Vaalbos National Park

Eland in Vaalbos National Park

Please Note: Vaalbos National Park has been closed. The animals were all relocated to Mokala National Park, which is 50 km north of Kimberley on the N12, beyond Modder River.

The Vaalbos National Park is an extraordinary area along the Vaal River where wildlife such as black and white rhino, buffalo, eland, red hartebeest and tsessebe can be seen in the former heart of the the alluvial diamond diggings near Kimberley. A tourist route, built with material from the diamond diggings using local labour, winds through the park, exposing visitors to all facets of its three different ecosystems as they merge together as one. The name Vaalbos originates from the vaalbos (camphor bush), a prominent plant species in the Vaalbos National Park. The largest part of the vegetation of Vaalbos National Park consists of Kalahari thornveld invaded by Karoo, while a small section along the banks of the Vaal River consists of the false Orange River Broken Veld.

One of the interesting features of the Vaalbos National Park is the interface of two biomes, namely the Savannah Biome and the Nama-Karoo Biome that meet in the Gras-Holpan section. The most common tree in the Vaalbos National Park is the tree the park has been named after, Vaalbos, the camphor bush.