experiences
Guided Day Walks
Discover the Karoo: A Journey
Through Nature, Ecology & Heritage on Wolwekraal Nature Reserve
You can book for an educational walk, guided by our resident ecologist Sue Milton-Dean, who has extensive knowledge of Karoo natural history, veld management and restoration. She is ably assisted at times by other local residents with considerable knowledge of local conditions, fauna, flora and archaeology. The two-hour walk is an eye-opening experience, ideal for anyone curious and keen to discover the less obvious and fascinating lives of plants, animals and the people who walked the Karoo landscapes before us. The walk is popular in school holidays, as children are generally more observant than adults, they find plenty to keep them amused. Sue and other guides welcome questions and are happy to discuss such topics as medicinal plants, veld management, veld restoration, soils, geology, archaeology and history depending on your particular interest in the area.
The walk is about 2 km and takes place on a fairly flat, desert landscape, and is suitable for all ages. We limit groups to 10 people per guide. You can read more about it here.
Guided Night Walks
Creatures of the Night: Bat & Scorpion Walk
on Wolwekraal Nature Reserve
A night-walk experience that focuses on two creatures adapted to exploit the night foraging niche. By hunting and moving after dusk, both bats and scorpions avoid the intense daytime heat of arid environments, and they evade daytime predators like birds of prey. Both bats and scorpions rely on unique, non-visual senses to navigate the dark (Bats use echolocation to ‘see’ in the dark, while scorpions use slit sensilla on their legs to detect microscopic ground vibrations). Both are predators that keep insect populations in balance, bats from the sky, and scorpions on the ground! The Creatures of the Night walk is a guided opportunity to learn about and observe scorpions using UV torches, that make them glow under UV light; and to detect bats with the help of a Bat Detector, that plays ultrasonic bat echolocation calls back in real time at frequencies within human hearing range. One may be lucky to experience other nocturnal wildlife on Wolwekraal Nature Reserve, such as Barking Geckos, Aardvark, Bat-eared Fox, Porcupine, Owls, Nightjars, Moths, Beetles, and many more!
The walk is about 2 km, on flat terrain
Suitable for ages: 12+
Groups limited to: 6 people max
Guests are required to wear closed shoes and long pants
Creatures of the Night experience does not run in Winter months
Bird Watching
WCRO is a captivating destination for birdwatchers, boasting a variety of Karoo endemic or near-endemic species, such as Karoo Korhaan, Karoo Eremomela, Karoo Prinia, Namaqua Warbler, Rufous-eared Warbler, Fairy Flycatcher, Karoo Chat, Karoo, Long-billed and Spike-heeled Larks. The self-guided bird-watching route starts at Renu-Karoo production nursery and leads through sparse sweet-thorn woodland, past the Municipal Waste disposal facility and along the bank of the Dorps River.
Talks and Demos
The WCRT Research and Education Centre hosts monthly lectures or demonstrations on natural and cultural history. These are given by students, WCRO members or invited experts. Recent talks have dealt with the effects of climate change and drought on Karoo rangelands and livestock farming, conservation stewardship, careers in conservation, the evolution and diversification of Pelargoniums and vygies, the local indigenous waterwise gardens, heuweltjies, adaptations of Karoo plants, approaches to veld restoration in the Karoo and population trends in endemic succulents. If you would like to request a topic for a public lecture, or to offer a presentation under the banner of WCRO please email Sue at WklConsResOrg@gmail.com
Indigenous Nursery
Renu-Karoo Nursery, on the southern part of Wolwekraal Nature Reserve, specialises in growing indigenous Karoo plants for gardens, production of indigenous seeds for veld restoration, Karoo landscaping and ecological restoration. Among the many iconic Karoo plants we grow rooi karee (Searsia lancea), sweet thorn (Vachellia karroo) and Karoo boerboon (Schotia afra) trees, shrubs such as skaapbosse (Pentzia), porpoise (Hermannia), langjan (Athanasia), renosterbos (Dicerothamnus), brides bouquet (Dimorphotheca) and gombos/kraakbos (Pteronia). We also grow a wide selection of Karoo succulents including vygies, euphorbias, aloes, stapelias and Pelargoniums, We welcome visitors to our nursery on the main road of Prince Albert.
