Athens of the Karoo
The Camdeboo National Park borders the town of Graaff-Reinet, often referred to as the ‘Athens of the Karoo’. Established in 1786, the Welgelegen, or ‘distant’ in Dutch, colony of Graaff-Reinet was the fourth oldest town in South Africa upon proclamation.
Originally named for the Dutch Governor Cornelis Jacob van de Graaf and his wife Cornelia Reynet, the town is famous for having streets wide enough for an ox wagon to do a u-turn. Graaff-Reinet also boasts magnificent examples of Cape Dutch architecture, with more than 220 documented heritage sites and buildings.
Valley of Desolation
Cradled within a crook of the Sundays River, a wide-sky refuge awaits. Listen to the silence, breathe in the antediluvian dust, and meditate upon the curvature of the earth as you gaze across the scrubland plains to where land meets sky upon a shimmering horizon. The infinite plains eventually rear up via distant kopjes to morph into multi-layered mountains tearing at a dove-egg blue sky.
This is the Camdeboo National Park, a recently proclaimed conservation area set right within the heart of the Great Karoo encompassing a swathe of arid land more than 100-million years old. Welcome to the ‘Valley of Desolation’, a region of diverse geography and unimaginable riches in fauna and flora.
Look beyond the arid surface to discover a world where chameleons, agamas, horned adders and desert birds delight. The area is also a magnificent playground for the outdoor crowd, but beware the thunderstorms and searing temperatures in the summer months.
By Jacques Marais
A geological curiosity, the Valley of Desolation about five kilometres southeast of Graaff-Reinet is a valley dominated by 100-metre rock co...