The primary purpose of the Oviston Nature Reserve is the conservation of the communities broadly representative of the Nama Karroo ecotype, and the conservation of the natural processes which are responsible for the resilience of the Karroo.
Oviston Nature Reserve offers three lodgings, namely Komweer Lodge, an erstwhile farmhouse sleeping 12 people, Apies Bay Cabin and Ihodi Picnic and Camp Site .
Game drives in Oviston Nature Reserve are amply rewarded by sights of large numbers of Springbuck, Ostriches, Gemsbuck, Zebras and Hartebeest.
Oviston Nature Reserve is situated in the north eastern part of the Eastern Cape Province along the southern shoreline of the mighty Gariep Dam (formerly known as the Hendrik Verwoerd Dam). It covers an area of approximately 16,000 hectare and stretches from the dam wall on the west, to the Bethulie railroad bridge in the east. Oviston and Venterstad are both situated 7km from the reserve entrance.
Lake !Gariep, which spans the borders of the Free State, Eastern Cape and Northern Cape Provinces, lies approximately two hours south of Bloemfontein. The dam is more than 100km long and 15km wide with a surface area of about 360km² and a storage capacity of 5,673,8 million cubic meters. The dam wall is 914m long and 88m high.
Oviston is a small town overlooking Lake !Gariep on the Eastern Cape side. It was originally built to house the workers who built the dam which was completed in 1971.
Lake !Gariep is surrounded by three provincial nature reserves namely the Oviston Nature Reserve, the Tussen-die-Riviere Nature Reserve and the Gariep Nature Reserve. The Gariep Dam Nature Reserve is situated between the dam and Bethulie on the Free State side. The Tussen-die-Riviere Nature Reserve is situated in the Free State. Oviston Nature Reserve is situated in the Eastern Cape Province on the southern side of Lake !Gariep.
The land was originally bought by the State for the construction of the dam. In 1968, the Department of Agricultural Credit and Land Tenure and Water Affairs ceded control of the property to the provincial authorities. A Memorandum has been drafted by the MECs of the three provinces, to effectively join the three reserves and create a conservation area in excess of 85,000 hectares.
This is a semi-desert area so it can get blindingly hot during the day, followed by nights in which the temperature plummets. Due to this climate, the area is quite dusty which helps to give the extraordinary sunsets experienced here. The landscape consists of vast, open grassland with low "koppies" (small mountains) and is truly part of South Africa's "Big Sky" country.
Rain falls generally as thundershowers between October and March, the rainfall season peaks from February to March. Temperatures are mild for most of the year, with very cold snaps from June to August and periods of intense heat from January to March. During winter, frost is common.
