Caledon Nature Reserve is situated 120 km south-east of Bloemfontein on the R701 road between Wepener and Smithfield in the Free State, South Africa. It is about 2,300 hectares in size. The park is named after, and situated on the

Caledon River The Caledon River ( st, Mohokare) is a major river located in central South Africa. Its total length is , rising in the Drakensberg Mountains on the Lesotho border, flowing southwestward and then westward before joining the Orange River near Beth ...

, which is dammed at

Welbedacht Dam Welbedacht Dam is a concrete-gravity type dam situated in South Africa, and was established in 1973. Bloemfontein is the sixth-largest city in South Africa, with a population around 300 000. It is situated in the Modder River catchment, which ...

close to the

Lesotho Lesotho ( ), officially the Kingdom of Lesotho, is a country landlocked country, landlocked as an Enclave and exclave, enclave in South Africa. It is situated in the Maloti Mountains and contains the Thabana Ntlenyana, highest mountains in Sou ...

border. This dam supplies Bloemfontein with water, the nature reserve is located on the western shore of the reservoir. Wepener (also close to the border) is its closest town. In addition to the wide variety of birds, it is home to the Black wildebeest,

Gemsbok The gemsbok or South African oryx (''Oryx gazella'') is a large antelope in the genus ''Oryx''. It is native to the extremely dry, arid regions of Southern Africa; notably, the Kalahari Desert. Some authorities formerly classified the East Afric ...

Impala The impala or rooibok (''Aepyceros melampus'') is a medium-sized antelope found in eastern and southern Africa. The only extant member of the genus '' Aepyceros'' and tribe Aepycerotini, it was first described to European audiences by Germa ...

Blesbok The blesbok or blesbuck (''Damaliscus pygargus phillipsi'') is a subspecies of the bontebok antelope endemic to South Africa, Eswatini and Namibia. It has a distinctive white face and forehead which inspired the name, because ''bles'' is the Afri ...

, Red hartebeest, Springbok and Zebra. Two floating bush camps on rafts offer overnight accommodation for hikers and canoeists. On the shore, there are huts for self-catering and a lapa with

braai Barbecue varies by the type of meat, sauce, rub, or other flavorings used, the point in barbecuing at which they are added, the role smoke plays, the equipment and fuel used, cooking temperature, and cooking time. The meat may be whole, groun ...

facilities.

Mammals in the reserve

Blesbok - Damaliscus pygargus albifrons.jpg,

Antidorcas marsupialis.jpg, Springbok Burchell's Zebra (Etosha).jpg,

Burchell's Zebra Burchell's zebra (''Equus quagga burchellii'') is a southern subspecies of the plains zebra. It is named after the British explorer and naturalist William John Burchell. Common names include bontequagga, Damaraland zebra, and Zululand zebra (John ...

Black Wildebeest.jpg, Black wildebeest

Mammals in the reserve

References

See also