For years during the reign of the old Nat government, the De Hoop area in the southern Cape was a vast, unknown, and off-limits place – our equivalent of America’s mysterious Area 51 in the Nevada Desert.
Tens of kilometres from any settlement, the 36 000 hectare reserve became part of a secretive missile testing range. This was the place, so the reports went, from where a two-stage Jericho inter-continental ballistic missile (borrowed from the Israelis) was used to launch something 1 500km out into the South Atlantic… something which later lit up the skies with a flash picked up by US spy satellites. To this day, many military experts are convinced this was a test of a South African nuclear warhead.
As you turn off the main gravel road between Bredasdorp and Malgas, you can see why this remote area was chosen.
You quickly leave behind the rich fertile “renosterveld” (now turned to crop fields) and head into the dune barrier where fynbos is virtually all that survives in the poor soil. The rocky and rough road – heading straight for the sea – quickly leaves traces of civilisation behind as it rises and falls through waves of fynbos.
This is a place where you experience that difficult-to-find feeling of space, unspoilt beauty and freedom from human overcrowding.
Even so, as we walk later down through the dunes towards the sea, accompanied by field guide Delfrenzo Laing, the pure, clean beauty of De Hoop still bursts on the senses. As we crest a dune, we are silenced by the multicoloured hue of the ocean below us – ranging from turquoise to deep, royal blues – and the sight of a thatch-roofed Cape Dutch-style cottage afloat in a sea of fynbos. It literally stops you in your tracks as you reach for your camera.
And, while the camera is out, Laing points out into the bay. A puff of spray, then a lazy, huge black fin appears as the southern right whale slowly barrel rolls, exposing its black and white markings. Then there is another flash and we see the distinctive black flukes of the whale’s tail.
We spend a few hours along the seashore, watching the whales and listening as Laing describes the critical importance of the De Hoop Marine Protection Area (MPA), which stretches out 5km from the coast and in which all manner of fishing is banned.
Laing, who works for the De Hoop Collection – which runs the accommodation side of the reserve and arranges guided tours – is one of the first South Africans to be trained as a marine guide under the auspices of the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF). He is passionate about protecting our country’s marine heritage, something which has, in the past, not enjoyed the priority it should.
The fact that De Hoop is a protected area does discourage poaching, says Laing, although it still does happen. But, he reckons, the marine life and its diversity at De Hoop are probably unmatched anywhere along our coast. An estimated 250 species of fish find sanctuary in the MPA and, in addition to the southern right whales (which use the bay as a nursery between May and December), there are six other types of whales which have been seen in the area. Dolphins and seals are also plentiful.
Laing is proud because if you want to talk about crowding at De Hoop, then it will be in the numbers of whales… forget Hermanus, he says, this place is Whale Central…
The reserve has 86 mammal species, including bontebok and Cape mountain zebra (both rare species), eland, grey rhebuck, baboon, yellow mongoose, caracal and, according to Cape Nature, “the occasional leopard”.
There is a huge, 18km-long vlei inland from the sea at De Hoop, a delightful wetland which has international protected status under the Ramsar conventions. The wetland birds include pelicans and flamingos and a clutch of rare residents and visitors which make the location a favourite among keen South African birders. More than 260 species of marine and terrestrial birds have been recorded in the reserve.
When the missile testing ranges were set up in the 1980s, a number of people with holiday homes found themselves expropriated and removed. That clearing of people also had an impact on the conservation of the area – ironically, things improved in many ways.
The area is still used as a test facility and, says Laing, many of the birds and animal species on De Hoop have become acclimatised to the occasional bangs and whooshes. Officials of Cape Nature Conservation, which handles the wildlife management of the reserve, have said they have good co-operation with parastatal armsmaker Denel and there is ongoing monitoring of the effect of testing on the flora and fauna.
Although the reserve allows you to “do it yourself”, it is certainly worthwhile to take one of the guided tours offered by Laing and the other guides.
He will sit outside with you one evening and, with the benefit of the clear skies above De Hoop (one of the reasons it was selected as a missile test range), point out constellations and stars which seem to perch just above your head. You don’t get that in the city.
Another way of exploring De Hoop is on the saddle of amountain bike – and this is an excellent way to cover ground and be close to nature.
The reserve also recently started hosting what will become an annual mountain biking event – and it is hugely popular with cyclists looking for something different.
If you’re not that energetic, perhaps Laing could tempt you with a quad bike expedition. Over a few hours, you’ll get to experience a little adrenalin rush. Of course, the guides strictly control not only where the group goes (no hero bundu-bashing here) but also how it rides, so that sensitive areas are not damaged.
But I think one of the best ways to really enjoy De Hoop which is, after all, a marine protection area, is to get down to the shore.
Get the tides right and Laing or one of the other guides will lead you on an enthralling exploration of the inter-tidal zone and the rocks – and not only will you come away with a new appreciation of the beauty of our coastline, but you’ll also start to share the fervour of people like Laing who want it to be around in the same condition for future generations to enjoy.
There is also a unique Whale Trail, which is, so those who have been on it say, an amazing experience.
But whatever you do, you need to set aside half an hour or so, go down to the rocks, sit and listen as the waves crash against the shoreline, look out across the bay and coastline and marvel at the absence of holiday homes and roads – and share the beauty and peace with the other sentient creatures out there in the calm waters…
Breathe in deeply. And say: “Thank you”. - Saturday Star