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Hi Mel,

Great to have you and dad back with your TR .
Awesome pic's of the trip back to JHB and then Table mountain .
Thanks for sharing .

20 hours in Cape Town isn't that much, but it seems
you made the best out of it. Despite the
windy conditions. We had to go back three times
before we were able to get up on TM...

Love the pics of you and Dad!

Hello again!!

Thank you Philip1, Sheenaugh-Lee, Super Mongoose, Trrp-trrrrrrrr, Bushbuddies, Meandering Mouse, barryels and Lionspoon for all your lovely comments

As Lionspoon mentioned, Dad and I sure did pack a lot into our 20 hours in Cape Town
Next time we will spend a proper day or two there

But for now, please join us in the trusty Terios as we head off on our drive to the Karoo NP

Cape Town to Karoo NP

Dad and I were up, showered and dressed and down in the breakfast room by 8am.
We were very excited. Our next rental car – another trusty Terios – was being delivered to our accommodation
After filling out all the paperwork we finished our brekky and were packed and checked out of the lodge by 9.30am.

We took the M5, and then got onto the N1 which would take us all the way to the Karoo NP!!

Just outside Cape Town we went through some incredible mountain scenery, plus winery after winery.
I’d never seen so many grape vines!

Next we came to the Huguenot Tunnel which goes through the Du Toitskloof Mountains that separate Paarl from Worcester.

As we drove past Worcester I was thinking that the name was very familiar to me
Worcester, Worcester….oh yes, then I remembered!
Our wonderful cam forum moderator MATTHYS lives in Worcester!!!
If I had known our journey would take us right past Worcester I would have tried to arrange a mini-meet
As it was, all I could do was give MATTHYS a big wave out the window

Soon the scenery changed from lush green vineyards to vast, desolate, rocky hills.




WOW, so this was the Great Karoo, the largest ecosystem in South Africa, with a rich diversity of flora and fauna found nowhere else

During the early planning stages of our trip I had to decide between visiting Mountain Zebra NP or Karoo NP
My mind was quickly made up after I read this on the SANParks website:

“Karoo National Park has a very rich reptilian fauna. Of particular significance are the 5 species of tortoise. However there is also a terrapin, an agama, 2 chameleons, a monitor, 18 snakes and several geckos, skinks and lizards.”

For a herpetologist this sounded like absolute heaven!
So the Karoo NP it was

We continued through to Beaufort West to pick up some supplies, finally arriving at the gates just before 4pm


Although exhausted after the long drive, Dad and I were very excited about this new experience
What animal would we see first?

Ostriches!!!


And then we caught our first glimpse of the camp


After Kruger this was something completely different

Great build-up to a visit in another beautiful SANPark that is so unique . Waiting with lots of for the rest.

more, Mel, please more

sigh, just looking at the world through your eyes.. so lovely and new.

Not much to be said - just beautiful!
Excitedly waiting for more.

Never been to Karoo National Park, and it is definitely on my list of places I still want to go. Can't wait to hear more about it...

Glad you arrived safely can't wait to read what u found?

Hey Mel!

That was quite a whirlwind visit to Cape Town - good on you guys for making the most of it!
I'm highly excited to read your take on the Karoo, it certainly looks different to KNP!

Got the ready to go!

Hi Barry

And thanks for keeping the popcorn warm
More from the Karoo coming up

G'day MM

I'm so glad you're enjoying this TR

We truly were a pair of VERY green Aussies on this trip
Our eyes were wide open with wonder at everything new we saw

We had quite a few "firsts" during our time in the Karoo too!

Hi Lionspoon

Thank you so much for your constant support of this seemingly never-ending TR

Next installment is ready to load

Hi Bushbuddies

It's great to have you along for the ride with Dad and I

Unfortunately we only had one full day in the Karoo, but still we saw plenty to keep up ooohing and aahhing

For me Kruger was super exciting but super busy, so the Karoo was like a little restful interlude before we went to Addo. If I had more time, I could spend a few days at Karoo NP just relaxing.....

G'day Sheenaugh-Lee

Thanks so much for joining this TR

For a couple of Aussies who had never been to Africa before, we found plenty of new things in the Karoo