The Call Of The Karoo

[ DESTINATION ] KAROO NATIONAL PARK

- Stuart Reichardt

The Karoo National Park is surely one of the best-kept national parks in South Africa. In my youth, our family spent many a holiday in the area at a guest farm, and the recollections of these wonderful times popped into my mind outside Prins Albert Road on the N1… warm days, starlit nights and crisp mornings.

The Karoo is a place of arid beauty, solitude, mystery and history. It’s where fossils lie dormant amidst the sandstone, slate and mud stone common to the area and wait to tell their story. It’s a place where chattering weaver birds are the soundtrack to your days, mingling with the cacophony of insect calls.

This truly is the perfect place to rekindle a connection with nature and reset one’s clock, to put down the cellphone and laptop, forget about the television and internet, and just unplug and unwind.

It is understandable why campers, caravanners and all types of travellers return time and time again to this beautifully maintained national park.

The formula is simple: find the perfect balance of the scenic Karoo surrounds and marry it to pristine accommodation offerings, spotless camping facilities and numerous recreational activities.

The staff, right from Nico the Park Manager, to Gregory our insightful guide on this trip, to Timothy at the front office reception and the restaurant staff, are all upbeat and positive, quick with a smile.

ACTIVITIES

The Karoo National Park has numerous activities for holidaymakers such as 4x4 trails, guided and self-drive game drives, guided walks, the self-walk Fossil Trail, bird hide, picnic facilities and much more to keep the whole family entertained.

The wildlife in the park is abundant and includes mongoose, baboon, caracal, Aardwolf, Cape Mountain Zebra, Burchell’s Zebra, Rhebuck, Mountain Reedbuck, Brown Hyena, African Wildcat, genet and many others mammals and reptiles.