Where to see the Cape Beech in South Africa

Hosts on Spekboom have recorded the Cape Beech at stays in or beside uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park, Table Mountain National Park, Tsitsikamma National Park, Garden Route National Park, Royal Natal National Park and Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve. A record means a host has seen it on the property or nearby, which makes these the places to base yourself; it is never a guarantee of a sighting on any given day.

The Cape Beech is most recorded in Western Cape (65% of records), Eastern Cape (17% of records), KwaZulu-Natal (11% of records), based on 3,175 iNaturalist observations. 15 places to stay on Spekboom in South Africa have recorded the Cape Beech on site or nearby.

The Cape Beech is recorded throughout the year, so no month is the wrong month to look for it. For the parks where hosts record it most, these are the best seasons they give. uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park: year-round, dry season May-Sep; Table Mountain National Park: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct; Tsitsikamma National Park: Apr-Sep; Garden Route National Park: Sep-Apr, flowers Aug-Oct. In the dry months animals concentrate at water and the grass is short.

Rapanea melanophloeos, commonly known as Cape Beech, Kaapse Boekenhout or IsiCalabi, is a dense, graceful, evergreen tree that is native to the afromontane forests of Southern Africa.