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Namibia> Places to visit in Namibia |
The idea of founding the Gondwana Cañon Park was born in 1996 when a small group of dedicated Namibians decided to try to preserve a small area bordering the eastern side of the Fish River Canyon National Park in Namibia's south.
For decades, this land has been used for sheep farming which in the end proved unsustainable in this semi-desert area that receives less than 100-mm rainfall annually. What started out as a small idealistic concept has grown today into a full-scale park of approximately 100.000 ha. Even in this short period of time a substantial recovery of the flora and fauna has taken place.
A lot of effort has been put in removing all the existing fences and establishing waterholes for game. Regular game counts prove that we already have a healthy, albeit small population of kudu, oryx, springbok, ostrich, mountain zebra and a variety of smaller antelopes. Even leopards are sighted regularly again.
A new ranger team has been formed and plans for the direct future include purchasing more game to enlarge the numbers as well as to reintroduce species that are endemic to the area but currently not present. A substantial amount of the funding of the Gondwana Cañon Park comes from the bed levy of 5% that is being transferred from the proceeds of both the Cañon Lodge and the Cañon Roadhouse into the Gondwana Cañon Park Fund. Thus by staying at either the Cañon Lodge or the Cañon Roadhouse each guest actively contributes to our motto: "Give back to nature what belongs to nature".