The National Parks Of South Africa

In words and full-colour pictures, The National Parks Of South Africa explores ten state-proclaimed sanctuaries – taking the reader from the dark undergrowth of the Tsitsikamma Forest where Peripatus has existed for millions of years, to the arid sands of the Kalahari, home of the Gemsbok; and from the tiny shoreline enclosure of a coastal reserve to the vast, changing canvas of the Kruger Park, one of the world’s greatest and best-known national parks. Though her once wild Eden has been inexorably diminished, it is not entirely lost, for among South Africa’s other riches she boasts some of the world’s most exciting and varied conservation areas. These parks were not easily won and even today some of their denizens are threatened. Though the seed of the conservation ethic was sown before the turn of the century, only now is some of its fruit ripening, and for none is the recipe for preservation yet clear. Through this is a lively test in which conservation-conscious Rene Gordon brings the parks, their histories, and their inhabitants fascinatingly alive. The ten parks discussed and photographed are The Kruger National Park, The Tsitsikamma Coastal National Park, The Tsitsikamma Forest National Park, The Augrabies Falls National Park, The Bontebok National Park, The Karoo National Park, The Addo Elephant National Park, The Mountain Zebra National Park, The Golden Gate Highlands National Park, The Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, and The Langebaan National Park.