Tankwa Karoo National Park is situated on the southern boundary of the Northern Cape with the Roggeveld Escarpment in the East, Cederberg in the West, and Klein Roggeveld Mountains in the South. It is the driest land in all of South Africa, with summer temperatures regularly soaring into the 40's. Even so, after the occasional shower, the park erupts into a dazzling display of flowering succulents.
With an average rainfall of 80mm a year, even a scant shower is reason for celebration. But the winters are quite comfortable, and occasionally can bring forth a short but beautiful display of spring flowers. Just a four hour drive from Cape Town brings you to this unique national park situated within the Succulent Karoo Biome where you'll find rare and endangered plant species, rich endemic birdlife, and landscapes that will take your breath away – from the sheer cliffs of the Roggeveld Escarpment to the moonscapes of the Tankwa Desert, the Tankwa Karoo National Park is a place of solitude, beauty and remoteness. A destination for those seeking the brightest stars in Africa, a once in lifetime glimpse of a rare endemic bird, or perhaps nothing more than a silence that reaches deep into the soul.
Only two Southern African regions have been bestowed the honour of designation as Biodiversity Hotspots by Conservation International. One is of course the Cape Floral Kingdom, and the other the Succulent Karoo. For those whose image of the southwestern Karoo is a shimmering wasteland to be endured as briefly as possible en route to Cape Town or Johannesburg, this may come as a surprise.
Though the remarkable endemism and diversity of the Succulent Karoo flora (at its most spectacular from August to October) is its most renowned aspect, the Karoo as a whole naturally has a great deal to offer the birder. The Tankwa Karoo National Park protects one of the most starkly beautiful tracts of the Tankwa Karoo and is well worth visiting for several reasons, among them its koppie-studded, moon-like landscape, diversity of succulent plants, fine Karoo birding and, perhaps most notably for hardened birders, above-average chance of finding the enigmatic Burchell’s Courser. When taking a night drive, don’t be surprised finding the endangered aardvark which occurs in a dense population throughout the park.
The park is criss-crossed by a number of vehicle tracks, most of which are easily negotiable by two-wheel-drive. There are also two 4x4 tracks available to compliment the magnificent views throughout Tankwa Karoo. |
