Admire South African national parks with postage stamps

GO sightseeing with the SA Post Office’s newest set of postage stamps depicting South African national parks.

The stamps, which were released on 10 August were desgined by SA Post Offices’ Thea Clemons.

The beautiful landscapes include the Bontebok National Park, Camdeboo National Park, Golden Gate Highlands National Park, Table Mountain National Park and Tsitsikamma in the Garden Route National Park.

The stamps can be purchased at a cost of R27,50 each for registered letters from all large post office branches or ordered from SAstamps@postoffice.co.za.

The SA Post Office describes the scenery depicted on the stamps:

Bontebok National Park, like the Table Mountain National Park, forms part of the Cape Floral Kingdom, a Unesco Natural Heritage Site.

The Bontebok is an antelope species that is endemic to the Cape Fynbos area. The Bontebok is unique in that it is an antelope species that cannot jump; it was hunted to the very edge of extinction until the park was proclaimed in 1931, where the last 30 Bontebok found refuge. Thanks to conservation efforts, there are now 3,500 in existence.

The animals found at the park include a few antelope species, the endangered Cape mountain zebra and some small carnivore species.

Camdeboo National Park might appear dry and unexciting at first sight, but stark landscape offers the almost mystical beauty of the Karoo.

The animals of the Camdeboo National Park are as resilient as the vegetation. The springbok, the national animal of South Africa, is one of the best adapted to the area as it requires minimal quantities of water.  There is also an abundance of lizard, tortoise, toad and snake species.  The ostrich is among the nearly 250 bird species found at Camdeboo.

The outstanding feature of Golden Gate is the rocks whose formation started as far back as 200-million years ago. The glowing golden colour of the sandstone cliffs facing each other on either side of the road at sunset led to the name ‘Golden Gate’.

Golden Gate is South Africa’s only grassland national park, but it does have some woodland and forest. It contains a huge variety of antelope and is home to the bearded vulture.  It is also rich in cultural artefacts.

Table Mountain National Park is part of the Cape Floral World Heritage Site. It is one of the seven natural wonders of the world and one of the most beautiful spots on the African continent. It covers an area of about 60km from across the Cape Peninsula right up to Cape Point with the Table Mountain and the Cape of Good Hope as its crown jewels.

Table Mountain National Park is home to an astonishing array of rare plant life, fynbos and different variants of Protea. Antelope, baboon, and Cape clawless otter are found in the Park.  The park is also home to penguins, birds one would normally expect to find near Antarctica. Southern right and humpback whales visit the coast between August and October.

Tsitsikamma was proclaimed as Africa’s first protected marine reserve in 1964. Today it forms part of the stunning Garden Route National Park. The appeal of the park is its dramatic landscapes made up of a pristine rocky coastline, an evergreen forest, herbal pockets and steep cliffs. Its rivers, lagoons, lakes and the Indian Ocean are home to marine life and offer opportunities for exploration and adventure.

The area is also rich in animal life. The 800-year-old Outeniqua yellowwoods in the forest were already 300-years-old 1492 when Christopher Columbus ‘discovered’ the Americas.

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