Touring Sesriem and Sossusvlei, by Peter and Marilyn Bridgeford

Touring Sesriem and Sossusvlei, by Peter and Marilyn Bridgeford. Walvis Bay, Namibia 2010. ISBN 9991630775 / ISBN 99916-30-77-5

Overview map of the Namib-Naukluft Park taken from the guide Touring Sesriem and Sossusvlei (ISBN 9991630775 / ISBN 99916-30-77-5)

Since having retired, Peter and Marilyn Bridgeford, former ecologists, live in Walvis Bay, Namibia. Their remarkable guide Touring Sesriem and Sossusvlei has been reprinted several times and is still going strong.

Peter Bridgeford  Hu Berry  Cornelia Berry  

Establishment of the Namib-Naukluft Park

The Namib-Naukluft Park, one of the biggest Game Reserves in southern Africa, grew to its present size over a period of 90 years, the first area to be set aside for conservation was the gravel plain south of the Swakop River. To the west it bordered on the Walvis Bay enclave, then British territory. The southern border was south of the Kuiseb River and about as far east as the present day Namib Research Institute at Gobabeb. The border then turned north-east to near the farm Salem in the Swakop River and was proclaimed as Game Reserve No. 3 on 22 March 1907 by the German colonial administration, Game Reserves No. 1 and 2 were the West Caprivi and Etosha respectively. In 1941 Game Reserve No. 3 was enlarged by the addition of the lagoon at Sandwich harbour to protect guano islands in the lagoon at that time. Thousands of tonnes of guano were removed from natural and man-made islands in the lagoon, first by the Deutsche Kolonialgesellschaft and, after the First World War, by various companies until the concession was taken over in 1937 by Fisons Fertilisers, a Durban company with headquarters in the Netherlands. The Reserve was again enlarged by the addition of a large part of the Swakop River, the plains north of it and the Kuiseb Canyon. The Namib Desert Park was proclaimed in April 1968, covering an area of 14095 km². Two rangers were appointed and stationed in Walvis Bay. The boundary along the beach at Sandwich harbour, was amended a month later, by extending it one mile (1,6 km) into the sea, in effect creating the first marine reserve in Namibia. Further south in the Naukluft Mountains other developments had taken place. In 1968, to safe-guard the rare and endangered Hartmann’s mountain zebra, Equus zebra hartmannae, the farm Naukluft was purchased and proclaimed as the Naukluft Mountain Zebra Park (21.986 hectares). It was soon evident that the boundaries of the park were not ecologically sound and, following an ecological survey in 1970, it was decided to acquire all the farms making up the Naukluft Mountain massif for conservation purposes. Furthermore, to re-establish the age-old natural migration of game from the dunes and plains to the mountains, the farms to the west of the Naukluft Mountains were purchased. [...]

This is an excerpt from the guide: Touring Sesriem and Sossusvlei, by Peter and Marilyn Bridgeford.

Book title: Touring Sesriem and Sossusvlei
Authors: Peter and Marilyn Bridgeford
Editor: Hugh Berry
Self-published
ISBN 9991630775 / ISBN 99916-30-77-5
2nd revised edition. Walvis Bay, Namibia 2010
Softcover, 15 x 21 cm, 58 pages, throughout bw-illustrations, 3 maps