Yellows on the Orange
The longest river in South Africa, the Orange, rises in the Drakensberg mountains of Lesotho, a mere 200km from the Indian Ocean, and flows westward some 2,200km before spilling into the Atlantic at Alexander Bay. It defines the lower limit of the Kalahari and forms the boundary between Namibia and South Africa. Although the Orange has abundant fish stocks throughout its length, for the finest fishing one must venture to the Namibian border where it flows through a UNESCO World Heritage Site, the incredible Richtersveld Transfrontier National Park.
The Richtersveld is an incredibly harsh environment, with summer temperatures reaching 53°C and an average annual rainfall of little more than 55mm. Regardless of these extremes, as a result of water carried to the area by the Orange River and the morning fogs that roll in from the Atlantic called Ilhuries, life here thrives.
Biologists describe this ecosystem as The Succulent Karoo. It is home to small antelope and troops of Chacma baboon, as well as the secretive African leopard. But it is perhaps most famous for its desert flora, the variety of which is unsurpassed anywhere in the world. Indeed, 33 species exist only here.
Overlooked by rugged mountains, the Orange River, or Gariep, as the local Nama people call it, twists like a mighty green-edged snake through a lonely desert landscape. The mountains loom like monsters, beautiful and imposing. As the sun bounces off them and reflects in the ripples of the water it is obvious how the river inherited its
