Portable braai so that you can enjoy the views from different angles. There will also be braai wood for sale.
Camping site. Rates are deemed correct at time of publication and may fluctuate depending on supply and demand. Establishments maintain their rates online and any differences should be referred to the Establishment's staff. Quotations once accepted are binding. Kleinplasie Camping site. From R per Unit. Capacity: 20 guests. During this period, he undertook numerous visits to the Akkerendam area and compiled a number of species lists for the larger Akkerendam area.
Five of the lists were extremely comprehensive and listed between 80 and species. In subsequent years, the delineation of vegetation maps at various scales upheld these divisions although nomenclature differed Mucina et al. This category was awarded a Braun Blanquet cover-abundance value of r , that is, one individual found in a plot surveyed. They therefore suggested that the best use of his quantitative data is as an index. Additionally, species lists were compiled for the current AKNR and the proposed area of expansion AKNR expansion area following the survey, and a list using the Acocks data Acocks was also assimilated.
Species presence was compared across all three lists generated. Unknown species belonging to certain genera were kept separate throughout the Acocks data set as well as in the survey data set. There is a strong probability that certain unknown species would be the same species on the various lists; however, it was decided to keep unknown species separate. Vegetation change was quantified by re-photographing four images first photographed by Pole Evans at four different locations on the slopes of the Hantam Mountain in the AKNR.
The subsequent repeat photographs were taken on September At each of the four locations, environmental data including geology and soils were noted. Major changes evident between the original Pole Evans photograph and what could be seen in the field were noted. Species composition was also recorded for each landform identified in an image.
This was done by walking through the landform and noting the cover and composition of the dominant species as well as any features in the landscape that were clearly evident in the photograph e. The high-resolution photographs were imported into Adobe Photoshop and matched exactly. This enabled a detailed visual comparison of the landscape and vegetation change over time. The abundance of different growth forms and, in some cases, individual plants could be assessed by enlarging each image and comparing the changes that had occurred over time within a particular landform. The phytosociological analysis of all the data Braun Blanquet data collected for AKNR and the proposed expansion area resulted in the identification of three broad plant communities, which were further subdivided into 14 subcommunities.
The phytosociological table and description of the vegetation units are provided in the online appendices. Only the three major plant communities were mapped and are considered mosaics of the subcommunities identified because of the high spatial diversity on the ground within each given unit Figure 1. Additionally, the Kareedam was mapped as well as the historically disturbed area in the vicinity of the original Akkerendam homestead. Plant communities 1, 2 and 3 are found within AKNR; however, not all of the subcommunities within these larger communities are found within the current reserve boundaries Table 1.
For example, no or very small localised patches of the Hantam Mountain plateau or upper slopes vegetation Subcommunities 1.
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The species within the diagnostic species groups of Subcommunities 1. In all probability, these species is unlikely to occur in the AKNR because the necessary habitats do not exist within the reserve boundaries. Subcommunity 2. Community 3, on Land Type Da are found within the reserve and not within the proposed area of expansion.
Four of the species lists were short and in the form of additional notes on the area. This study identified species in the AKNR and species for the proposed expansion area, while Acocks noted a total of species in all his species lists for the greater Akkerendam area. Upon consideration of all the data, a species list of species was produced for the greater Akkerendam area. Fifty-five species 7. A total of species were common to both the Acocks list and the list compiled in this study.
In , the foreground was dominated by Anisodontea triloba and Chrysocoma valida Figure 2. The dominance of A. Dicerothamnus rhinocerotis and Felicia filifolia are also abundant. In the right foreground of the image, the rocky ridge on dry shale is dominated by D. The fire boundary is evident in the photograph with denser vegetation on the left of the rocky ridge and less dense vegetation on the right of the ridge. The shallow soils and warmer slope result in a lower vegetation cover. However, vegetation cover in appears higher than in the original photograph. The vegetation on the northwest-facing broken ridge in the mid-ground has changed from a short shrubland with occasional grass tufts in ca.
To the left mid-ground of the original image, the west-facing slope is dominated by shrubs.
