1. Herons, egrets and ibises all nest here.

2. What, we wondered, would a rich birding time be like, as American Avocets and black-necked stilts in the hundreds wheeled and screamed overhead and flocks of white pelicans and white-faced ibises soared discreetly in the distance

3. This is a nature-lover's paradise, a high altitude semi-desert that is home to the largest variety of succulents in the world - as well as eagles, hadehas, sacred ibises, secretary birds, blue cranes, flamingoes, otters, lizards, snakes, tortoises, bat-eared foxes, kudu, springbok, reedbuck, wildebeast, wild cats, ground squirrels and aardvarks.