Cederberg South Africa

SOUTH AFRICAN SAFARIS AND THE CEDERBERG

Cederberg, also be spelt as Cedarberg, is a region in the West Coast which includes the Cederberg Mountains and the protected Cederberg Nature Reserve…. included in this area are the Cederberg Wilderness Area (66876 ha), the Cederberg State Forest (4124 ha) and the Matjiesriver Nature Reserve (12800 ha). This region of the West Coast convinces with endless beauty, majestic mountains and awakens a sense of adventure in every visitor!

In 1973 Cederberg was proclaimed as a wilderness area and was bought by the WWF-SA in 1994. The WWF-SA organization has some great conservation plans that include the re-growth of the Clanwilliam Cedars - this area was actually named after these magnificent trees. These Cedars were almost destroyed when the Europeans (1903 – 1973) used them for mass production.

Travellers can also view the most amazing collection of San Rock Art (protected by the National Monuments Act) amongst the caves and the overhangs. These paintings date back to between 300 and 6000 years ago and visitors are encouraged to search amongst the caves to find new paintings!

If you love camping then the Cederberg is the perfect holiday destination for you! There are 4 four very popular campsites in this region; Algeria, Sanddrift, Driehoek and Jamaka & Krom River. For those that love adventure; there are exceptional rock-climbing routes on the Krakadouw and Tafelberg peaks as well as many nature-friendly walking paths at the base of the mountain. Explore challenging 4x4 routes as well as an amateur astronomical observatory.

For animal and bird lovers, the Cederberg region offers an extraordinary selection of both! Wildlife that can be seen in the Cederberg include; leopards, caracals (African Lynx), dassies, bontenok, rare mountain zebras, baboons, meerkats, otters, aardvarks, honeybadgers and many more. For the bird lovers there are over a 100 different bird species in this West Coast region including; black eagles, jackal buzzards and rock kestrels! The Cederberg also contains spitting cobras and puff adders; so please be careful!

The climate in the Cederberg is characterised by hot & dry summers and cold & wet winters. The annual rainfall is about 700 mm, and the higher peaks of the Cederberg Mountains are sometimes covered with snow in winter. Most nights the sky is clear offering great opportunities for star watching… Visiting the Cederberg in summer (anytime between Nov and March) is great, but if you want to go to the Cederberg specifically for hiking then October, November, March and April are the best months.

Have a look at our South African Safaris that include the Cederberg, West Coast, region… There are also other South African attractions beneath that you might want to visit on your South African Safari.
 

• Kruger National Park
• Garden Route
• Cape Town
• Winelands
• KwaZulu-Natal
• Addo Elephant National Park
• Greater St Lucia
• Hluhluwe-Umfolozi National Park
• Overberg
• Pilanesberg National Park
• Ukhahlamba
• West Coast
• Aquila
• Table Mountain
• Cango Caves
• Cape Point, Cape Agulhas
• Drakensberg
• Gods Window
• Kapama Game Reserve
• Kirstenbosch
• Knysna
• Madikwe Game Reserve
• Pilgrims Rest
• Robben Island
• Soweto
• Sun City
• Karoo South Africa
• Wild Coast
• V&A Waterfront
• Johannesburg
• Gansbaai
• Tsitsikamma
• Valley of a 1000 Hills
• Inverdoorn
• Kimberley
• Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
• Zululand
• The Battlefields