CATEGORY:

NATURE & SCENERY, WATER ADVENTURE, WILDLIFE & ANIMALS, LEISURE, ENTERTAINMENT, ACCOMMODATION

LOCATION: GARIEP DAM

DESCRIPTION:

The Free State's largest nature reserve is a combination of the 36 487 ha Gariep Dam on the Orange River and an 11 237 ha game sanctuary on its northern shore.

Situated between Bloemfontein and Colesberg in the Free State, Gariep Dam is an ideal place to stop over on your way between Cape Town and Johannesburg. From the dam some 200 000 ha of land is irrigated, by means of a tunnel of 83,8 km, delivering water to the upper valleys of the Fish River, and then from another 13,2 km tunnel to the Sundays River. The dam covers some 374 square kilometers. With the supply of some 455 million litres of water to the dry Karoo region around it, the hydro electric scheme generates 600 000 kilowatts of power, as well.

The dam was officially opened in 1972 and is very popular with both anglers and boating enthusiasts. Water sports and attractions include sailing, power boating, canoeing, skiing, angling and sporting. The game reserve accommodates the largest population of springbok in any reserve in the country and also features Cape mountain zebra, klipspringer, black wildebeest, red hartebeest and ostrich.