Karoo National Park

The Park That Exists To Protect Karoo Ecology Rather Than Big Game, On The N1 Exactly Halfway Between Johannesburg And Cape Town With Fossil Trackways In The Rock, Black Rhino And Cape Mountain Zebra Reintroduced, The Klipspringer Pass Climbing The Escarpment To A Plateau Viewpoint, And A Fossil Trail That Reads 250 Million Years Off The Ground · Beaufort West, Western Cape

The Karoo National Park exists to protect an ecosystem rather than a list of big animals, which makes it unusual among South African parks and is why most people drive past the gate. It sits on the N1 immediately outside Beaufort West, exactly halfway between Johannesburg and Cape Town, which means several hundred thousand cars a year pass within a kilometre of it. What is inside is worth stopping for: dwarf shrubland and dolerite koppies with Cape mountain zebra and black rhino reintroduced, a fossil trail reading 250 million years off the rock, trackways of creatures that predate the dinosaurs, and the Klipspringer Pass climbing the escarpment to a plateau viewpoint over the whole plain. There is a rest camp with a pool, which in Karoo summer is not a frivolous detail. It is malaria-free, very hot in summer and very cold at a winter dawn, and almost nobody turns in at the gate to see any of it.

On the N1 immediately outside Beaufort West, halfway between Johannesburg and Cape Town, Beaufort West, Western Cape, South Africa

Gates open at first light and close at dusk with times that move through the year, so take them at the gate. Entry is the daily SANParks conservation fee or a Wild Card. LION WERE REINTRODUCED IN 2010, so the walking that this park was once known for is now restricted - CONFIRM WHAT IS CURRENTLY PERMITTED AT THE GATE rather than relying on an older guidebook. THE KLIPSPRINGER PASS IS GRAVEL AND CLOSES AFTER RAIN, which is worth asking about because the plateau viewpoint at the top is the best thing in the park. The fossil trail near the rest camp is self-guided and short. There is a rest camp with chalets, a campsite, a pool and a restaurant, booked through SANParks and busiest in South African school holidays. Beaufort West a kilometre away has fuel and shops. It is MALARIA-FREE.

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