CAMDEBOO NATIONAL PARK

The Camdeboo National Park is located 209 kilometres (129 miles) from Beaufort West, 215 kilometres (133 miles) from Port Elizabeth and approximately 600 kilometres (372 miles) from Cape Town. To access the Valley of Desolation and the game viewing area, travel along the main road in Graaff-Reinet - College Road, this then becomes Church Street. At the end of Church Street one will find the Old Dutch Reformed Church in the middle of the road. Follow the road left, and then turn right into Caledon Street. When you reach a four-way stop, turn right and travel to Murraysburg. The turnoffs to both the Valley of Desolation and the game viewing area will be on your left. When travelling to the Lakeview Tented Camp head towards the Old Dutch Reformed Church as above. Follow the road left and then turn right at the stop street into Caledon Street. Continue down Calendon Street to the next stop street, where you will turn left onto the N9 Middleburg road. The park entrance will be on the left 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) down the road. One feels a humbling sense of awe when you’re standing on top of towering dolerite columns overlooking the vast Karoo plains. Particularly so when you find yourself at eye level with a magnificent soaring black eagle and pause to contemplate the fact that these pillars, rising to heights of up to 120 meters, were formed by volcanic and erosive forces over a period of 200 million years. This is the breathtaking Valley of Desolation in the Camdeboo National Park, which virtually surrounds the town of Graaff-Reinet. Also known as the Cathedral of the Mountains, the site was declared a national monument of geological and scenic significance in 1935. The road to the top of the valley was tarred in 1978 and today provides tourists with easy access to the viewpoints with their panoramic views of the landscape of the Camdeboo and further afield. The park is filled with activities for nature lovers and adventure seekers. This includes the picnic and braai sites, 4x4 trails, short and long hiking trails, mountain biking, game viewing, birding and watersports and fishing which are done at Nqweba Dam. Picnic Spots in the Park Camdeboo National Park has six picnic areas with braai and ablution facilities: Impunzi picnic area in the Game Viewing Area has 4 sites. Ribbokberg picnic area on the way to Valley of Desolation has 4 sites. Mountain Drive picnic area has 7 widely-spaced sites in the Mountain Drive area. Babergat picnic area has 2 sites adjacent to the Nqweba Dam wall. Piekniekbos picnic area has 12 sites on the western shore of the Nqweba Dam. Koedoeskloof 4x4 Trail has 2 braai sites on top of the mountain, with a stunning view of the scenic Camdeboo Conservancy below. Game Viewing and Birding Presently, approximately 19km of gravel roadways provide visitors with the opportunity to view the a range of indigenous species in their preferred habitats. The Game Viewing Area, situated on the plains north of the Nqweba Dam, is home to buffalo, eland, black wildebeest, gemsbok, red hartebeest, blesbok and springbok. The higher-lying areas provide the ideal habitat for klipspringer, the endangered Cape mountain zebra and mountain reedbuck. Over 240 bird species have been recorded across the national park. (Please see the Graaff-Reinet Bird Club page for an up-to-date, printable bird list.