Escape to Cradock during the World Cup

Mountain Zebra National Park has joined forces with guesthouses, restaurants and shops in Cradock to provide a wealth of entertainment for those who want a quiet and quaint getaway from the World Cup crowds.

Visitors to the Park can take part in a variety of activities including ranger days, talks on environmental themes and guided walks. There are also guided game drives followed by a braai and guided visits to the Park’s San cave paintings.

Ranger days held at the Park allow the visitor to experience the working life of a Park ranger. Visitors can try out a ranger’s daily duties such as basic maintenance of wildlife water supply, spoor identification and monitoring the many species that inhabit the Park with telemetry and cybertracker.

Various environmental-themed talks will be on offer covering topics such as biodiversity, the purpose of the Park and Conservation in Practice. The talks are followed by activities such as interpretive walks or environmentally-themed games.

On the weekends, visitors can try the guided game drives or guided tours to the Park’s San cave paintings at an extra cost.

Entry to the Park at only R22 per person for South African residents and R88 per person for international visitors gives the visitor access to the Park’s 100km of game-viewing roads and the chance of spotting wildlife such as cheetah, black rhino and buffalo as well as herds of Cape mountain zebra, eland, black wildebeest and red hartebeest. Visitors can also spot rare brown hyena, aardwolf and bat-eared fox. There are over 275 bird species to be seen in the Park.

In the neighbouring historic town of Cradock, visitors can find further amusement in a variety of locations. The Tuishuise will offer courses ranging from guitar lessons to Hip-Hop lessons to introductory Xhosa lessons. The Karoo Shop will offer a day of fly-fishing and historical town walks. The White Rose will offer beading courses while their will be art classes at the Art Studio. There are also Farm Tours, a Windmill Photo Exhibition and “Pudding, Port and Poetry” on offer.

For details of the full programme on offer in Cradock, please email: Mountainzebra@sanparks.org

Mountain Zebra National Park’s Programme for Visitors from 11 June to 10 July 2010 is as follows:

Day	Activity	Details	Cost
Mondays	Environmental Talk followed by short guided walk	Introducing Mountain Zebra National Park Walk on Imbila Trail Spoor, animal sign & plant identification 2-hour programme	Conservation fee payable Activity free
Tuesdays	Guided Hiking Trail	3-hour hike with armed ranger along the Black Eagle and part of Imbila Trail	R100 per adult R50 per child (includes conservation fee)
Wednesdays	Environmental Talk followed by game drive	What is Biodiversity? Guided game drive in kombi to witness biodiversity 2-hour programme	Conservation fee payable Activity free
Thursdays	Ranger Day	Experience the working life of a Park ranger – activities such as water maintenance, wildlife monitoring, cybertracker recording 2-hour programme	Conservation fee payable Activity free
Fridays	Environmental Talk followed by DVD screening	Conservation in Practice – global warming, climate change, extinction Wildlife DVD Environmental game & activities 2-hour programme	Conservation fee payable Activity free
Saturdays	Game drive	2-hour Game Drive followed by group braai at restaurant	R142 pp Visitor purchase own braai pack. Pap & sauce provided free.
Sundays	San Cave Paintings	Guided tour to San cave paintings	R122pp

 

• Please note: the activities above will be offered to a group of minimum four and maximum 12 visitors.
• All activities start at 10:00 except the Guided hike which starts at 09:00.