Chrissiesmeer

Chrissiesmeer sits in the largest natural freshwater lake district in South Africa - around 270 pans scattered across the high grassland, of which Lake Chrissie is the biggest natural freshwater lake in the country by surface area. The pans fill and dry on a rain cycle, so the whole district changes character between years: in a wet season flamingos arrive in numbers, both greater and lesser, along with pelicans and thousands of waterfowl, and in dry years the pans are cracked mud. The local speciality is odder - guided night walks in summer to hear and find frogs, with fifteen or so species calling at once after rain, something the village markets as frogging and which has become its own small season. Cranes breed in the grassland, and the district is on the same birding circuit as Wakkerstroom. Roads between the pans are gravel and can be greasy after storms.

History

The San lived in this area together with the Tlou-tle people, who lived on rafts on the larger lakes (Wikipedia, Chrissiesmeer).

The landscape

• The 270 pans - the largest natural lake district in the country, filling and drying by cycle.
• The flamingos - greater and lesser flocks arriving in wet years.
• The frogging nights - guided summer walks to find fifteen or so calling species.
• The cranes - breeding pairs in the surrounding highveld grassland.

When to go

November to March, after rain. Two days. In drought years the pans are empty and the birds absent.

Before you go

Everything depends on rainfall - a dry cycle means bare mud and no flamingos. Roads are gravel and slippery after storms. Frogging is a guided night activity, booked ahead. Winter nights are bitterly cold at this altitude.

Nearby

Wakkerstroom is south; Ermelo is the nearest town of size.