ROARING DUNES OF SOUTH-AFRICA

The Witsand Nature Reserve in the Northern Cape is an exceptional destination, featuring geological and climatic anomalies that cause the desert sand to “roar” loudly! It is a natural attraction and is one of the Green Kalahari’s best-kept secrets. The birding here is exceptional, and you’ll see plenty of wildlife too.

Against the rust-red sands of the Kalahari, the “roaring” white sand dunes of Witsand Nature Reserve remain a mysterious natural phenomenon.

Scientists believe, that these pale dunes had to have emerged from an isolated range of hillocks buried beneath the sand, from which springs a natural reservoir that, over millions of years, has gradually leached the red-oxide from the dunes, turning them white.

Known as Witsands’,(Whitesand) Roaring Sands or Brulsand, their countless millions of grains of sand rub together to emit a deep reverberating hum. For this natural phenomenon to occur very hot and dry conditions are necessary, so although Witsand in the Kalahari is warm all-year-round, summer is the best time to experience this extraordinary sand “music”. More of a rumble than a roar, one has to be within close proximity of the dunes to hear their unique sound.