Accommodation near Karoo National Park - 2

The idea of a park in the Karoo region came into being when local farmer and twitcher, William Quinton campaigned for a conservation area that would act as a sanctuary for endangered wildlife. The park only materialised, however, two decades later when SanPARKS proposed to establish a reserve that would be representative of the Nama Karoo Biome. After considering numerous places, it was decided that Beaufort West would be the chosen venue of this venture. In a gesture of support, 7209-hectares of land found north-west of the town was donated by the Beaufort West Council to SANPARKS. Today, the reserve harbours abundant birdlife, a variety of game and sparse vegetation of succulents and shrubbery.

Once having entered through the gates of the park, visitors will be welcomed in by the towering Nuweveld Mountains, and the rolling plains and savannahs. While the park is home to endless varietals of game, what makes this park wholly unique is that has the largest density of tortoises in the world – with five varietals roaming about the park in an unhurried fashion. Apart from the reptiles, the park is a sanctuary for the Cape mountain zebra (animals that were once on the verge of extinction but now exist in vast herds), springboks and the endangered black rhino. The Karoo National Park is also a twitcher haven, where twittering red-winged sterlings and masked weaves fly around the vast, open skies. Raptors and birds of prey include the likes of martial eagles, the reticent Cape eagle-owl, and twenty breeding pairs of the verraux black eagle.

What makes the Karoo National Park even more of a tourist is that it forms part of the largest and oldest land ecosystem in South Africa. This unique geological biome is home to a large collecting area of petrified fossils from animals that lived in a bygone era. This is certainly worth adding onto the itinerary for visitors who are budding archaeologists.

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