This trip we went to the Camdeboo National Park, just outside the lovely town of Graaff-Reinet. Camdeboo is one of our newer national parks. It was created in 1979 as the Karoo Nature Reserve and in 2005, after control was transferred to SanParks, was renamed the Camdeboo National Park. The park encircles the town and consists of three areas: 1 ) the main game viewing area around the town dam, 2) the Valley of Desolation, and the plains below, to the west of the town and 3) a large area to the east that is only accessible by 4×4.
We travelled up on the Cradock road (N10) from PE, turned off to Somerset East (R63) and on to Graaff-Reinet. On this road we encountered large swarms of locusts, still in the hopper stage. It was quite creepy driving over millions of them as they hopped across the road. We wondered how many died on the road and how many more would make it to adulthood and go eating their way across the Karoo.
Once we had registered at reception we drove to the camping area, which is beautiful! There are 15 sites, each carved out of the bush so they are all private. We would really like to compliment the park warden and the staff. The camp is very well run, well maintained and clean. The ablutions were spotless, the showers always hot and, even though it was muddy, the floors were kept clean . Throughout the park we noticed teams working to maintain picnic spots and lookout platforms. Even the edges of the roads and camp sites are kept trimmed.
Our camp site
We had no sooner set up and sat down to tea when the pesky Vervet monkeys arrived. This bunch are really clever! They came strolling along the road and disappeared behind the van. When I got up to see where they were, two shot under the van, into the tent and snatched a loaf of Carol’s newly baked bread. Luckily Carol saw them and chased them back under the van and I was able to rescue the bread. While we were pursuing these thieves, a second lot snatched our tea time scones off the table. It appeared to be a well planned manoeuvre! A day later I was lying reading in the van when a female with a baby clinging to her front got under the tent door. When she saw me in the van she panicked and started rushing around the tent trying to get out, forgetting that only the door wasn’t pegged down. Eventually I managed to lift the bottom of the door and she shot out screeching. We later watched how the troop targeted new arrivals, causing chaos and much shouting. We’ve now learned to never leave the van unattended and to pack everything in the van and leave the tent open when we go for game drives.
The day we arrived, it was extremely hot and very dry. Carol walked to the nearest tap to fetch water and noticed a small lizard drinking from a few spilled drops. She opened the tap again so a small puddle formed on the cracked earth and it drank thirstily. it was quite fearless in its need for water. Carol called me over to watch and we repeated the procedure several times until it eventually slid quietly off, its thirst now slaked. Incredibly, two days later the heavens opened and we had a massive downpour which lasted all night. The next day some parts of the park were underwater.
The weather wasn’t that great, it was overcast and windy every day, so photography was a challenge. However it didn’t stop us seeing a lot, especially birds. The park is a bird watcher’s paradise, with over 250 species having been recorded. We were visited by a pair of Cape robins and a Cardinal woodpecker every day. The robins feasted on the remains of the hoppers on the front and under the car and on Wagtail. On our drives we saw a number of different raptors, including several jackal buzzards, a pale chanting goshawk and what we think is a little sparrow hawk. .We also saw a double banded courser (a first for us), a pair of blue cranes, an African hoopoe, a Karoo korhaan, swallows, guinea fowl, red winged starlings and dozens of LBJs (little brown jobs) which defied our attempts at identification.
Double Banded Courser & Cape Robin
Cardinal Woodpecker & Jackal Buzzard
Southern Pale Chanting Goshawk & Leguaan
There are zebra and many buck species in the park. We saw springbok, black wildebeest with their lovely white tails, gemsbok, hartebeest, kudu and blesbok. A great thrill was seeing shy duiker on two occasions. We also saw a large leguaan and lots of ostriches. One evening we were sitting in the bird hide when a male ostrich came out of the bush. We watched him and suddenly, there were two females! They’d been there all the time and we hadn’t noticed them! With their heads down they blend into the bush so well.
Shy Duiker & Ostriches
Every day we saw something new. Once we saw a bunch of wildebeest cavorting, waving their white tails like so many flags. It was lovely!
Black Wildebeeste with their lovely white tails
A must do is a trip up to view the Valley of Desolation. The views are incredible and, if the weather permits, the sunsets are breathtaking. The 230 million year old dolerite stacks are breathtaking, a fitting foreground to the majestic plains below. The Lizard trail (about 1.5km long) runs along the top and circles back to the car park. It’s uneven going over rocks all the way, but any moderately fit person should have no problems and the views are worth it. The toposcope gives one a wonderful perspective of the area and from it there is a fantastic view back over the town .
One of the advantages of the park is it’s nearness to the town. One can slip into town for a meal, or to browse the amazing architecture, museums and art. The park gates are open till 22.00 at night, so there’s no rush to get back. Graaff-Reinet is the fourth oldest town in South Africa (it was founded in 1786!) and has been fortunate in that it has been beautifully restored and maintained. It’s almost completely encircled by the Sundays River and has a charm unequalled in SA. There are so many things to see, the Groote Kerk, Reinet House (the original parsonage, now a museum), the Drostdy Hotel complex, the quaint houses, and more. One can spend an entire day just wandering around (everything is in walking distance) and when you get tired, pop into one of the little restaurants for a coffee or a meal. The Tourist Info Centre has great leaflets and friendly advice.
Valley of Desolation & Toposcope
Groot Kerk & Reinet House
All in all, we had a wonderful, relaxing trip and we will be going back. While we were there we chatted to a couple we met in the park (campers are really friendly people) and Andrew mentioned that the Mountain Zebra National Park is only 125km from Graaff-Reinet. Next time we’ll plan a trip which includes both parks and we’ll end up saving a lot of travelling time and petrol!!
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Happy travelling!