A world-class "interpretive centre" is being designed to welcome visitors to the Baviaanskloof, the Eastern Cape's premier wilderness area west of Port Elizabeth.

One of the aims of the centre will be to highlight the kloof's international status. The Baviaanskloof is the Eastern Cape's jewel in the crown within the fynbos World Heritage Site - stretching south from Niewoudtville to Cape Town and east to Port Elizabeth - declared in June last year.

The centre is being planned within the framework of the Baviaanskloof Mega-Reserve, the 500,000ha protected area being established to protect the kloof under the aegis of the provincial government and the Wilderness Foundation. Mega-reserve special projects co-ordinator Angus Tanner said the centre was "definitely not going to be just a place to collect pamphlets". It would also not replicate the San cultural museum in Humansdorp, he said.

"It will focus specifically on the Baviaanskloof. It will orientate visitors culturally and in terms of natural history. It will talk about how the kloof was formed and bring them up to date with present and future developments.

"New information will be injected all the time. There will be exhibitions on thicket rehabilitation and carbon sequestration, for instance.

"Visitors will have things explained at the centre so they can then go out and experience the kloof and see what they've learned about." The aim was that the building would be worth visiting in itself, he said. "We will be using natural materials like the local rock as much as possible and the building will follow the contours of the mountain. Instead of artificial air-conditioning, we will be using a system of apertures in the stone walls and air blowing over water."

The plan includes viewing points and natural lighting, achieved through the pitch of the roof and the use of large panes of glass.

The proposed site for the centre is the Cambria Valley on the east side of the kloof, about 8km past Komdomo, the EC Parks' Board campsite, coming in from Patensie.

A number of dilapidated water affairs and forestry department buildings are on the site at present and Tanner's team has applied to have them removed.

Buildings older than 60 years are protected under SA Heritage Resources Agency (Sahra) law.

"We do not believe these units have any historical value and in fact they are only about 40 years old. But we have applied anyway to Sahra to ensure we comply with all legislation," he said.

Supporting the centre, the plan envisages a boardwalk trail up to a cave on adjacent property owned by the Wilderness Foundation. Evidence of historical use by indigenous people has been found there by the Albany Museum, including arrow heads and beads.

Tanner's team has contracted environmental consultants CEN to conduct an environmental impact assessment of the proposed centre.

The project is being funded by a R16-million grant received in December last year from the provincial economic affairs environment and tourism department.