Feature Destination
S
ituated just three hours’ drive from Cape
Town, the 36 000 hectare De Hoop
conservation area forms part of a World
Heritage site. The Marine Protected area,
one of the largest in Africa, extends a further
three nautical miles (5 km) out to sea. The
shoreline offers some of the best whale viewing
opportunities in the world, with 40 % of the
global Southern Right Whale population using it
as an annual breeding ground. In peak season
(June to November) between 80 to 300 whales
can be seen in the bay.
De Hoop Nature Reserve also forms part
of the world’s smallest and most threatened
plant kingdom – the Cape Floral Kingdom. The
Bredasdorp/Agulhas and Infanta area, of which
De Hoop forms a part, has an estimated 1500
of the approximately 9000 plant species found
in the Cape Floristic Region. Of these 1500
species, 108 are rare or threatened, 34 occur only
in De Hoop Nature Reserve, and 14 are recently
discovered and thus still un-described.
The reserve’s many terrestrial habitats support
a diversity of animal groups. It is home to
86 mammal species - most notably the rare
bontebok and the Cape mountain zebra, as
well as eland, grey rhebuck, baboon, yellow
mongoose, caracal and the occasional leopard.
De Hoop is famous for its variety of resident
and migratory birds, and more than 260 species
have been recorded on the reserve. Among the
260 bird species are the endemic African black
oystercatcher, the rare Damara and Caspian
terns, the vulnerable Cape griffon vulture and
Stanley’s bustard, and the globally threatened
blue crane. The De Hoop Vlei, which spreads
between 17 and 19 kilometres when full, is a
Ramsar site of international importance, where
aquatic birds such as the pelican and flamingo
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