the richtersveld cultural and botanical landscape - SAHRA
the richtersveld cultural and botanical landscape - SAHRA
the richtersveld cultural and botanical landscape - SAHRA
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Richtersveld Cultural <strong>and</strong> Botanical L<strong>and</strong>scape World Heritage Site Nomination 134<br />
The Conservancy also has a significant stretch of <strong>the</strong> Orange River, which is one of<br />
<strong>the</strong> most remote sections of <strong>the</strong> river along its entire course in South Africa. There<br />
are guided river rafting <strong>and</strong> kayaking trips available at several campsites along <strong>the</strong><br />
Orange River outside <strong>the</strong> Conservancy.<br />
Statistics<br />
The Nor<strong>the</strong>rn Cape Province is <strong>the</strong> largest, but least visited <strong>and</strong> most remote<br />
province in South Africa. It also receives <strong>the</strong> fewest tourists, which makes it an<br />
unspoiled treasure for <strong>the</strong> nature purest <strong>and</strong> for those wanting an au<strong>the</strong>ntic glimpse<br />
into traditional South African life <strong>and</strong> Nama culture.<br />
Visitors have for many years travelled to <strong>the</strong> Conservancy for camping <strong>and</strong><br />
exploring <strong>the</strong> Conservancy’s remote backcountry. Historically, people travelled to<br />
<strong>the</strong> Conservancy free <strong>and</strong> were able to move around without restriction or control.<br />
In 2004 <strong>the</strong> Management Committee instated Conservancy regulations <strong>and</strong> in 2005<br />
began accepting entrance <strong>and</strong> camping fees. Only recently has <strong>the</strong> Conservancy<br />
started trying to capture official statistics, but overall <strong>the</strong> sentiment is that tourism is<br />
increasing healthily, in light of recent publicity for <strong>the</strong> Conservancy in <strong>the</strong> press <strong>and</strong><br />
of <strong>the</strong> greater Namaqual<strong>and</strong>’s fantastic flower display.<br />
The Conservancy remains very seasonal with <strong>the</strong> months of September <strong>and</strong><br />
October being <strong>the</strong> most popular <strong>and</strong> those during which <strong>the</strong> flowers bloom. The<br />
summer months: January, February <strong>and</strong> March are extremely hot in <strong>the</strong><br />
Richtersveld <strong>and</strong> during this time fewer people visit <strong>the</strong> area. Record keeping for<br />
visitors in <strong>the</strong> Conservancy has only recently begun in earnest. Previously, entrance<br />
was free, but <strong>the</strong> Management Committee made <strong>the</strong> decision to keep records in<br />
order to capture visitation trends. Most of <strong>the</strong> visitation is by people passing along<br />
<strong>the</strong> boundary of <strong>the</strong> Conservancy on <strong>the</strong> main gravel road <strong>and</strong> thus not required to<br />
pay entrance fees. As a result, <strong>the</strong> numbers do not accurately reflect <strong>the</strong> visitation<br />
to <strong>the</strong> Conservancy, which is approximately 3000 people per year.