Namaqua National Park, Nature reserve in Northern Cape, South Africa.
Namaqua National Park is a protected area in the semi-arid landscape of the Northern Cape province along the Atlantic coast. The terrain is marked by granite outcrops and supports dense stands of succulents alongside thousands of wildflower species.
The park's origin was the Skilpad Wildflower Reserve, founded in 1988 by WWF South Africa on 930 hectares. Purchases of farmland and land from the de Beers Company brought the area to 68,000 hectares and national park status, gazetted in August 1999. In November 2008 a further 36,000 hectares were added as a 2 × 99-year loan from de Beers.
The name Namaqualand comes from the Nama people, Khoikhoi herders who moved with their livestock through this semi-desert. The park's spring flower season now draws about 100,000 visitors to Namaqualand each year, roughly 65% South African and 35% from abroad. Picking wildflowers is prohibited, and most species are protected by law, with fines for those who do.
The park is reached from Cape Town by several hours of driving northward on the N7 road. On-site accommodation is limited to a small camp with a few cabins, so booking ahead is wise.
The park's coastal section shelters Hottentotta arenaceus, a pale orange-yellow scorpion, and the spider Asemesthes affinis, recorded elsewhere only in Angola. By 2017, arachnids from 21 families had been sampled here, including 60 spider species.
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