About the Area

A wide diversity of ecosystems can be found in the northernmost part of South Africa, due to the variable topography, wide rainfall range and different soil types. The region is also rich with the ethnobotanical knowledge of the Sotho, Bolobedu, Venda, Ndebele and Shangaan cultures. Afromontane grasslands dominate the landscape, such as the threatened Woodbush Granite Grassland that is now protected within the Haenertsburg Grasslands Reserve. Other notable diversity hotspots containing their own rare and threatened species are in Sekhukhune and the Soutpansberg, and along the Wolkberg and Blouberg ranges.