Karoo National Park
This undisturbed hectares of Great Karoo is an important breeding area for the rare Cape Mountain Zebra and the endangered Black Rhino. Other plains mammals include a variety of antelope as well as the bat-eared fox.
Unless you're staying in the well-appointed lodges, dining at the a la carte restaurant and going for guided game drives, activities in the Karoo National Park will appeal to those with more adventurous inclinations. The 4x4 trail has only the most basic of overnight huts although the Parks Board will provide both vehicle and guide should you not want to risk the rented car.
Hiking trails of various lengths have few facilities but lots of wide open space. For the interested eco-tourist, there are two short walks, rather mistakenly labelled trails, which introduce the fossils and the plant life of the Karoo. With 64 different species of flora, you'll learn that there is more to these dusty plains than sage and khaki scrubland.
Beaufort West Museum
South Africa's first town hall houses a permanent collection devoted to the world's first heart transplant. The Chris Barnard exhibit displays over a thousand gifts and awards received from all over the world by the local-boy-made-good. The museum complex includes the church where his father preached and the family home, all national monuments.
Beaufort West has retained some of its old-world architecture. The churches, jails, hotels and private homes of the past are best viewed on a walk through the historic heart of what is otherwise a rough and ready farming town.
Located in the Great Karoo Area near Beaufort West in the Western Cape, the Karoo National Park covers over 75 000 ha of land dedicated to p...