IT might be one of the smallest of the South African National Parks, but Bontebok, in the Bredasdorp area of the Western Cape has plenty to offer, not least its heavenly setting.
It is such a pretty park. The blue Langeberg Mountains form a postcard-perfect backdrop and the attractive camping ground and chalets are neatly arranged on the verdant banks of glassy Breede River. The park is just as lovely as you move away from the river to the less-watered sections and there is plenty to see.
A well-maintained network of game viewing roads offers a chance to spot a good selection of game including, as the park’s name suggests, some 200 bontebok. These striking but rare creatures are a joy to see. They and the much more commonly occurring blesbok are separate and distinct subspecies of the Damaliscus dorcass. Like their cousins, the different hartebeest species and the tsessebe, they are higher at the shoulder than at the rump.
Their dark, glossy, plum-coloured pelts contrast strikingly with their dazzlingly white face blazes, rumps and lower legs. Aloft, both male and female bear graceful, lyre-shaped horns.
One of the reasons for the existence of the Bontebok National Park is to preserve these stately antelope that, unlike the blesbok, have a very limited distribution. Once they came dangerously close to extinction.
By the time the park was proclaimed in 1931, there were only about 20 of these magnificent antelope still alive. Efforts to preserve them have been most successful and today there are about 200 bontebok in the park. With the healthy populations in other reserves, including the nearby De Hoop Game Reserve, their numbers have risen to about 3 000 in South Africa.
The national park also provides a safe haven for other interesting mammal species like the Cape grysbok, red hartebees, steenbok and Cape mountain zebra. One of our loveliest sightings was of a pair of Cape clawless otters playing in the river, just downstream from the camp. There is also a bird list of about 200 species.
The vegetation is interesting and varied as the reserve falls within the Cape Floral Kingdom. It is also generally low growing, which makes game viewing easier.
We spent three days in the Bontebok National Park a couple of years ago. The campsite was almost empty when we arrived but it filled up dramatically the next day, which was the start of a long weekend. Many outdoorsy families from Cape Town and other main centres poured into the camping grounds and set up their tents.
Although the camp was pretty full, most the visitors were family groups of nature lovers who were there to escape the urban rat race and to enjoy their peaceful natural surrounds.
The camping ground was pretty lively at times but the only noises were of children playing and other happy sounds and it was never rowdy. We enjoyed the lovely holiday atmosphere and even when the camp was at its fullest, our tucked-away site afforded us plenty of privacy.
Bill and I really enjoyed our stay and were not surprised that it was such a popular destination for local families. We had some lovely game drives, good birding and excellent game viewing. My favourite memory, though, is of an evening we spent at the river:
It is a beautiful warm evening and we wander down to the swimming hole near camp. The Breede is a clean, wide, inviting river and the swimming is lovely. Gradually we are joined by more and more families and soon everyone is having great fun.
Then a tour group comes down to join the swimmers. It is soon obvious that the newcomers are disabled people. They are accompanied by carers who slowly help them down the bank and into the water. For some it is quite a struggle but, oh, how they all enjoy their swim. Their laughter and joy is so infectious. They only stay a while but when they leave, everyone at the swimming hole is smiling. They have just reminded all of us how we should never take for granted life’s simple pleasures – a view of mountains, lush greenery, dappled reflections on slowly moving water – and a splash in a river at the end of a hot day.
