Scene in Sitsikamma.
THIS wild and uninhabited part of southern Africa is situated between Plettenberg’s Bay and Algoa Bay, about five hundred miles from the Cape of Good Hope. It is intersected by rivers running through deep ravines, whose slanting sides are finely clothed with forest trees, some of uncommon growth and luxuriance.
In these impenetrable forests are buffaloes without number, rhinoceroses, and elephants, the last of which, at present, are scarcely to be found in any other part of the colony. Here they are sometimes shot by the boors, who usually take their station in the thickets near some still part of a river, where it is easily accessible, and where the traces of the animal shew that it frequents. Laying thus in ambuscade, they take aim at the head near the ear, which is considered to be the most mortal part.
These forests abound with a variety of birds, whose nests are frequently suspended in a curious manner from the extremities of the branches of trees.
Source: African scenery and animals by Samuel Daniell, William Daniell, Thoma Dowdeswell. London 1804.
The Tsitsikamma National Park is a South African national park located in the Western Cape Province near Plettenberg Bay. The Tsitsikamma Marine Protected Area (MPA) is the oldest marine protected area in the world and was established in 1964. The park extends over an area of 298 km. It is located in the Sarah Baartman District in the western part of the Eastern Cape Province.
Tsitsikamma National Park forms a section of the Garden Route National Park and is located in the heart of the picturesque tourist region known as the Garden Route, which can be found in the Southern Cape of South Africa.
The animal world in Tsitsikamma consists of both marine and land animals with particularly beautiful birds. Among the sea animals you can observe whales, dolphins and porpoises depending on the season. Among the birds that populate Tsitsikamma, the park is home to the African black oystercatcher, the Knysna Lourie.