KZN has the ‘world’s smallest desert’

Durban — The “red desert” outside Port Edward on KwaZulu-Natal’s South Coast, commonly referred to as the smallest desert in the world because the surface area it occupies is roughly seven hectares, is an archaeological wonder.

Plant life is virtually non-existent on this patch of land and its soil is dry and red, much like the Kalahari, which is spread over Namibia and parts of Botswana, and the Arizona Desert in the US.

Wildernesses like the Kalahari and Arizona are known to receive less than 100mm of annual rainfall, but that’s the red desert’s point of departure in being classified an authentic desert.

Nearly 1500 mm of rainfall is said to fall over the red desert annually, making it one of the rain-rich parts of the country.

But it is unable to retain the precipitation that comes its way because its topsoil layer was stripped away many years ago, mainly through human intervention, and wind erosion did the rest in consigning it to a lot of barrenness.

However, the reserve where the red desert is located, with its unique flora, wildlife and being frequented by more than 200 species of bird, has become a tourist attraction.

It was also listed among the “101 things to do” in and around the nearby Wild Coast Sun resort in its latest marketing campaign.

In November 2018, the South African National Roads Agency erected a fence there to assist with the protection of the area.

Matthew Williams manages the reserve, land that has been largely owned by his family for many generations, with the local municipality also having a vested interest there.

Through a partnership with the province’s conservation custodians, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the reserve has been a protected area since 2005. It was farmland in its preceding years. Williams said the lay of the land began to alter during the Stone Age.

“The Stone Age people were making tools out of the local rounded-shaped rock. That initiated the disturbance. Many years later, the famous Zulu King Shaka would raid the Xhosa people’s territory and claim their cattle. He used to kraal the cattle here. This also contributed to the desert forming.”

Williams explained that over the years those disturbances stripped away the top soil, and the yardangs (wind-sculpted sand dune) were hardened because of the hot sun.

“Its organic matter was taken off, therefore there has been no recycling of nutrients and no plant life.”

Williams confirmed they were in a “public/private” relationship with Ezemvelo to ensure the 180-hectare reserve, of which the desert is seven hectares, was preserved.

“We could have planted macadamia nuts but we are conservation-minded as a family.”

When asked about the area’s desert status, Williams said: “It’s strictly not, but we like to call it the smallest desert in the world. It’s a nickname we have given it.

“The red colour indicated the sand had a high iron content, which made it largely toxic to many plant types.”

He said it was special for two reasons.

“It is an archaeological site. The Stone Age people used to make stone tools for their hunting and foraging, millions of years ago.

“We get unique vegetation here because the geology is also unique.”

Williams mentioned three protea species found there: roupellia (also known as sugarbush), simplex and caffra. About 200 species of bird frequent the area, including the gurney’s sugar bird, an attitudinal migrant, moving from the Red Desert to the Drakensberg.

Animals that roam around the Red Desert include bushbucks, snake species like mambas, puffadders and pythons, and other reptiles.

Williams said they would not attempt to rehabilitate the desert “in our lifetime”.

“We are trying to conserve it and we will prevent excavation of sand. There have been companies prospecting for heavy metals on the other side.

“This is a protected area, so no drilling will be done here.

“What we have here is a gem. It’s great for hiking, birdwatching, botanists, spectacular views and communing with nature,” said Williams.

Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife communications manager Musa Mntambo said the red desert was part of the their KZN Biodiversity Stewardship Programme and was managed by the Red Desert Nature Reserve Trust supported by Ezemvelo.

“It is essential for the conservation of key vegetation types and habitats. The site contains a significant area of critically endangered Pondoland-Ugu sandstone coastal sourveld and contributes 1.4% to the provincial target (31%) for this vegetation type.

“This forms a critical component of the Pondoland Centre of Plant Endemism of the Maputaland-Pondoland Region, having a significant diversity of endemic plant species found nowhere else in the country.”

Mntambo said the grasslands were generally diverse and, in terms of species, the area was notable for the populations of sugarbushes (Protea spp.) and phylica natalensis, a rare and vulnerable Pondoland endemic shrub which occurs there.

“The site is one of the last remaining corridors of natural grassland to the sea on the KZN South Coast, and provides an important linkage to the Umtamvuna Nature Reserve. It has considerable scientific, cultural and archaeological significance,” he said.

Independent on Saturday