The-Big-5 of Knysna

Many visitors in South Africa are keen on the so called Big Five. We don’t want to make them small, but they are not sooooo special. There are few places where you can see Lion, Elephant and Co. But the “Big 5 of Knysna” are really unique.  Knysna is famous for its indigenous Fauna and Flora. More than 8,000 different plants are growing in this area and 6,000 of them are indigenous. And some of our animals, too. Very famous for Knysna is the Knysna Seahorse (Hippocampus capensis). Another species is the Knysna Dwarf Chameleon (Bradypodion damaranum) which is often seen in our garden at Candlewood Lodge.

Number three is our Knysna Loerie (Tauraco corythaix) which is often seen in our Stinkwood Tree jumping from branch to branch. One of the rarest butterflies in the world has his home in Knysna, too. The Brenton Blue Butterfly (Orachrysops niobe). In Brenton there is even a Conservaty for this beautiful butterflies. And number 5 is the endemic Tree-Frog (Afrixalus knysnae) in the Knysna forests. And if you still can’t forget the elephants: Knysna is the only place on the African continent with the last real wild elephants. A heard of around 10 elephants are still browsing through the forests.

Some activities can also be found on https://www.candlewood.co.za/knysna/things-to-do/

Source: Thanks to Callan Cohen of Birds of Africa allowing us using his wonderful chameleon.