We’ve exchanged the hot and humid coastal plains of Kwazulu-Natal for the crisp mountain air of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park in the Eastern Free State, for the final leg of our epic summer holidays.
Few places can compete with the Golden Gate Highlands National Park when it comes to sheer scenic splendour. Visiting the Park is always a pleasure, and our November 2014 visit was no exception. The Park is looking beautiful following the first good spring rains, and walking or driving around, there’s just so much to take in!
Summer is the best time for bird-watching, when the migrants from cooler climes arrive and many male birds are adorned in their breeding plumage. In addition, Golden Gate is home to several rare and endangered species, and we were lucky to encounter some of them.
Of course, a National Park wouldn’t be complete without large mammals, and Golden Gate has its fair share of animals adapted to the climatic extremes of a mountain environment.
It is always rewarding to bend the knees and appreciate the smaller, less obvious, of Golden Gate’s inhabitants.
After seeing Golden Gate looking so lovely, we can hardly wait for our next visit at the end of December!
Time to pack up and head back to Pretoria this morning, but not before sharing one last photograph from the Golden Gate Highlands National Park; last night we were treated to a display of thunder and lighting over the mountains around Glen Reenen as a storm cell passed quickly through the area.
We woke up this morning to find the valleys of the Golden Gate Highlands National Park cloaked in a thick fog, drove to one of the mountain tops, found a spot above the low lying clouds, and were rewarded with the most beautiful sunrise.
Not for us, thank you very much!
We’re visiting Golden Gate Highlands National Park again, for business and, come the weekend, pleasure. And of course we’ve already enjoyed an afternoon drive through the Park, taking in the magnificent scenery and plentiful wildlife.
I was inspired to try some “slow shutter panning shots” of these galloping black wildebeest by Susan Portnoy, The Insatiable Traveler. I’ll have to keep trying to get anywhere close to the awesome results she gets with the technique though. Thanks for the tips Susan!
The 21st of March is a public holiday in South Africa, and with it falling on a Friday this year made for a very welcome long weekend; just the excuse we needed to head for our beloved Golden Gate Highlands National Park again.
We stayed in a cottage at the little Glen Reenen Rest Camp, but the glorious weather and brilliant autumn colours ensured that we were outside for most of the short time we had available in the Park.
Our regular readers will know this gem of a place quite well by now, seeing as we try to visit as often as possible and enjoy sharing our experiences there with everyone who cares to listen. For those new to de Wets Wild, or who would like to know more about the Golden Gate Highlands National Park, we think the special post we did in celebration of the Park’s 50th birthday would be an excellent introduction.
It’s a long weekend here in South Africa, and that’s just the excuse we need to spend a couple of days in beautiful Golden Gate Highlands National Park!
We (the Wild de Wets), posing for a portrait, at Glen Reenen Rest Camp in the Golden Gate Highlands National Park
“Selfie” is the theme for this week’s WordPress Photo Challenge
Boxing Day 2013 saw us heading back to one of our favourite South African wild places – the spectacular Golden Gate Highlands National Park in the eastern Free State Province.
We had three nights booked at Glen Reenen Rest Camp. Our unit offered a beautiful view of the mountains surrounding us, and the camp is frequented by a wide variety of birds and animals. Sitting on the verandah we were surrounded by paradise.
Difficult as it was to wrestle ourselves away from Glen Reenen’s peaceful surroundings, we made the most of all the activities available (when the weather allowed). Driving around, horse-riding or hiking – take your pick!
Thanks to the good rainfall all the streams in the park were flowing strongly.
A visit to a National Park would not be the same without the animals and birds that find sanctuary there! Our most special sighting of this trip? Two specimens of the rare bearded vulture passing overhead!
We also posted a couple of pictures while we were in the Park. On the 26th of December a thunderstorm welcomed us back to the Park, on the 27th we chased the end of the rainbow and on the 28th we marveled at the cloud formations passing overhead.
Our regular readers will know that Golden Gate Highlands National Park has a very special place in our hearts. If you’d like to know more about this beautiful place, have a look at the special post we published on the occasion of the Park’s 50th birthday.
As the year is rushing to its end, we’re looking back at all the wonderful places we stayed at in South Africa’s wild places during 2013:
DeWetsWild 