Draft
Motivation for the Nahoon Point Nature Reserve to be declared a Provincial Heritage Site
Introduction
The proposed provincial proclamation of the Nahoon Point Nature Rerserve comprises almost 300 Ha (approximately 600 acres).
It is bounded on the north-east by the west bank of the Nahoon River and in the south-west by the Blind River, extending inland to encompass the East London Golf Course and green extensions of riparian bush and forest to the North-East Express Way boundary in the west.
Proposed by the East London Museum in 2001 with a draft document tabled to the local municipal authority in 2002 it was eventually proclaimed as a municipal reserve in 2004. The museum carried the vision for the reserve and drafted the first brief detailing the mission and objectives for conserving the natural and cultural heritage of the area.
As far back as 1904 the area from Nahoon Point to Bat’s Cave was already recognised for its natural beauty and great diversity of sandy beaches, rocky sandstone coves, pristine dune forests and with later exploratory revelations the rich cultural landmarks of Khoisan middens and Middle Stone Age (MSA) lithics (stone tools).
The area has remained reasonably protected as it was ceded by the British (under the hand of King Edward VII) to the then municipal authorities in 1904 to be utilised for recreation and bathing. Thus, most erven now forming part of the present reserve remained free from development over the decades.
In 1964 a discovery of human and animal track ways revealed the additional paleoanthropological potential of the area. The published date for the coastal sandstone in which the track ways were found is approximately 124 000 years. These are the oldest anatomically modern human trace fossil footprints on Earth and are believed to have been made by a 7-9-year-old child. This represents an era of the early modern ancestors of all humankind. Additional animal tracks (possibly made on the same day) include a scrub hare, a bird and a small mammal such as a mongoose. This is an exceptionally unique palaeo-surface presenting such a variety of ichnological (fossilised tracks) evidence in one small area.
The word ‘Nahoon’ is believed to have been derived from a Khoisan word meaning ‘river of fighting’. Another interpretation is the corruption of the Xhosa name Nxaruni (the name of a chief who once lived there).
A number of shipwrecks have also been documented along the Nahoon coastline with the most recent discovery of cannons (2018) off the Nahoon River Mouth. Investigations may reveal these to be from the Portuguese carrack the Santa Maria Madre de Deus which went down in 1643.
Reasons for heritage protection
The two main reasons to have this area protected are:
1. Cultural heritage and significance
2. Natural heritage and biodiversity conservation
The cultural heritage is revealed by coastal middens (dating between 2 000 and 3 000 years old) and MSA stone tools sites (dating between 30 000 -140 000 years old) at various points in the reserve and the ichnological revelations both natural and excavated of the presence of Homo sapiens sapiens predating any historical account of known cultures and activities along this section of coast.
The natural heritage reflects one of the largest aeolianite sandstone outcrops along the eastern coastal seaboard of South Africa and a great diversity of animal and plant species. Included would be the unique geomorphology and geology of sandstone coves, large primary dunes, doleritic boulder beaches, sandy beaches and three estuarine river systems (Blind river, Inhlanza river and Nahoon river).
Cultural Heritage
The significance of the human trace fossil track way dated at 124 000 years makes the Nahoon precinct one of the most important world landmarks in the story of human evolution. These track ways are older than the 117 000 human track ways found at Langebaan in the Western Cape in 1995. Other trace fossil footprint track ways have been discovered in Africa and the world but not representing the time when our species starting evolving a culture and aspects of community interactions.
Urgent protective status is required to secure the unique geology (sandstone) which may further reveal trace fossil evidence of human activity in this part of South Africa. Interpreting the animal trace fossil track ways may give insights into the relationship between humankind and the animal kingdom as well.
The shell middens scattered in the reserve are evidence of Khoisan ancestry and reflect the utilisation of shellfish such as patella, white and brown mussel and cockles to name a few. The midden lenses (layers) detail the most abundant shellfish species eaten at various times and these have for the most part been preserved by the process of lithification (where sediments and shell fragments are turned into hard rock). These middens are important entry points into human occupation of the coastal zone over many centuries
Evidence of humankind is also reflected in the variety of stone tools (blades, scrapers and core stones) found at a specific location in the reserve. These lithics have been knapped from material sourced close by such as the doleritic boulders (eroded from an intrusion event of volcanic rock approximately 182 million years ago) and geologic contact zones producing a preferred material (for making stone tools) called hornfels (metamorphic rock).
Presently there are threats to the above by way of uncontrolled access to the reserve and its surrounds, particularly to sensitive areas such as Bat’s Cave and some midden sites.
Bat’s Cave is a unique feature which would have played a role as a destination point for Khoisan peoples and though presumed not to have been occupied permanently it may have provided shelter during storms and used as a reference to the area for new arrivals of Khoi and San clans over hundreds of years. The ceiling of the cave itself has positive animal trace fossil track ways which are slowly eroding away naturally over time.
Natural heritage
The great diversity of sandy beaches, rocky shores, wave cut sandstone coves and high primary dunes are just some of the spectacular features which make the Nahoon Point NR a natural history landscape like no other along the BCMM coast (with the one exception – Cove Rock, a smaller coastal aeolianite outcrop close to Winterstrand). The integrity of the landscape has held its own considering the impacts of alien invasive plant species, the removal of sand for building, the development of access roads and the construction of a water reclamation works.
A CSIR (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research) report published in 1993 quantifies some of the faunal components of the reserve listed below:
Frogs (20), Snakes 27), Skinks (5), Lizards (4), Birds (58) and Mammals (57).
There is also a strong floral diversity component contributing the biodiversity of the area.
The fossil bearing rock strata of the Karoo Supergroup known as the Beaufort Group of rocks are also found in the reserve below the Late Pleistocene sandstone. These rocks contain fossil remains of reptiles and mammal-like reptiles dating back to 250 million years.
The various coves found between Nahoon Point and Bat’s Cave were formed when hardened dunes were eroded out by fluctuating sea level changes over the past tens of thousands of years. The dunes were lithified (hardening of sand converting it to sandstone) by lime cementation to form aeolian ridges (related to the action of the wind) that show marked cross bedding confirming their dune origin. Associated with these aeolian dunes and coves are blowholes and wave cut platforms (unique destination stations for a visitor to the reserve).
Summary
Heritage tourism and ecotourism are seriously under-valued in this part of the Eastern Cape and more so, in the Buffalo City Metro. The clash of interests between the survival of prehistoric and historic sites and development are awkwardly in the favour of the latter. Formalising the heritage status of the Nahoon Point Nature Reserve will give a clearer directive to have important heritage considerations incorporated into a management plan for the Nahoon Point Nature Reserve. It will also enhance the educational aspects required to inform the public of the need to protect important heritage sites and the legislative dictates encompassed in the Heritage Resources Act of 1999.
K. Cole Pr. Sci. Nat.
Principal Scientist, East London Museum
March 2023
Photo: Museum scientist Kevin Cole shares insights about the Nahoon Point Nature Reserve with members of the public
elmuseumscience 