The Karoo South Africa

SOUTH AFRICAN SAFARIS AND THE KAROO

The Karoo refers to a semi desert region in South Africa along the Garden Route; the Karoo is divided into two areas – the Great Karoo and the Little Karoo. The Great Karoo (the larger of the two Karoo regions) covers over 400 000 km2 of desert land featuring an inland coal-filled basin. The Little Karoo is a fertile valley bordered by Swartberg, Langeberg and the Outeniqua Mountains; the main town in the Little Karoo is Oudsthoorn – which is a well known ostrich holiday destination for families and safari enthusiasts…  

The Karoo area was once part of the Anglo-Boer war in the early 19th century – interested travellers and historians like to explore the Karoo by following the ancient Anglo-Boer war battle paths. For the nature lovers; this South African area is home to many reptiles, insects, birds (over 900 different species) and mammals. The best place to see a great selection of animals is in the Karoo National Park.

The Karoo National Park was formed in 1979 and is bordered by Beaufort West. This National Park is a semi-desert region with the most amazing birdlife! The Karoo National Park is part of the quaggo project under the guidance of Reinhold Rau. His aim was to bring back the extinct quaggo species by reintroducing animals that look and act similarly to the quaggo, allowing them to breed. In 1998 four zebras (close the quaggo) were released into Karoo National Park and in 2005 a fowl was born. It is believed that after four family lines (generations) the quaggo species will re-emerge.

This South African National Park also reintroduced and settled the black rhino and the riverine rabbit – both on the endangered species list. You can also see black eagles, an abundance of tortoises, many buffaloes, numerous bat-eared foxes and of course zebras in this national park.

There are many fossils scattered across the Karoo National Park, from the Mesozoic era. This era refers to when the Karoo was covered by the sea, depositing sediment over the dead creatures underneath. This Karoo area then became volcanic and eventually erosion took place and left behind the typical Karoo conical and table shaped mountains… These fossils date back many years and finding them can prove to be a historical delight.

The best time to visit the Karoo is between March and September. The Klein Karoo (from the areas De Rust to Calitzdorp) celebrates the ‘May Festival’ which is frequented by overseas travellers however, between August and October the Klein Karoo is at its most beautiful!  

Have a look at our South African safaris that include the Karoo region below. There are also other South African attractions beneath that you might want to visit on your South African Safari.

• Kruger National Park
• Garden Route
• Cape Town
• Winelands
• KwaZulu-Natal
• Addo Elephant National Park
• Greater St Lucia
• Hluhluwe-Umfolozi National Park
• Overberg
• Pilanesberg National Park
• Ukhahlamba
• West Coast
• Aquila
• Table Mountain
• Cango Caves
• Cape Point, Cape Agulhas
• Drakensberg
• Gods Window
• Kapama Game Reserve
• Kirstenbosch
• Knysna
• Madikwe Game Reserve
• Pilgrims Rest
• Robben Island
• Soweto
• Sun City
• Wild Coast
• V&A Waterfront
• Johannesburg
• Gansbaai
• Tsitsikamma
• Valley of a 1000 Hills
• Inverdoorn
• Cederberg
• Kimberley
• Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
• Zululand
• The Battlefields