World's smallest desert in KZN gets a fence

The mystery surrounding the origins of the world's smallest desert, just 170km south of Durban, includes tales of aliens landing on the site.

However, a fourth-generation member of the family that has for more than 100 years owned the land where the Red Desert is located, has revealed that its origins are a result of overgrazing and erosion by wind.

Matt Williams said the desert was found in the location of a Zulu tribe in the 1800s, with vast cattle herds stolen from the Pondos.

"The terrain became severely over grazed, and subsequently eroded by wind, resulting in the desertification of the area, with wind-sculpted dune formations," he said. 

"The underlying soil has very high iron content, which does not allow vegetation to thrive."

He said that tools from the Stone Age that were used to chop up plants and seafood have been discovered.

On Tuesday, the South African National Roads Agency (Sanral) announced that it had erected a fence to protect the desert, at Williams's request. The Red Desert Nature Reserve was established in 2015.

The desert, which derives its name from the scarlet colour of the sand, is situated on a hillside overlooking the Mtamvuna River, which divides KwaZulu-Natal and the Eastern Cape, near the Wild Coast Sun casino complex.

Just 200 metres in diameter, the desert, which resembles a miniature version of the Arizona Desert in the United States of America, is now an internationally protected heritage site.

Archaeological artifacts have been found on the site, and the Red Desert is described in navigation manuals as a sighting landmark for ships on their way up the Natal coast.

The area contains a significant area of “critically endangered” Pondoland-Natal Sandstone Coastal Sourveld, found nowhere else in the country.

The Red Desert Nature Reserve also comprises several habitats, ranging from coastal marine, grasslands, coastal forests, swamp forests, krantzes, desert and riverine to wetland. 

At least 480 species of plants and 200 bird species have been recorded to date, with many listed as being under some degree of threat. Southern Reedbuck, common duiker, blue duiker and oribi have been seen.

Williams, also chairman of the Red Desert Nature Reserve committee, said since the nature reserve adjoins the former R61 coastal route, which is now declared as the N2, many buck, deer and bush pigs had been run over by vehicles.

Ravi Ronny, Sanral eastern region design and construction manager, said discussions about erecting 2.7km of fencing had been ongoing since 2014.

"Given the environmental importance of the nature reserve, we agreed to erect a fence along the reserve’s boundary with the road, at our cost. The fence will help keep animals away from the busy N2, whilst also combating trespassing and plant poaching problems," he said.