by 
Karoo National Park - January 2021
ROAD TRIP ON THE DIAGONAL - PHASE 2 - MOKALA TO THE KAROO NATIONAL PARK
Bidding a fond farewell to Mokala, we headed down the N12 via Hopetown, Britstown and Victoria West to join the N1 at Drie Susters (Three Sisters), crossing into the Western Cape at that very spot. Since our home stomping-grounds boasts the Three Rondawels as part of the Blydepoort escarpment, we had to stop and take a photo of their three Karoo-cousins. We were in the Great Karoo, a much beloved area of South Africa.
THREE RONDAWELS, MPUMALANGA (KRUGER-NATIONAL-PARK.DE)
The N1 is the main arterial road that traverses the whole of South Africa at an oblique angle from Cape Town to the Beit Bridge border crossing into Zimbabwe. For a while it crosses the Karoo, the largest ecosystem in the country, a semi-desert area characterised by its unique topography and geology and above all, its low rainfall, arid air, cloudless skies, and extremes of heat and cold. The name comes from the !Orakobab word “ǃ’Aukarob " referring to a harsh environment. The vegetation consists mostly of aloes, mesembryanthemums, crassulas, euphorbias, stapelias, and desert ephemerals. Underground water makes permanent settlement and sheep farming possible.
Since our youth both of us have travelled the N1 between Johannesburg and the Cape independently and together several times. We have always passed the gate to the Karoo National Park, just south-west of Beaufort West without ever stopping and entering. This time, we were going to rectify that serious omission.
We were briefly halted in our mission by an offshoot of a thunderstorm just east of Beaufort West. Our spoilt and cosseted dry-weather windscreen wiper motor was completely overwhelmed by the request to go at full-speed and promptly surrendered, throwing up hands in the air and refusing to carry on. In Afrikaans, we can call it a true “hensopper” who surrendered to the enemy in the face of adversity. Fancy that enemy being water, in the arid Karoo! Beaufort West Toyota had no replacement in stock, but kindly removed the wiper arms to enable driver and navigator to see what part of the route they needed to argue about next.
View clear, we forged on for a handful of kilometers to the gate of the Karoo National Park.
The park was only officially opened late in the 1970’s, even though local farmer and avid birder, William Quinton, campaigned for a conservation area in the Beaufort West vicinity as early as the 1950’s. The aim is the preservation of the typical Nama-Karoo biome of the area.
The Town Council of Beaufort West donated 7 209ha of communal land north-west of the town, amidst the Nuweveld mountains, to SANParks. This tract of land formed the nucleus of the park and after more land was acquired, a rest camp was opened towards the end of the 1980’s.
Soon, what was always considered a convenient, single-night stopover, became a chosen destination, offering a multitude of activities where stays of more than one night is now preferable. Activities on offer include a mountain bike trail, guided and unguided walks and game drives, as well as a selection of 4x4 trails through unique and spectacular landscapes to see an array of plant and animal life.
Regular game sightings consist of herbivores such as red hartebeest, eland, mountain zebra, kudu, springbok and klipspringer, but small carnivores, antelope, rodents, birds and reptiles await to be spotted by sharp eyes. Black rhino and disease-fee buffalo have also been relocated to the park. Predators range from bat-eared foxes and caracal to leopard and lion.
In the main rest camp, the fully equipped self-catering accommodation is serviced daily, and breakfast is included in the overnight price. The a-la-carte restaurant makes life for the non-cooks amongst us, easier. Basics and curios can be purchased at the shop and a swimming pool for camp residents offers relief during the hot days. There is cellular reception at the rest camp and camp-site.
Remote and peaceful self-catering cottages are also available on the 4x4 routes.
The campsite is cleverly laid out and offers well-maintained ablution, scullery, and laundry facilities. Each site has a power point. We found a shady spot and set up camp on a paved slab, planning to walk up to the bird hide at the water hole once it cooled down, however, life in the campsite proved so prolific that we stayed put and watched a succession of tortoises, hares and birds enliven our afternoon.
LEOPARD TORTOISE (STIGMOCHELYS PARDALIS)
SOUTHERN MASKED-WEAVER (PLOCEUS VELATUS) 
CAPE ROBIN-CHAT (COSSYPHA CAFFRA) 
SCRUB HARE (LEPUS SAXATILIS)
Braai-fare featured on the supper menu again and the Karoo quiet ensured another night of pleasant slumber.
SOUTHERN RED BISHOP (EUPLECTES ORIX) 
RED-KNOBBED COOT (FULICA CRISTATA)
We made good on our omission the next morning and visited the hide at the busy reeded water hole before leaving the park via Bulkraal and Lammertjiesleegte. We were lucky to see Cape mountain zebra (different from the plains zebra in being smaller, legs distinctly striped all the way to the hoof, a clear grid pattern on the back just above the tail, no shadow stripes and rounded ears), tsessebe, ostrich, steenbok, and springbok up close. This park promptly joined Mokala on the “must-visit-again-for-a-longer-time” list.
OSTRICH (STRUTHIO CAMELUS) 
CAPE MOUNTAIN ZEBRA (EQUUS ZEBRA ZEBRA) 
TSESSEBE (DAMALISCUS LUNATUS)
Back on the N1, we turned south-west and pointed ourselves towards Cape Town. We were happy in the knowledge that the beautiful Karoo would feature again on the return leg of the trip, the section south of the N1 being in the cross hairs for then.
Info:
https://www.sanparks.org/parks/karoo/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karoo
