This was our first visit to Karoo National Park, formally established in 1979 with just under 90,000 hectacres. It is a driving park, with walking only permitted in the rest camp plus at the two lookout points and two picnic sites. 

Scenery – The Karoo climate is harsh with average elevation of 1,200 meters, very little rain, dry air, cloudless skies, warm summers, and cold winters. Succulents and low scrub bushes are abundant. As we drove on just some of the 120 kilometers of roads, the landscapes reminded us of Utah and Nevada. 

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Animals – Of the 63 mammal species in the national park we only saw 11 plus a tortoise.  We did not see any lions or rhinos, but a sign at the Doornhoek picnic spot warned us of their possible danger. And we were motivated to move quickly from the parked car and through the secure gate into the fenced picnic area. 

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Birds – Most of our bird sightings occurred while we sat in the bird hide or walked around the rest camp in the late afternoons. While out driving in the park one morning, we were fortunate to see a Verraux’s eagle flying between the tall cliffs at Kipspringer’s Pass. Also called a black eagle, the large bird we spotted is among the 20+ pairs in the Karoo National Park, which is one of the highest densities of the Verraux’s eagle in Africa. Those of you with great editing skills probably noticed that we put ostriches in the animal section of this post instead of in the bird category. Our mistake! It’s not easy to make that correction, so we will just leave the post as is.

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