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OVERBERG

The Overberg, often called the Whale Coast, is a region with rugged mountain ranges, gentle hills covered in wheat and canola fields, a wealth of indigenous Fynbos and a beautiful coastline. This is also where you can find the southern-most tip of the African continent and the second, land-based, African Penguin colony of South Africa.

You would be surprised how many nature reserves and national parks this region has. Many of them are located along the coastline, like De Hoop Nature Reserve, De Mond Nature Reserve, Agulhas National Park and Walker Bay Nature Reserve. These parks and reserves offer a wide range of landscapes and activities. Ranging from long sandy beaches, sand dunes and fynbos covered hills to rocky coastlines, crags, valleys and mountains.

A major attraction of the Overberg is whale watching. The coastline between the Kogelberg Nature Reserve and Quoin Point Nature Reserve is called the Whale Coast. Every year, between June and November, Southern Right Whales come to these waters putting on spectacular displays of breaching and tail slapping. Although whales can be seen along most of South Africa’s coastline, the Whale Coast offers exceptional whale watching opportunities, both from land and sea.

But whales aren’t the only marine attractions here. Stony Point Nature Reserve has a colony of African Penguins, Great White Sharks patrol these coastal waters, there are many colonies of playful Brown Fur Seals and dolphins play in the surf.

The Overberg is home to a remarkable floral diversity. Most of the reserves and mountains are covered in Fynbos, which are characterized by Erica, Protea and Restio species. The best flower displays can usually be seen between August and October. A good place to see Fynbos is the Kogelberg Nature Reserve, often referred to as the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom.

Agulhas National Park, Bontebok National Park, De Hoop Nature Reserve, De Mond Nature Reserve, Fernkloof Nature Reserve, Kogelberg Nature Reserve, Marloth Nature Reserve, Stony Point Nature Reserve, Walker Bay Nature Reserve, Overberg map, Whale Coast map

The Overberg is home to the Whale Coast. This is a stretch of coastline that is famous for its whale and dolphin spotting. Within this stretch of coast lies the town Hermanus, which is one of the best land-based whale watching places in the world. The shallow waters along the coastline of Hermanus, Walker Bay Nature Reserve and De Hoop Nature Reserve are ideal to spot Southern Right Whale (in spring), dolphins and the Great White Shark.

The landscape of the Overberg consists of flat land, used for agriculture, mountains to the north and a sandy/rocky coastline. It boasts some 2500 plant species, of which 300 are endemic. One of the reasons this number is so high is because the Kogelberg Nature Reserve lies in this region. This reserve has an exceptional diversity and quality of Fynbos, earning it the nickname of the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom. This nature reserve alone has some 1800 plant species.

The Overberg used to be home to many animals associated to South Africa’s savanna landscape. Lions, rhino’s, hyena’s, herds of antelope, zebras and hippos were all present when the Europeans arrived in the 1600s. Nowadays much smaller species roam freely in this region. Leopard, African Clawless Otter, Cape Fox, African Wildcat, Ratel, Bat-eared Fox, Caracal, Grey Rhebok, Bush Duiker, Cape Grysbok, Steenbok and Klipspringer to name a few. But some of the national parks and reserves have introduced larger and regional extinct mammals such as Bontebok, Mountain Zebra, Hartebeest, Common Hippopotamus, Giraffe and Black Wildebeest.

The rolling hills, covered in wheat, are favored by the Blue Crane, South Africa’s national bird. The Overberg is one of the best regions to see this bird. But there is another icon living here, the African Penguin. At Stony’s Point Nature Reserve lives a colony of thousands of these birds. The Fynbos covered and mountainous areas also support other birds like Rameron Pigeon, flamingos, canaries, flycatchers, Cape White-eyes, Cape Sugarbird, Sunbirds and many raptors. Potberg, at the De Hoop Nature Reserve, is home to the only remaining breeding colony of Cape Griffon in the Western Cape.

Hikers should be on the lookout for Puff Adders, Cape Cobra, Boomslang and the Mountain Adder. These are some of the most common snakes in the Overberg. You should also look at the upper branches in trees and shrubs for the Cape Dwarf Chameleon, as they climb to the top of the vegetation in the morning to bask in the sun.

Browse through some of the species you can find in this region: