Richtersveld is remote, so take everything you need, including medical supplies. Park restcamp facilities are self-catering. Take hiking boots, hats and sunblocks, cameras, and an umbrella in the winter.
Where to stay
There are 3 self catering restcamps in the Richtersveld National Park on the Orange River. There are guesthouses in Eksteenfontein, Lekkersing, Sanddrift and Kuboes.
