‘Anys’ means necessary
This Karoo reserve harks back to a simpler time, writes Nick Yell
IT had stood there like an impenetrable mountain fortress for years. Every time I rushed past the Anysberg Nature Reserve on my way to another more distant Karoo destination, staring into the inscrutable depths of its long thin valley, the mystery of what lay beyond deepened. But today was different. I was finally going to check it out.
Once past the collection of old farm labourers’ cottages near the main entrance, our adventure motorcycling party embarked on the 24km dirt-track ride towards the main office and campsite to the west. What had looked like a narrow, nondescript Karoo valley from the road suddenly opened up and exposed its brittle, ancient heart to us. It’s only when you see the Karoo in its original form like this that you realise how commercial farming changes the landscape.
Contributing to this change are the copses of acacia trees huddled around the sandy drifts you cross on the way to the Vrede office. I was just reminding myself to watch out for kudu crossing when a small herd of grey rhebok charged at me after I’d crested a blind rise.
With some judicious braking and a lot of luck, I managed to escape their attentions and continued on my way.
The valley that makes up the bulk of this 80 000ha reserve lies between the greener slopes of the Matjiesgoedberg and the rock faces of the Anysberg — both part of the Cape Fold Mountains.
The reserve was founded in 1988 to conserve the local veld-type — mountain fynbos and Klein Karoo succulents — and reintroduce endemic game species. Mammals include Cape mountain zebra, steenbok, duiker, gemsbok, grey rhebok,red hartebeest, riverine rabbit, brown hyena and leopard. There are numerous snakes and lizards and 180 archaeological sites in the reserve, many with San paintings.
I soon passed the turn-off to the rustic Tapfontein units our group had initially been hoping to book but they were taken and we had to settle for one of the more luxurious cottages near the Vrede office.
Descending into a narrow kloof, I caught sight of some big horns moving through the foliage. It was a lone gemsbok bull and the sound of the motorbike had obviously disturbed him. I turned off the engine and watched this graceful antelope canter a short distance, then stop and turn to look at me.
Our staring contest was finally broken when the other two riders caught up. We had only about 5km to go to our cottage and while I had been totally immersed in the scenery and animal action playing out in front of me, the thought of a cooling swim in the plaasdam I’d seen on the website, followed by something cold to drink, was fast starting to edge out all other attractions.
The fact that we had to wait for a giant male baboon to finish admiring his own reflection in the water before we could swim is indicative of the pecking order in these parts.
It’s a wild planet out there — just as it should be. — © Nick Yell