GORA WILDERNESS
CORES & CORRIDORS
linking existing protected areas to ensure ecological connectivity for biodiversity and ecological processes.
Reconnecting a fragmented landscape along ancient elephant pathways. Once, the great wilderness of the Western Cape stretched uninterrupted across mountains, valleys, rivers and coastal plains. Wildlife moved freely through this landscape, following ancient pathways shaped by the seasons, the availability of water and the rhythms of nature.
Over generations, these natural connections were fragmented by fences, agricultural expansion and human development, restricting wildlife movement and disrupting the ecological processes that once sustained this remarkable region.
canca coastal corridor
Stretching across the rolling limestone hills, ancient sand plains and coastal landscapes of the southern Cape, the Canca Coastal Corridor forms part of an extraordinary natural mosaic where rich coastal fynbos, thicket and forest converge. Shaped by ancient geological processes, this landscape supports remarkable botanical diversity, including rare and endemic plant species found nowhere else on Earth. Representing some of the last remaining wild stretches of Cape coastline, the Canca Coastal Corridor stretches from the mouth of the Breede River at Witsand in the west to the mouth of the Gouritz River at Gouritsmond in the east, across 160,000 ha. It includes the Gourikwa Coastal Nature Reserve as the largest protected area in the corridor currently.
Reach out to us for a conversation about developing the Canca Coastal Corridor and expanding the Gora Wilderness Conservation Area.
Unique species that currently occur in this region is the endemic bontebok Damaliscus pygargus pygargus, eland Tragelaphus oryx, and a small population of Cape mountain zebra Equus zebra zebra that has been reintroduced into Gourika Coastal Nature Reserve. Most of the mammal species that formerly occurred in this region remain absent and awaiting the development of the corridor for reintroduction.
Eleven unique vegetation units have been described, two of which are listed as Critically Endangered and six listed as Endangered, all with their unique suite of endemic species.
gouritz river corridor
Following the Gouritz River from its mouth into the Indian Ocean in the south to the Gouritz Gorge in the north where the river flows through the Outeniqua Mountains from the Little Karoo. The Gouritz River Corridor, with its riverine woodland and many blooming aloes, is characterised by deep river valleys and gently undulating country. When the first Portuguese seafarers passed the Gouritz River in 1488 they found the area with such large herds of cattle and sheep belonging to the Khoekhoe pastoralist, that they named the river Rio dos Vaqueiros or “river of cowboys and cattle herds”.
Reach out to us for a conversation about developing the Gouritz River Corridor and expanding the Gora Wilderness Conservation Area.
Along with large herds of indigenous African cattle and sheep breeds, this region harboured large herds of indigenous wildlife with many farm names still confessing to the hippopotamus, buffalo, eland, red hartebeest and elephant herds that once thrived here. Not many protected areas have been established within the Gouritz River Corridor, although many private game reserves have been developed in the region in recent years. Within these non-proclaimed areas small populations of antelope, giraffe, zebra, hippopotamus, buffalo, white rhinoceros and elephant have been established each within their own fenced-off private reserves.
The flora of the region is equally varied, with Acacia woodland along the rivers, forests and thickets on the hill slopes and grassland and fynbos on the gently sloping undulating hills.
gamka core
Coming Soon.
Reach out to us for a conversation about oportunities to develop the Gamka Core and expanding the Gora Wilderness Conservation Area.
Along with large herds of indigenous African cattle and sheep breeds, this region harboured large herds of indigenous wildlife with many farm names still confessing to the hippopotamus, buffalo, eland, red hartebeest and elephant herds that once thrived here. Not many protected areas have been established within the Gouritz River Corridor, although many private game reserves have been developed in the region in recent years. Within these non-proclaimed areas small populations of antelope, giraffe, zebra, hippopotamus, buffalo, white rhinoceros and elephant have been established each within their own fenced-off private reserves.
The flora of the region is equally varied, with Acacia woodland along the rivers, forests and thickets on the hill slopes and grassland and fynbos on the gently sloping undulating hills.
touws corridor
Coming Soon.
anysberg core
Coming Soon.
buffels-dwyka corridor
Coming Soon.
cango corridor
Coming Soon.
kammanassie core
Coming Soon.
