Richtersveld

The Richtersveld, like much of the Northern Cape, is a mountainous desert landscape made up of sandy plains, rugged kloofs and the lush valleys that the Orange River runs through. Despite this seemingly lifeless appearance, the Richtersveld is the only Arid Biodiversity Hotspot on the planet and is home to a wide variety of plant and animal life. The northern part of the Richtersveld is now the Richtersveld National Park. It took 18 years for this to come about because the area is the traditional home of the Nama people, but in 1991 an agreement was reached and the national park was declared. The Nama continue to live and graze their cattle on the Richtersveld.

More recently, in 2007, the Richterveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape, which is an area just south of the national park, were named a UNESCO World Heritage Site. There is absolutely no diamond mining in this World Heritage Site, unlike the National Park, which has left the site in pristine condition and is a must see for all visitors to the area.

The main types of wildlife that populate the Richtersveld area are buck, largely due to the harsh conditions of the area, but zebra, caracal and leopards can also be seen roaming the landscape. On the plant side, the Richtersveld is home to largest diversity of succulent plants in the world, in total there are 650 different plant species in the area. There are also a few unique plants that reside in the area and cannot be seen anywhere else in the world. The Halfmesboom (half-person tree) is an example of this. The name of the tree comes from its appearance, which looks like a person, and is an important part of the Nama culture. They believe that the trees are the embodiment of their ancestors mourning for their ancient Namibian home.