ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, Border nature reserve and national park between Namibia and South Africa.
ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld is a 6,235 km² peace park formed in 2003 by merging Namibia's ǀAi-ǀAis Hot Springs Game Park and South Africa's Richtersveld National Park. The Orange River divides the two national sections. The park contains the Fish River Canyon, 350 million years old, and landscapes of high mountains, deep ravines and arid plains.
The area was originally inhabited by the Nama people and underwent various periods of colonial and post-colonial administration. The establishment of the cross-border park in 2003 represented a milestone in cooperative conservation between two nations.
The name ǀAi-ǀAis comes from Khoekhoe for 'fire-fire', meaning 'hot as fire', after the hot springs. Nama herders still move livestock over long distances to follow sparse rainfall, and the Nama language is better preserved here than elsewhere in Namaqualand. The Nama hold the half-mens tree in high regard, seeing its human-like form as ancestors longing for their Namibian home.
The park is reached by air, as road and rail travel from Cape Town, Upington or Karasburg is time-consuming. The Sendelingsdrift ferry crossing, opened in 2007 with immigration offices on both banks of the Orange River, links the Namibian and South African sides. Summer temperatures exceed 50 °C, winter nights can bring ground frost, and annual rainfall ranges from 5 to 200 mm.
The half-mens (half-human) plant, a succulent with an unbranched cylindrical stem up to 4 m tall and a tuft of branches at the top, grows here. The Nama hold it in high regard, believing its human-like figure represents ancestors longing for their Namibian home.
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