The subsequent photograph indicates that this area is now dominated by grass with the grass, T. Riverine habitat in the valley bottom is relatively unchanged. Field assessments indicate that it is dominated by Galenia africana and Dodonea angustifolia. The photograph taken nearly a century later shows that the area is still dominated by these two species. However, vegetation cover is lower as a result of the fire, which occurred on the slope in the period between and Additional species include Diospyros austro-africana, Searsia longispina and Stachys rugosa , while Senecio cinerescens, Salvia dentata and A.
This photograph Figure 4 was taken within m of Figure 3.
DA: Zille: Address by the leader of the DA, to the people of Calvinia, Northern Cape (06/04/2011)
In the ca. The site is now characterised by several seedlings and smaller trees of C. Other dominant species which are clearly visible in the recent photograph are Stachy rugosa, D. This photograph Figure 5 is located higher up the slopes of the Hantam Mountain. Vegetation cover in the left foreground appears similar in both images and is comprised primarily of D. The composition of the valley slopes and riverine vegetation are described in more detail in the first photograph Akkerendam image 1, Figure 2 , but appear little different between the two time periods.
The expansion of the town of Calvinia is clearly evident in the distance. The phytosociological study of AKNR and proposed expansion area resulted in the classification, description and mapping of three plant communities and 14 subcommunities. This vegetation map is the first map produced for this second oldest proclaimed local municipal nature reserve in the Northern Cape. Vegetation maps of natural areas have become indispensable to managers of natural areas Brown et al. The inclusion of the proposed expansion area into the existing Akkerendam Nature Reserve will contribute significantly to the conservation significance of the current reserve because these areas include a host of different high altitude habitats plateau and upper slopes and thus a different complement of plant species and vegetation units.
The Hantam Mountain plateau is well known for its special, and in many cases endemic, species.
DA: Zille: Address by the leader of the DA, to the people of Calvinia, Northern Cape (06/04/)
Mountain Renosterveld areas of the Roggeveld and Hantam Mountains are unique in that they belong to the Fynbos Biome yet exhibit strong Karroid elements Van der Merwe et al. The proposed expansion will also include transitional areas, that is, transitional in nature between the Fynbos and Succulent Karoo biomes. In addition to the floral or vegetation component, the formal protection of the upper catchment slopes for rainwater harvesting is an added advantage. The detailed vegetation classification, map and description should also form the basis from which informed and scientifically defendable decisions can be taken for infrastructure and other development in the area Brown et al.
The vegetation units identified should be used to design a monitoring protocol for the reserve including the placement of additional long-term monitoring sites. The importance of long-term monitoring in conservation areas in Succulent Karoo vegetation has recently been confirmed by a study that found an increase in wildlife numbers resulted in a decline in perennial vegetation, stressing the need for active management of animal numbers to avoid vegetation degradation Van Rooyen et al.
Vegetation change occurs relatively slowly in arid systems Cody ; Lawley et al. Two hundred and twenty-two species were found to be common to both the Acocks species lists and the species list compiled in this study. The fact that the unidentified species in both the Acocks list and the species list generated from this survey were kept separate, therefore not assuming that they were the same species, is probably the reason for the low similarity between lists.
Additionally, we are not exactly sure of the precise localities at which Acocks conducted his surveys even though he refers to Akkerendam Nature Reserve or Akkerendam. An interesting finding is that the species lists produced by Acocks are extremely comprehensive, and it is assumed he would have noted all tree species in the greater Akkerendam area.
However, the alien invasive Prosopis species does not feature on any of his nine lists of the area. It can be deduced that this species was introduced or became more common following his surveys in — Photographs taken nearly a century ago indicate some change in the vegetation of the Akkerendam Nature Reserve.
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These changes, however, have resulted primarily from the recent fires, which have occurred in the region. All the photographs were taken from the slopes lower and upper of the Hantam Mountain and indicate the presence of Anisodontea triloba , a species that initially dominates Renosterveld vegetation after fire. In general, an analysis of the matched photographs suggests that the same vegetation is re-establishing following fire and that few major changes in cover and composition are evident in the landscape.