18 December 2020

Sunrise over the Karoo

Today we have to leave the Karoo National Park to travel to our next destination, however there is still time for one last drive through Lammertjiesleegte before we go.

Eland (photo by Joubert)

Sickle-winged Chat

Mountain Zebra foal

Mountain Zebra crossing in Karoo National Park

Mountain Zebra crossing in Karoo National Park (photo by Joubert)

Mountain Zebras

Kudu herd

Kudu Bull (photo by Joubert)

Red Hartebeest

We were very lucky to encounter Black Rhinos during our visit to the Karoo National Park, but for their safety will not divulge when or where we saw them.

Black Rhino in the Karoo National Park

If you’d like to learn more about the Karoo National Park, have a read through this earlier post of ours detailing the natural and man-made features of the Park.

Map of the Karoo National Park showing Potlekkertjie Loop, Klipspringer Pass and Lammertjiesleegte, from the official guide book published by SANParks

17 December 2020

As the sun rise over the Great Karoo on the 17th of December we’re joined at the breakfast table by a very tame Cape Bunting hoping for a few crumbs.

Cape Bunting

Karoo National Park Rest Camp

Now that we are all wide awake and with full tummies thanks to our coffee and rusks, we set off on our morning drive, again taking the Klipspringer Pass and Potlekketjie Loop, but this time the other way around.

Mating ostriches

Very satisfied male ostrich (photo by Joubert)

White-throated Canary

Klipspringer

Grey Rhebok

Karoo Scrub-Robin

Gemsbok

Grans vistas in the Karoo National Park

Steenbok

Rufous-eared Warbler

By the time we reach the Doornhoek Picnic Site all three of us are in need of a leg stretch.

Sweet Thorn in Doornhoek Picnic Site

Cicada nymph exoskeleton

Doornhoek Picnic Site

Doornhoek Picnic Site

The second leg of our morning drive delivers even more encounters with the wild inhabitants of the Karoo.

Young Vervet Monkeys

Gemsbok

Gemsbok

Karoo Korhaan

Steenbok pair

Secretary Bird on the hunt

Springbok (photo by Joubert)

Karoo Sandveld Lizard

Baboon

Back in camp by midday we explore as much of it as we can – from the interpretive centre and camping site at the one end to the swimming pool and bird hide at the other.

Speckled Pigeon

White-backed Mousebird

Black-throated Canary

Rock Martin nest

Cape Sparrow (female)

Leopard Tortoise

Bird Hide at Karoo National Park

Bird Hide at Karoo National Park

Marsh Terrapin

Common Moorhen

Leopard Tortoise cooling off

Red-knobbed Coots

Three-banded Plover

Cape River Frog

African Reed Warbler

Red Bishop females

Cape Wagtail

Well camouflaged grasshopper, presumably from the genus Sphingonatus

Rest Camp in the Karoo National Park

Red-winged Starling (female)

Red-winged Starling (male)

Bowker’s Sapphire

Familiar Chat

Red Bishop male

Immature Cape Robin-Chat

White-throated Canary

Cape Bunting

Male Southern Masked Weaver

For our final afternoon drive of this visit to the Karoo National Park we opt for a leisurely amble through the Lammertjiesleegte; the open plains between the rest camp and the park’s eastern border which, despite its foreboding name (translated directly from Afrikaans it means “empty place of the lambs”, which sounds like a sequel to a horror movie), is actually a section of the park very rich in wildlife.

Rock Kestrel

Nervous Kudu bull

Nervous Kudu bull (photo by Joubert)

Mountain Zebra

Mountain Zebra

If you’d like to learn more about the Karoo National Park, have a read through this earlier post of ours detailing the natural and man-made features of the Park.

Map of the Karoo National Park showing Potlekkertjie Loop, Klipspringer Pass and Lammertjiesleegte, from the official guide book published by SANParks

16 December 2020

From our home in Pretoria the shortest route to the Karoo National Park in the Western Cape Province is a distance of roughly 1000km, almost all of it along the N1 national highway. With Marilize still having to work the morning of the 15th of December, we opted to depart home by midday that Tuesday and break our journey at Bloemfontein, a historic city almost smack in the middle of our beautiful country.

We rise early on the 16th of December, a public holiday in South Africa, at the cosy A Little Guesthouse on the outskirts of Bloemfontein. The sun is just starting to peak over the eastern horizon as we tackle the final leg of our journey to the Karoo National Park. With Joubert’s grade 5 geography syllabus, freshly concluded, including a few South African landmarks, we take a detour to one of the them – the Gariep Dam, South Africa’s biggest man-made lake, located at the border between the Free State and Eastern Cape provinces.

The Gariep Dam

Just after midday we arrive at the entrance gate to the Karoo National Park, a most welcome sight after the long drive.

Turnoff to the Karoo National Park

Karoo National Park’s entrance gate

Watch out for the little ones!

Karoo National Park scenery

After quickly checking in, thoroughly sanitizing every corner of our accommodation unit (oh, the joys of travelling in the time of COVID-19, and yes the Park staff do sanitize the units before you arrive, we are just very cautious) and unpacking the luggage we waste no further time in starting our explorations of the vast national park. Our route of choice for the afternoon is the delectably-named Potlekkertjie-loop – this being the local name for a kind of lizard, translating into English as “little pot licker” – and ending with the Klipspringer Pass leading back to camp.

Bokmakierie with a fat caterpillar

Pale Chanting Goshawk

Ostrich

Karoo Chat

Karoo National Park scenery

Karoo National Park scenery (photo by Joubert)

Karoo National Park scenery

Steenbok

Southern Rock Agama

Pale-winged Starling

Rufous-eared Warbler

Red Hartebeest

Grey Rhebok

Klipspringer Pass

Grey-winged Francolin

Arriving back at camp, we can relax on the stoep (verandah) of Chalet 28, reveling in the beautiful view and visits from a variety of creatures. The holiday we’ve been looking forward to for so long has finally arrived…

Our accommodation at Karoo National Park – Chalet #28

The view from our chalet

African Monarch

Common Orange Tip Butterfly

Cape Bunting on our stoep (photo by Joubert)

Bibron’s Gecko that lived behind the built-in braai (barbeque)

Purcell’s Gecko

Flattie spider living inside our cottage

Small-spotted Genet outside our cottage at Karoo National Park (cameratrap photo)

If you’d like to learn more about the Karoo National Park, have a read through this earlier post of ours detailing the natural and man-made features of the Park.

Map of the Karoo National Park showing Potlekkertjie Loop, Klipspringer Pass and Lammertjiesleegte, from the official guide book published by SANParks