Mountain Zebra National Park: Cheetah re-collared to continue tracking efforts!

South African National Parks (SANParks) has announced that cheetah conservation in Mountain Zebra National Park (MZNP) outside Cradock in South Africa's Eastern Cape got a welcomed boost. A new cheetah collar was donated to the National Park, which was fitted to one of the MZNP's resident females. The collar fitted previously was about to reach the end of its life span.
Mountain Zebra National Park is currently home to eight cheetahs. Of these, four are collared. The National Park is the only one in South Africa offering a cheetah tracking activity, and these cheetahs are the ones which are sought out by activity guides through the use of a VHF (very high frequency) telemetry device. If guests are lucky enough, they could get to within 40 metres of one or more cheetah in their natural habitat. They also help MZNP's Management gather ecological data for research purposes which help in the management of the species.
Cheetahs were reintroduced to Mountain Zebra National Park in 2007 after being absent from the plains of the Karoo for 130 years.

South Africa: New name changes for towns in the Eastern Cape & KwaZulu-Natal!

South African Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Nathi Mthethwa, has officially announced name changes for two towns and two villages as well as the registration of new names of a village, a road section, two human settlements, a township and two suburbs. The Minister further approved the correction of spelling for a river. The changes, which were gazetted on 26 August 2022, impact the Amathole District Municipality (10) and the Chris Hani District Municipality (1) in the Eastern Cape as well as the uMzinyathi District Municipality (1) in KwaZulu-Natal. The name changes are officially approved in terms of Section 10 (2) of the South African Geographical Names Council Act (Act No 118 of 1998).

Town: Cradock > Nxuba (Eastern Cape)
Town: Morgan Bay > Gxarha (Eastern Cape)
Amalgamation of villages: Mooiplaas > Khwenxurha (Eastern Cape)

Click here (pdf) to download Government Gazette No. 46792 (26 August 2022), which includes the full list of name changes as approved by the Ministry of Sport, Arts and Culture.

Mountain Zebra National Park: Cheetah tracking & guided walks

Visitors will be able to join a guide in searching for the elusive Mountain Zebra National Park cheetahs by means of tracking with radio telemetry equipment.
Cheetah were introduced to the Park in 2007 following an absence of over 100 years from the area. The species has adapted very well to the Park, increasing in number from four in 2007 to over 30 animals. A number of cheetah have been rehomed in the last few months to ensure that the integrity of the natural ecosystem balance is not affected.

The new activities include two new guided walks:

• a three-hour route and a hike up the Salpeterskop to view a chessboard relic from the early 1900s.
• Guided walks, cheetah tracking and guided drives are led by fully qualified, knowledgeable guides.

The opening of guided walks follows the closure of all hiking trails in July 2010 following the tragic death of a hiker who was attacked by a buffalo on one of the hiking trails.
The two short walking trails (1-kilometre and 2.5-kilometre trails) are available to visitors as self-walk options, having been enclosed, along with the rest camp area, with electrified fencing.


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The three-day hiking trail has yet to re-open but the two mountain cottages, formerly used exclusively as hiking trail huts, are now available as an ideal rustic getaway option for visitors with high clearance vehicles.
The 28 000-hectare Mountain Zebra National Park is situated near Cradock in the Eastern Cape. (via sanparks.org)

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Mountain Zebra National Park: New gate, new roads and future plans

The Mountain Zebra National Park, near Cradock in the Eastern Cape recently celebrated the opening of their new upgraded entrance gate - now named the Sasol Gate - and the complete renovation of its tourist roads. Around 43km of of existing gravel roads got upgraded and 13.4km of new roads were built, so that visitors can now explore all areas of the Park for wildlife viewing on roads suitable for all vehicle types.

According to Lucius Moolman, South African National Parks (SANParks) Regional Manager, plans to link Mountain Zebra National Park to Camdeboo National Park in Graaff-Reinet to form a mega-conservation area of about 300 000 hectares had now been officially declared by SANParks. These plans envisaged a linkage formed through contractual agreements with private game reserves and landowners, some of whom had already expressed interest in the idea.

accommodation in & around Cradock >>
accommodation in & around Graaf-Reinet >>