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About Us

gora wilderness reserve

Rewilding
the lost Cape wilderness

Pursuing our vision to reestablish the ancient elephant migration routes across the Cape, from the shores of the Indian Ocean to the semi-desert plains of the Little Karoo.
marcel van der merwe ii
Founder, Gora Wilderness Foundation

Come and immerse yourself in the unique landscape that is the Gora Wilderness Reserve as you bear witness to a wilderness being reborn.

Unlike the northern wilderness areas of South Africa that survived through the colonial era without losing the quintessential fauna of Africa, much of the Cape had been so severely impacted that the area became almost entirely depleted of the native larger mammals that once thrived here in innumerable herds, flocks, prides and clans. With a local extinction of over 90% of herbivores and predators that inhabited the area, what remained was a Cape wilderness devoid of wildlife.

Join us as we reverse the clock while moving forward into a brave new world of rewilding Gora!

Explore the Gora Wilderness where three Biodiversity Hotspots converge

Embark on an intimate journey through the ages of the Gora Wilderness 

Discover the organisations and partnering reserves involved in this rebirth

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our unique location

Garden Route &
Little Karoo

Along the southernmost tip of Africa lies a land of striking contrast where lush coastal grasslands and forests along the Indian Ocean abruptly ends at a mountainous interface with an arid semi-desert landscape. From the southern shoreline a living Fynbos floral bouquet stretches northward across the coastal forelands towards the forest clad southern slopes of the Outeniqua Mountain, standing as a towering barrier between the verdant country to the south and the dry plains to the north. Here the Cape Floristic Region meets with the Albany-Pondoland-Tongaland Biodiversity Hotspot to form in a mosaic of diversity

North of the Outeniqua Mountains the Fynbos clad slopes fade into the dry plains of the Little Karoo, an area so botanically rich that it serves as the spectacular succulent stage for the globally recognised Succulent Karoo Biodiversity Hotspot.

Despite the arid appearance of the land, it is by no means desolate and in years gone by the expanses teemed with vast herds of plains game and the Acacia lined riverbeds served as the apparent veins for elephant dispersal across the wide valleys between the various mountain chains that characterises the Cape of South Africa.

The unique location of the Gora Wilderness Reserve, at the southernmost tip of Africa where temperate and subtropical climates meet to adorn the land in an equally unique array of floral communities, has allowed various endemic species to come into existence in the region that are only found in the southern and non-savanna regions of South Africa. These include the Cape grysbok, grey rhebok, springbok, bontebok, blesbok, black wildebeest, Cape mountain zebra and Rau quagga, all of which can be found within the Gora Wilderness Reserve. 

Apart from the tremendous biodiversity that awaits the adventure seeker in the Gora Wilderness Reserve, visitors to the reserve can observe and experience history in the making as the unique Cape wilderness, once almost lost and forgotten, is being returned to herself. Come and experience the weaving of a living tapestry of a restoring ecosystem on a luxurious safari as individual reserves and core conservation areas are connected and enlarged via corridors. Your rewilding adventure awaits!

 

Our Ambitious Vision
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Ranging from the Gourikwa Reserve on the shores of the Indian Ocean, across the Outeniqua and Langeberg Mountains, and into the plains of the Little Karoo hinterland of the Gamkaberg, Sanbona & Anysberg Reserves.
the dedicated voices of the vision

Meet Our Team

Many are the people that play a role in the recreation and rewilding of lost and forgotten wilderness areas, each intricately weaving their lives with the restitution of the natural world around them. Now meet the voices that breathed life into the vision of the Gora Wilderness Reserve.

Marcel van der Merwe II

Founder of the Gora Wilderness Foundation. The vision of the Gora Wilderness Reserve was birthed in 2007 when I started down a path of discovery into the pre-colonial Cape wilderness which ultimately culminated in the publication of "Rewilding The Lost Wilderness: Green Heritage of the Forgotten Cape". Today this book serves as the literary blueprint for the restoration of the Gora Wilderness. Drawing from the settler accounts of wilderness that once was, I actively participate in rewilding the Gora Wilderness in a visionary and strategic development capacity, intentionally connecting local communities and conservation. Reserve expansion is at the core of my purpose, identifying compromised land to be incorporated, and pursuing the vision of a revived wilderness toward the restoration of ancient elephant migration routes.

Hein Schoeman

Co-Founder of Gora Partners. Growing up with a father who was passionate about conservation, instilled a deep reverence in me for the world of wilderness and wildlife around us. Following suite in the course of protecting the natural world, I pursued a career in conservation that lead me on an exciting journey into rewilding. For the past 18 years I was involved in various aspects of conservation, including reserve management, reserve expansion, reforestation, human-wildlife conflict, anti-poaching and wildlife capture, care and translocation. As the founder of VetX, a certified wildlife capture and care course of veterinarians, I serve as project coordinator actively planning the reintroduction of native species and management of the wildlife population in the Gora Wilderness Reserve.

Josephine Skaarup

Co-Founder of Gora Partners. Born and raised in Denmark, I had always dreamed of coming to the diverse wilderness that is Africa. Drawn by this dream and passion of working with wild animals I attended the VetX Wildlife Capture and Care Course in January 2022 as a qualified veterinarian to immerse myself in the world of conservation. Falling in love with the land and its people, I later joined Hein and the VetX team as the on board veterinarian. I soon realised the plight of wilderness in the Western Cape, the need to expand and link small reserves, and the need for a Wildlife Rehabilitation Centre that is equipped to take care of elephant, rhino, and cheetah orphans where they can be release on-site. This is how Gora Partners were born, from the vision and combined skills necessary to develop the Gora Wilderness Reserve! 

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Add your voice to the vision!