14/12/2025
The Golden Gate Highlands National park is truly beautiful. Spectacular scenery, great hiking, scenic drives and history from the ancient dinosaurs to modern man - you will find it all here. In the early morning or late afternoon light, the glowing rock formations giving this park it's name are truly beautiful.
The rock was laid down in layers over hundreds of millions of years, and the different formations are different colours creating a painted effect.
The Dinosaur Interpretation centre is wonderful. The displays are designed to engage the young as well as adult viewers and are very well presented. The area is famous for the breeding site discovered in a road cutting of the Massospondylus dinosaur, where nests of fossilised eggs, some with embryos visible, were found.
At the park offices the information centre has informative, engaging information on everything from the geology and fossils in the park, the vegetation and wildlife to the San rock art and the early settlers. Really worth a visit.
Some of the many rock art sites in the area are accessible after a relatively short walk - well worth the effort.
A week was far too short - somewhere deserving of another visit.
