Mountain Zebra Park
Overview
This park
provides you with the opportunity to easily see one of the
world’s truly rare species: the Cape Mountain Zebra.
There are
only about 300 of these animals left on the planet and the fact that
they have not yet slipped into perpetual oblivion is because of the
proclamation of this area in 1937 to protect them.
Located
within easy striking distance of the town of Cradock (12 km) in the
malaria-free Eastern Cape area of South Africa, this park covers an
area of 28 000 hectares of mountainous terrain.
Most of
the roads
are gravel and can be driven easily by a normal sedan
vehicle. The Kranskop Loop is very rocky in places and after heavy rain
portions of it might be under water. The route from the main gate to
the rest camp is tarred.
Mountain
Zebra Park Satellite Map
Use this map to get some perspective of the
routes and features in the park. Magnify (zoom in)
by double clicking
with your mouse or
using the controls in the upper left hand corner.
View Larger
Map
When
and How To
Visit
In terms of your comfort, winter (May
– August) isn’t the best time to visit
the park
unless you like the cold because temperatures drop precipitously and
regular snowfalls occur on the higher ridges.
Summers (October – March)
are a
lot warmer and a better time to go especially if you are planning on
camping. The average annual rainfall is about 350mm.
Driving here with your own vehicle is the
best way to explore this park so there is no need to pay extra to hire
a safari company. And to make things easy I've written a book with all
the details on how to guide
your own safari...
Getting
There
The Mountain Zebra National Park is situated
on the R61 road towards Graaff-Reinet, 12km from Cradock.
Below are the distances from some of the major cities in South
Africa…
Port Elizabeth ("PE") to Mountain Zebra Main
Gate:
280km
Cape Town to Mountain Zebra Main Gate: 800km
Johannesburg ("Jo'burg") to Mountain Zebra Main Gate: 800km
Durban to Mountain Zebra Main Gate: 1050km
To get to Cradock from any point in South
Africa use the maps supplied by your car rental company or purchase a
good map book like the AA Road Atlas from any newsagent. From Cradock
it’s just a short hop along the R61 road to get to the
Mountain Zebra Park
main gate.
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