The ǀAi-ǀAis/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park is a peace park straddling the border between South Africa and Namibia. It was formed in 2003 by combining the Namibian ǀAi-ǀAis Hot Springs Game Park and the South African Richtersveld National Park. Most of the South African part of the park forms part of the buffer zone of the Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape World Heritage Site, which measures 5,920 square kilometres (2,290 sq mi). The Fish River Canyon is located in the park, the largest canyon in Africa. A memorandum of understanding was signed on 17 August 2003 by the presidents of South Africa and Namibia, which formalised the establishment of the park. |Ai-|Ais means ‘burning water’, after the hot springs of the same name.
The Fish River (Visrivier in Afrikaans, Fischfluss in German) is a river in Namibia. It is 650 km long, flowing from the Naukluft Mountains 150 km to the Hardap Dam near Mariental. From there the flow is entirely blocked, all further flow downstream coming from tributaries downstream from the dam. The flow of the river is seasonal; in winter the river can dry up completely. Despite this, the river is the site of the spectacular Fish River Canyon, a canyon 160 km long, and at points as much as 550 m deep.
Alexander Bay (Afrikaans: Alexanderbaai) is a town in the extreme north-west of South Africa. It is located on the southern bank of the Orange River mouth. It was named for Sir James Alexander, who was the first person to map the area whilst on a Royal Geographical Society expedition into Namibia in 1836. (It is mistakenly believed by many locals that it was he who first established commercial copper mining in the area.) With diamonds being discovered along the West Coast in 1925, Alexander Bay was established to service the mining industry.
Eksteenfontein is a town in Namakwa District Municipality in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the edge of the Richtersveld World Heritage Site.
Alexander Bay Airport (IATA: ALJ, ICAO: FAAB) is an airport serving Alexander Bay (Namakwa District Municipality), a town in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
Richtersveld Municipality (Afrikaans: Richtersveld Munisipaliteit) is a local municipality within the Namakwa District Municipality, in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
Kuboes is a town in Richtersveld Local Municipality in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
Lekkersing is a town in Namakwa District Municipality in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.
The Ernest Oppenheimer Bridge, named for Ernest Oppenheimer, originally opened in 1951 and rebuilt in 1953, links the town of Oranjemund, Namibia, with the South African town of Alexander Bay, on the southern bank of the Orange River.