CPT Road Trip 2019 – Karoo National Park and home

There was ample space available in the campsite at the Karoo National Park. We’ve not always been that lucky in the past. It was mid-afternoon and very hot; definitely time for a dip in the pool. There is quite a distance between the campsite and the pool, which is on the other side of the admin building and the chalets, so we drove there as soon as we’d settled in.

What a shock to the system when we dipped in and realised that the water was icy cold; totally unexpected, but rather invigorating!

Karoo NP pool
The water was so cold that I got ‘brain freeze’, the same as when eating ice cream as a child…

Refreshed, we walked along a short path to a bird hide that overlook a small dam, but there was nothing of particular interest; too hot and dry, with lots of reeds and hardly any water.

As soon as it started cooling down, we drove up the Klipspringer’s Pass, and as always, we were not disappointed. The Karoo is just breath-taking, especially at sunset.

Klipspringer
Namesake of the pass, in his usual spot…

The next day we went for an early morning drive along the Potlekkertjie Loop and for the first time in this park we saw a lion. ‘Time and place’, as we always say, for when we backtracked after 20 minutes there was no trace of her. If I did not have photographic proof I may have thought that it was all a dream; it was very early, after all…

Lioness enjoying the morning sun
Lioness enjoying the morning sun
Pale Chanting Goshawk
Pale Chanting Goshawk
Steenbokkies
Steenbokkies, always so delicate

Something we had not noticed before was that there were vast areas of land that appeared to be ‘dimpled’. This was soon explained by a sign as being ‘ponding’:

“Ponding is digging of a multitude of small hollows with approximately 200 litre capacity. The area inside these ponds is being densely bush-packed. The theory behind this method is that ponds accumulate water during a storm which would otherwise run off. This water then filters into the soil over an extended period of time increasing the effectiveness of rainfall. Plants which germinate have an increased chance of survival due to the shaded micro-climate while destructive foraging by browsers is excluded by the thorns or bush-packing.”

‘Ponding’
‘Ponding’
Foraging around the ‘ponding’ areas
Foraging around the ‘ponding’ areas

After the game drive and breakfast in camp, we went to explore the Ou Schuur Interpretive Centre. The history was very interesting, but I missed my dad when we got to the farming equipment. He would have been able to explain each item’s use from the days when he was growing up.

Board-walk
Long board-walk to the Ou Schuur Interpretive Centre
Interesting history and cultural heritage
Interesting history and cultural heritage
Farming equipment
Farming equipment from days gone by…
Tortoise sign
Tortoises abound in the campsite, possibly seeking shade and of course green grass due to irrigation

After two nights in the Park it was time to move on. We had to be home and settled in in time for Roger’s next charter flight on the 20th April.

And then it rained…
And then it rained…

We spent one night at the Riverside Resort on the banks of the Riet River south of Kimberley, and the next at Barberspan, Delareyville.

Passing Kamfers Dam we were happy to see lots of fledglings after the recent disaster at the dam where nests were abandoned due to lack of water. You can read more about it here: https://www.safari.com/news/world-news/lesser-flamingo-chicks-abondoned-at-kamfers-dam/

Kamfers Dam
View of Kamfers Dam from the freeway.

“Kamfers Dam, north of Kimberley, was once a wetland area only in the high rainfall season. Today, the town has diverted the treated sewerage water and Kimberley’s storm water run-off through the municipality’s reticulation system, turning this 400 ha pan into a permanent wetland. Because of its ecological importance to water birds, Kamfers Dam is recognised as a Natural Heritage Site, and has international RAMSAR status pending. It is a successful conservation effort to increase the dwindling population of Lesser Flamingos in Southern Africa.” Ref: https://showme.co.za/tourism/kamfers-dam-birding-kimberley-northern-cape/

Barberspan Resort
The ground at Barberspan Resort was sodden

We decided to spend the next morning at the Barberspan Bird Sanctuary. It is a North West Parks Board Reserve in the Molopo Cluster that had been declared an Important Bird Area (IBA) by Birdlife SA. It is also a RAMSAR Convention-accredited wetland of international importance for migratory birds and waterfowl.

After a concerted effort to phone, without success, we just drove there, hoping to gain access. We were lucky enough to find some staff members in the admin building but the campsite and chalets were no longer in use. The whole place was run down and dysfunctional. What a disappointment. We left after about an hour feeling saddened by the state of yet another provincial reserve we’ve been to…

Boardwalk to a bird hide
Boardwalk to a bird hide

On our way again, we were stopped by traffic police as we entered Sannieshof. We got the idea that they were merely curious about Ufudu. Lucky for us, while Roger and the officer did a walk-around the truck I spotted a sign for a coffee shop that looked promising. And it was a breath of fresh air; we hadn’t found a good coffee shop for the past two days. We would have missed it had we not been stopped…

Coffee Shop at Sannieshof
Kontrei Koffie coffee shop in Sannieshof. A wonderful lift-me-upper after leaving Barberspan

We spent the night at Eugene and Marlene before leaving Ufudu in the hangar at Silver Creek Gorge the next day. We arrived home in Rosebank by mid-afternoon on the 17th April.

The end of another trip. Nothing WOW, but good for the soul…