Karoo National Park.

Again I have not updated this blog for a while. The reason being that we had not been anywhere new. Since the last update we have been to Leentjieskip, Langebaan once and back to Dwarsberg Trout Haven twice. We also do not camp while school holidays are on as it is just too crowded.

Anyway, we were invited to get together with friends from our motorcycling days to their annual rally which was held in Nieu Bethesda this year and because of the distance, we decided to make a camping trip of it and stay at the Karoo National Park near Beaufort West for a couple of days on the way up and then again at Ebb and Flow in the Wilderness on the way back.

Anyway, we arrived there around Noon on a Wednesday, after a 450km drive from home. Just about the maximum distance I like to do in one day when towing the Skipper. It was hot but after choosing a nice site, we set up camp in a short space of time. We are getting pretty good at it now and Colleen is pretty amazing in action.

Skipper Navigator

The campsite at the park is lovely and very well maintained, which is the norm for Sanparks. It is very popular with the 4x4 community as there are many 4x4 trails in the park. Many of the other campers had 4x4 vehicles with rooftop tents. The sites are a bit small but we did see one large caravan which managed to fit in.

The next morning we decided to go on an early morning game drive. The game viewing area's gate open at 6.00am and we were there just as it opened. We decided to do the 45km circular route in a clockwise direction, thinking that we would stand a better chance of seeing game in the flat open area's at the start of the drive than in the mountainous area's towards the end. It turned out just the opposite. The majority of the animals that we saw were in the mountainous last part of the drive. I had forgotten to pack my camera so all we had was Colleen's little point and shoot camera. However I was pleased with the quality of the images that it produced (with a little Photoshop Lightroom tweaking).

Towards the end of the drive we descended the Klipspringer Pass, an absolutely awesome drive and a lovely end to our adventure.

Klipspringer pass

The rest of the day was spent chilling out at the campsite. We also visited the swimming pool at the Bulkraal picnic area and also the main pool near the reception and self catering chalets. Both lovely.

Definitely worth a visit and highly recommended.