The Naute Game Park is situated about 42 km south-west of Keetmanshoop and surrounds Namibia’s second largest dam, the Naute. The dam was constructed from 1970 to 1972 to capture water from the Löwen River and its tributaries, which later feed into the Fish River. A successful irrigation project was initiated below the dam wall in 1991 and date palms and grapes are currently cultivated here and the dam supplies water to the Keetmanshoop town.
Park size: 225 km²
Proclamation: 1988
Natural features: Dominated by grassy plains with small shrub species. Trees grow in river washes. The dam has several sandy shores, shallow bays and islands.
Vegetation: Nama Karoo Biome. Vegetation types: Dwarf Shrub Savannah, Karas Dwarf Shrubland. Camel-thorn (Acacia erioloba), Sweet-thorn (Acacia karroo), Water Acacia (Acacia nebrownii), Wild Tamarisk (Tamarix usneoides), trumpet-thorn (Cataphractes alexandri) and Quiver tree (Aloe dichotoma).
Wildlife: Oryx, Springbok, Klipspringer, Steenbok, Duiker. The 164 bird species recorded include African Spoonbill, South African Shelduck, African Fish-Eagle, African White Pelican.
Tourism: Camping, angling and boating permits are obtained from the MET Offices.
