Dream Landscapes: Goegap Nature Reserve, Northern Cape, South Africa

Aloe dichotoma, a symbolic Namakwaland species. Photo Melissa Petford.

In January 2016 I visited the Northern Cape for the first time. One of the places I visited was Goegap near Springbok, spending about three days in the area. I was impressed by the landscapes and biodiversity of the region. I was given another opportunity to visit Goegap during the last week of September 2017, this time for a week. Our objective was to help wildlife film makers, Henk Ekermans and Barend van der Watt, find and shoot some of the smaller animals of this biodiversity rich ecosystem.

Mountain scene with granite boulders at Goegap. Photo Melissa Petford.

Hot arid gravel plain. At night these come alive with geckos and scorpions.

A lone Aloe dichotoma growing on slope.

After a long trip from the Soutpansberg in Northern Limpopo Province, we drove to Springbok and enjoyed the transition from Savannah to Highveld to Kalahari to Nama Karoo, once again reminded me of the vastness of South Africa and all the wide open spaces left.

Many-horned Adder (Bitis cornuta) we were lucky enough to see. A definite reptilian highlight of the trip.

Some colour. Western Sandveld Lizard (Nucras tessellata) found foraging among the plants.

We were lucky enough to have access to many inaccessible areas of the reserve and given permission to travel freely even at night. This allowed us, despite the cold dry weather, to find many interesting reptiles, arachnids and centipedes while being immersed in dream like landscapes. A big attraction to the area this time of year is the Namaqualand flowering period. Unfortunately the rains did not arrive this year so the flowers were few and far between, still we saw some amazing plants.

Interesting quartz outcrop.

Quartz outcrop among granite hills.

We were quite lucky with our reptiles and wracked up a nice species tally with a few we had never seen before. Our totals in the end were 32 reptiles; with seven snakes, 23 lizards, 2 tortoises (shells only). The list is as follows:

Snakes

Beetz’s Tiger Snake (Telescopus beetzii)

Brown House Snake (Boaedon capensis)

Mole Snake (Pseudoaspis cana) – DOR 

Karoo Sand Snake (Psammophis notostictus)

Fork-marked Sand Snake (Psammophis trinasalis) – DOR

Delandes Beaked Blindsnake (Rhinotyphlops lalandei)

Many-horned Adder (Bitis cornuta)

Lizards

Geckos

Weber’s Gecko (Pachydactylus weberi)

Barnard’s Gecko (Pachydactylus barnardi)

Quartz Gecko (Pachydactylus latirostris)

Large-scaled Gecko (Pachydactylus macrolepis)

Namaqua Gecko(Pachydactylus namaquensis)

Giant Ground Gecko (Chondrodactylus  angulifer angulifer)

Bibron’s Gecko (Chondrodactylus bibronii)

Spotted Barking Gecko (Ptenopus garrulous maculatus)

Namaqua Pygmy Gecko (Goggia rupicola)

Namaqua Flat Gecko (Afroedura africana namaquensis)

Lacertids

Spotted Desert Lizard (Meroles suborbitalis)

Plain Sand Lizard (Pedioplanis inornata)

Namaqua Sand Lizard (Pedioplanis namaquensis)

Western Sandveld Lizard (Nucras tessellata)

Cordylids

Karoo Girdled Lizard (Karusasaurus polyzonus)

Cape Flat Lizard (Platysaurus capensis)

Gerrhosaurs

Dwarf Plated Lizard (Cordylosaurus subtessellatus)

Skinks

Cape Skink (Trachylepis capensis)

Western Three Striped Skink (Trachylepis occidentalis)

Western Rock Skink (Trachylepis sulcata)

Varigated Skink (Trachylepis variegata)

Striped Dwarf Legless Skink (Acontias lineatus)

Agamid

Southern Rock Agama (Agama atra)

Tortoises

Angulate Tortoise (Chersina angulate)

Speckled Padlooper (Homopus signatus)

Our first snake, Beetz's Tiger Snake, Telescopus beetzii. Beautiful and colourful.

The Namakwa form of the Brown House Snake (Boaedon capensis). Bug-eyed and very pale. Was really hoping to see one.

Detail of above Brown House Snake (Boaedon capensis). Look at those eyes!

Second Brown House Snake (Boaedon capensis). This female was large and more beautiful than the first.

Delandes Beaked Blind Snake (Rhinotyphlops lalandei). Detail of the business end. Photo Melissa Petford.

Saw several of these Karoo Sand Snakes (Psammophis notostictus). Graceful and difficult to detect.

Karoo Sand Snakes (Psammophis notostictus) full body shot.

Detail of the head of Many-horned Adder (Bitis cornuta).

Many-horned Adder (Bitis cornuta) a master of camouflage in it's complex environment.

Namaqua Gecko (Pachydactylus namaquensis). Common gecko in massive granite outcrops.

A juvenile Pachydactylus barnardi. Amazing little animal.

Large-scaled Gecko (Pachydactylus macrolepis), one of our most exciting gecko finds.

Dorsal view of Large-scaled Gecko (Pachydactylus macrolepis) showing banding.

Spotted Barking Gecko (Ptenopus garrulous maculatus). Common as muck, but very difficult to capture.

Weber’s Gecko (Pachydactylus weberi). Fast little geckos found on rocky outcrops.

Quartz Gecko (Pachydactylus latirostris). The most abundant reptile of Goegap. At night their soft calls filled the air.

Namaqua Pygmy Gecko (Goggia rupicola). Tiny psychedelic geckos.

Detail of Western Sandveld Lizard (Nucras tessellata) displaying powerful claws and jaws.

Western Sandveld Lizard (Nucras tessellata). Exquisite!

Namaqua Sand Lizard (Pedioplanis namaquensis). We found this guy at night.

Cape Flat Lizard (Platysaurus capensis). These guys are stunning!

Very common in the area, here is a light Karoo Girdled Lizard (Karusasaurus polyzonus).

Karoo Girdled Lizard (Karusasaurus polyzonus), dark form.

Bronzy male Western Rock Skink (Trachylepis sulcata).

A little Varigated Skink (Trachylepis variegata). These delightful little lizards are everywhere.

Another reptilian H\highlight. Striped Dwarf Legless Skink (Acontias lineatus).

Southern Rock Agama (Agama atra). The specimens in the Northern Cape are really massive compared to other populations.

Scorpions

Besides the reptiles, which were good, the Northern Cape region is also an arachnid hotspot. Anyone that knows me knows I love scorps and here are a few of the amazing scorpions and centipeds we found along the way.

Uroplectes gracilor
Parabuthus capensis

Parbuthus shlechteri

Parabuthus granulatus

Opistophthalmus granifrons

Opistophthalmus peringueyi
Opistophthalmus pallipes

Hadogenes phylodes

Parabuthus granulatus

Parbuthus shlechteri

Opistophthalmus granifrons.

Opistophthalmus peringueyi

Centipedes
A nightmare to identify! But we try: Ethmostigmus sp and Scolonependera mortisans

The most beautiful Scolonependera mortisans I have seen.

A large and scary Ethmostigmus

Harpactira namaquensis. A beautiful Baboon Spider.

Overall we had an amazing week, we saw and experienced so much biodiversity. Working and living close to another river system (Limpopo) on the opposite side of the continent, experiencing the !Garib system and all it’s different animals, plants, climatic conditions is such a privilege. Many thanks to Barend and Henk for the opportunity and making our stay extra comfortable.

Louse Fly biting!