Linksfontein Safari Lodge – Northern Cape. All decisions in life sprout from feelings one harbours within one self. It may be to relax, unwind or to plan ahead.
Linksfontein Safari Lodge – The Northern Cape is the biggest province in South Africa. Within its vastness their lies many historical heritage and undiscovered beauty.
Various fauna and flora decorates this landscape and makes each region unique its own way.
The Northern Cape was one of three provinces carved out of the Cape Province in 1994. The others being Western Cape to the south and Eastern Cape to the southeast.
It is within this all of this that Linksfontein Safari Lodge lies. We are surrounded by beauty and wonder.
Animal Species
The Northern Cape is home to varied and diverse animal species that draw South Africans and international visitors alike. Who search them out in the wide-open spaces and rocky nooks and crannies that are their homes.
In the Kgalagadi, you’ll find the black-maned lion, leopard, cheetah, African wild dog, black-backed jackal and bat-eared fox. Cats like the African wild cat. Antelope like the giraffe, eland, kudu, gemsbok, springbok to name just a few. Meerkat (surricat) and mongoose, are also found.
The African wild cat, bat-eared fox, black-footed cat, free-tailed bat, aardwolf and the small spotted genet can often be spotted in the Augrabies Falls National Park. With many antelope species, often active during the night.
The Tankwa Karoo National Park has springbok, gemsbok, red hartebeest and Cape mountain zebra, as well as many smaller creatures and reptiles.
The Namaqua National Park is home to leopard, cheetah, aardwolf, small cat species, steenbok, duiker and mongoose, as well as tortoise, lizards, scorpions, bee flies and monkey beetles. It is also home to the Brant’s whistling rat, which is responsible for the burrow systems in sandy areas that provide ideal conditions for seed germination.
Mokala National Park has many different buck species, such as the rare and valuable roan antelope, the elusive sable, tsessebe, zebra, giraffe, both black and white rhino, buffalo and warthog.
You’ll find baboons, monkeys and small mammals such as the honey badger, genet and caracal outside of park boundaries too, in more remote areas, as well as the elusive leopard.
Private reserves also have abundant game.
Bird Species
The Northern Cape is also home to many bird species. It includes raptors such as the tawny eagle, black-chested snake eagle and Verreux’s eagle. The white-backed vulture, lappet-faced vulture are the vulture types. The pale chanting goshawk, pygmy falcon and greater kestrel.
There are also many smaller birds such as sociable weavers, red-headed finches and the pied barbet.
Reptiles are also incredibly varied throughout the province. Some of those found in the Augrabies vicinity include Broadley’s flat lizard, Nile monitor, leopard tortoise, black spitting cobra and the Cape cobra.
Plant Species
There are an estimated 5 400 plant species in the Northern Cape. These occur in six large biomes. The Nama Karoo Biome, Succulent Karoo Biome, Savanna Biome, Grassland Biome, Fynbos Biome and Desert Biome.
More than 30% of the plants found in the Northern Cape are endemic and most of these occur in the Succulent Karoo along the West Coast of South Africa. Many of these plants are rare or threatens to have a very limited distribution.
The Richtersveld
The Richtersveld, at first impression, appears to be a lonely, harsh and arid lunar landscape of various shades, with little plant life. On closer inspection, however, and especially during the winter, it is full of beautiful miniature gardens of colour as the flowers display their splendour. Growing in between pebbles or in rock crevices, these highly specialised plants survive and evolve in their own niches.
A rare wonder, endemic to the Richtersveld, is the giant quiver tree (Aloe pillansii) that is restricted to small populations and is highly endangered. You will also find the halfmens (Pachypodium namaquanum) in this mountain desert, a rare species and perhaps the most intriguing of all the stem succulents.
A tree aloe that is a typical landscape feature of the Northern Cape is the kokerboom, or quiver tree (Aloe dichotoma). This tree aloe is found growing mainly on the rocky habitat of the hills along the Orange River. In places it occurs in dense “forests”, and good examples of these occur just south of Kenhardt and between Pofadder and Pella.
Necessitated by the harsh climatic conditions, the kokerboom has adapted in order to survive. Low air humidity, low soil moisture and intense sunshine levels make it necessary to absorb every available scrap of moisture. It therefore has a superficial root system enabling it to absorb moisture quickly.
Namaqualand
Namaqualand, part of the Succulent Karoo, boasts a bulb flora richer than that of any other arid region. It provides a springtime display of annual flowers that draws thousands of admirers and photographers. Some 5 000 diverse and fascinating plant species exist in this special region.
Unlike the rest of the Northern Cape, the rainfall in Namaqualand is remarkably reliable. This is the fundamental explanation for its unparalleled diversity of leaf succulents, bulbs, minute succulents and the regular displays of spring flowers. Annual plants, mostly of the daisy family, are largely responsible for the impressive fields of colour. During spring, dwarf succulent shrubland mesembs (vygies) with succulent leaves and crassulas are dominant. Bulbs are abundant.
Namaqualand is the the only desert hotspot of biodiversity. The reason being the high floral diversity. Also the fact that 50% of the species one can not find nowhere else in the world
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_Cape
experiencenortherncape.com/visitor/experiences/flora