The Karoo National Park, a perennial favourite of ours, was the first major destination on our recent “summer trek” through the national parks and nature reserves of the Western and Eastern Cape Provinces. The Karoo’s landscapes may be harsh, and its inhabitants equally tough, but there’s no denying that having so much open space around you has a very special allure.
During our visit I posted a few photographs on a daily basis to give those following along on our travels a glimpse of what we were experiencing. Let’s start this recap with those.
Camping at Karoo National Park, December 2024
Karoo Scenery
Gemsbok
Steenbok
Springbok
Amegilla Bee and Swartstorm bloom
Red Hartebeest
Sunset glow over the Rest Camp at Karoo National Park
Klipspringer Pass
Karoo Scenery
Karoo Scenery
Pririt Batis
Klipspringer pair on Klipspringer Pass
Red Hartebeest Calf
Springbok youngsters
Fairy Flycatcher
Four-striped Grass Mouse
Karoo Prinia
The Karoo National Park has two major game-viewing loops accessible to visitors without a 4×4. The shortest of those is the route through the Lammertjiesleegte between the rest camp and the entrance gate. Along the way, the Bulkraal Picnic Site is a nice place to stretch your legs and look for habituated birds to photograph.
Bokmakierie (photo by Joubert)
Double-banded Courser
Karoo Long-billed Lark
Ludwig’s Bustard
Dusky Sunbird
Familiar Chat
Steenbok
Grey Rhebok
Karoo National Park’s Rest Camp is a delightful oasis in this thirstland, and besides being a safe and comfortable place for humans to spend the night it is also a magnet for a range of wildlife!
Small-spotted Genet visiting our campsite after dark
This kudu cow, obviously used to being fed by visitors, was a regular visitor to our tents
Rock Martin
Rock Martin
Chestnut-vented Warbler
“Dikvoet” plant
Unidentified species of Robber Fly
Leopard Tortoise
Karoo Toad
Lesser Swamp Warbler
Marsh Terrapin at the waterhole next to the camp’s entrance
Platanna tadpole leaping like a fish from the water!
Western Rock Skink (female)
Southern Rock Agama
Karoo Num-num
Cape Skink
Leopard Tortoise seeking respite from the heat in the shade beneath our car
Cape Serotine Bat (photo by Joubert)
Southern Masked Weaver (photo by Joubert)
Four-striped Grass Mouse
Poison Bulb
The longer of the Karoo National Park’s all-access game-viewing loops is called Potlekkertjie, and incorporates the ingeniously constructed Klipspringer Pass. This beautiful drive has something to offer driven at any time of day, but is best enjoyed slowly early in the morning or late in the afternoon, when the sunlight catches the surrounding mountains and glades so beautifully. Halfway along visitors can have a picnic at secluded Doornhoek.
Klipspringer
Steenbok
Kudu calf
Bokmakierie
Red Hartebeest cow and calf
Karoo Korhaan
Spike-heeled Lark
Sickle-winged Chat
Ludwig’s Bustards
Grey Rhebok
Southern Rock Agama
Mountain Wheatear
Gemsbok
White-throated Canary
Rock Kestrel
Grey Rhebok
Mountain Zebra
Mountain Zebra
Karoo Chat
Grey Rhebok
Western Rock Skink
Steenbok
Eland
Karoo Girdled Lizard
Bibron’s Thick-toed Gecko
Baboons
Ground Agama in a tree
Klipspringer on the ledge! (photo by Joubert)
Klipspringer (photo by Joubert)
Gemsbok calves
Short-toed Rock Thrushes
Dassie family
Mountain Zebra
Red Hartebeest Calf
Karoo Long-billed Lark
Eland
Pale-winged Starling
Cape Clapper Lark
Leopard Tortoise
DeWetsWild is proud to be a contracted reservations agent for the Karoo National Park, so whether you’d like us to assist you with a reservation to visit on your own or would like us to include the Park in a guided tour arranged specifically for you, please don’t hesitate to reach out!
DeWetsWild 