Following a slightly warmer night with a tad more shuteye we were up and ready to leave early doors. We did a short game drive on the way out of Karoo but still no sign of those pesky meerkats. We had our fingers crossed for spotting them in our next destination, Camdeboo NP.
Camdeboo is a smaller more recently established park and as a result doesn’t get anywhere near as many visitors. A crying shame in our opinion as it turned out to be one of our favourite places. The park almost encompasses the town of Graaf Reinet and is dominated by a huge dammed lake. The main road splits the park with the other side being predominantly hilly.
I digress slightly, first to get from one park to the other we travelled along the R61 which cuts across country from West Beaufort to Graaf Reinet via Aberdeen in a straight line. I didn’t have to move the steering wheel at all in a 150km and the scenery was rather dull and flat. We had planned to stop in Aberdeen for a mooch and a coffee even though it would probably be quiet, it being Sunday again. Quiet? A ghost town more like it, not one place open and it looked like a right dump. We carried on to Graaf Reinet, not surprisingly, where we had lunch in The Mad Hatter’s Tea Shop.
After filling up we headed to the national park which is only 5km out of town to check out the tented camp we had booked and paid for. The Lakeside Tented Camp is indeed close to the lake and for the best water view you should ask for tent 2, the one we were lucky to be given. We loved it instantly and decided to spend 2 instead of 1 night here. The tents are massive, containing 2 well duvet-ed and blanketed beds, fridge, kettle, a decking area with chairs and our own picnic table. We wouldn’t be standing up to eat tonight and it was fantastic place to raise a glass to Emma’s Mum on her 70th birthday.
Much as we loved the novel experience of sitting in a chair we were keen to explore the area. The game viewing area in which you can use a regular car isn’t extensive but we saw all the animals we saw in Karoo with much more regularity. We also spotted some eland, these beast are very shy usually but here we got a good view of them. The birdlife was also more prolific than Karoo probably due to the large water source attracting a wider range of feathered friends and we even spotted some flamingos. In the park, and on the journey to it, we spotted several interesting species including blue cranes (SA’s national bird), kestrels, bustards, goshawks and secretary birds. On returning to our balcony, rustling in the undergrowth attracted our attention. But no, it wasn’t meerkats but a family of vlei rats going about their business.
The clear star laden skies had led to chilli night but we were snug in our beds. The morning saw us back on the game drive track but we exited the park and crossed the main road to re-enter the park at the ‘Valley of Desolation’. A rather gloomy b-movie title for an area of outstanding natural beauty. We drove up to the view point to look down through the dolomite columns into the gorge below and yes the views were gorge-ous! However, the whole experience was enhanced by the spectacular 360 degree views of the park, the valley and the town.
On the way back to our ‘camp’ we decided to stop in Graaf Reinet for a proper look around. We were there the day before of course, but that was Sunday, so we hoped for a bit more life today. Er, not really. It is a lovely little town with lots of historical buildings and different architectural styles but it didn’t have much of a vibe about the place. We knew we would be happier on our balcony with the vlei rats.
After 2 nights of luxury camping we needed some cheaper digs so we had to go back to Graaf Reinet. After driving around town and Emma checking out various places, that’s if they even let her in (they seem to be a bit paranoid about crime in GR) we settled on Mewede at R450. We wanted to stay another night in the area as we fancied doing the Eerterfontein Trail which starts close to town.
The trail comprises of 3 routes of 5km, 11km or the complete 16km loop. We opted for the longest one and we had this entire section of the park to ourselves. The path meanders through scrub where you follow signs with the hoopoe bird on it. We didn’t see any of those lovely birds but we were serenaded by cheeps along the way. This sector of the park away from the lake is very dry at this time of the year. However, we still spotted ostrich, kudu and eland in these harsh conditions. We were effectively walking through the area we had gazed down upon from the view point in the ‘Valley of Desolation’ and we hoped anyone up there would adhere to the signs asking people not to throw stones onto the hikers in the valley.
The walk took us through some striking scenery but the most amazing aspect was the weather. We’d awoken to bitterly cold frosty conditions and were now trekking in t-shirts with the winter sun beating down on us. To be honest it was like the best summer’s day in the UK!
Back in town once clean and refreshed we decided to take full advantage of the clement weather. Yep, a pint sat outside in a beer garden. The Coldstream, near the main church, is set in an old building and suited our needs exactly. Afterwards we walked around the corner to the Pioneer pub, which is actually more restaurant than pub but as the sun had set we were happy to be seated next to the fire. I tucked into the local speciality, Karoo lamb chops and it turned out to be one of the best meals yet.
