Tent Travels: Camping in the Camdeboo

I COULD move to Graaff-Reinet, the sparkling town they call the Jewel of the Karoo – and this well-polished jewel has just such an incredible setting.

Situated in a horseshoe bend in the Sundays River, this major Karoo town is ringed by mountains and is almost completely encircled by the Camdeboo National Park.

Only fairly recently proclaimed, the Camdeboo National Park is a amalgamation of various green spots and conserved areas on the periphery of the town that have been collected together under the Sanpark umbrella. It really is a fascinatingly diverse game reserve with much to offer, including good game viewing, interesting birding and varied and striking scenery. Much of the park is situated in the foothills of the Sneeuberg Mountains but there are game-filled low-lying plains as well. One of the park’s star attractions is the world-famous Valley of Desolation. The Nqweba Dam, about 1 000ha in extent when full and with game- and bird-rich shores, has been incorporated into the park as well.

On previous visits we’d stayed at the town’s pleasant but unremarkable municipal caravan park, using it as a base to explore the town, the Camdeboo National Park and the surrounding area.

However, we were pleased to hear that Sanparks had established a tented camp and a camping area on the shores of Nqweba Dam. What a bonus, being able to stay in this lovely park, in this first class little camping area, and having the cultural options of proximity to the historically fascinating Graaff-Reinet and other interesting tourist spots .

We’d heard good reports about the Camdeboo camping site from fellow tent travellers and we weren’t disappointed. In fact, it was even nicer than we’d expected. The shady gravel sites, secluded and well-protected from the elements, were set out beneath thorn trees. These were arranged around neat and spotlessly clean ablution blocks, a laundry area and a handy communal kitchen equipped with kettles, hotplates and dish washing sinks.

A stroll round camp after we set up out tent took us to a clearing, overlooking the dam, where a handsome bird hide was in the process of being built. We saw quite a bit of game and water birds from there and, walking back to our camp, an amazing number of birds. It was gorgeous – and hard to believe this little natural haven was just a stone’s throw away from a bustling major town.

After a peaceful night’s sleep we woke up to our first, misty morning in the park and and set off on a game drive along the game viewing roads alongside the dam and over a grassy plane. Game was plentiful, birding was good and the scenery, wrapped in swirling mist, was lovely, too. We stopped at a secluded picnic site beneath tall thorn trees for breakfast then we parked our vehicle at one of quite a few viewing points near the dam and watched the passing parade.

It was the first of a number of productive game drives we enjoyed while we were there. We almost always saw plenty of eland, black wildebeest, kudu, blesbok, springbok, jackal, plenty of ostrich and assorted water birds. The natural highlight of our Camdeboo stay, though, was our visit to the ‘Cathedrals in the Veld’, those massive red and rust dolorite columns that stretch skyward to form the amazing Valley of Desolation. It is a world-famous but poorly named tourist attraction as there is nothing desolate about these dramatically beautiful rock formations or their backdrop, the Camdeboo plains ringed by ridges of flat-topped mountains. Beyond the columns are a scattering of iconic Karoo koppies, the most imposing one being the landmark Spandau Mountain that stands guard over the town.

And those soft, subtle colours of the plain, add to the beauty of this striking valley. Predominantly khaki and grey these plains that stretch to the horizon are tinted with gentle shades of mauve, blues and pinks and some splashes of brick red and coral, courtesy the flowering coral aloes.

It was lovely up there on the high mountains overlooking the valley as the sun sunk low in the sky and the light softened, heralding the approach of evening. We did the Crag Lizard trail, a highly recommended way of appreciating all the natural beauty as it takes you over rocky, well-vegetated terrain, linking the various view sites. It is not very long and is fairly easy but it is slow walking over tricky terrain and stout walking shoes are advised. Unfortunately a fire had swept through the area destroying much of the interesting succulent mountain vegetation. On a previous trip we’d spent hours up there looking at the plants, but even blackened by fire it was all so beautiful. Fire, so destructive, is nevertheless such an important part of the normal functioning of many biomes.

Our campsite itself provided us with great wildlife experiences and we spent quite a bit of time at our tent just enjoying the lovely natural surrounds. Birding was good and we even had a pair of familiar chats trying to use our rolled up tent flap as a nesting site. We felt awful about having to discourage them. Perhaps we should have stayed in this heavenly new campsite a while longer and let them share our tent a little longer.

We also enjoyed a bit of cultural stuff in and around the Jewel of the Karoo – but more about that next week.