Camdeboo National Park
Overview
South Africa Parks
Philip lives in South Africa and has authored many guidebooks to African destinations, including ‘The Rough Guide to Game Parks of South Africa’.
Camdeboo National Park is not primarily a safari destination. Its main attraction is the semi-arid Karoo environment and scenic highpoints such as the spectacular Valley of Desolation, where erosion has left dolerite pillars of more than 100m high. A separate section of the park has a very small wildlife-viewing circuit where some herbivores have been stocked. Of the Big 5, only buffalo is present.
Pros & Cons
Wildlife
The game-viewing area of the park is a small tract of Karoo with one circular circuit. Animals include the endemic Cape mountain zebra and black wildebeest, springbok and red hartebeest. Meerkat and bat-eared fox are some of the small predators common in the Karoo habitat. Of the Big 5, only buffalo is present, and there are no big cats.
Scenery
Camdeboo National Park is all about the scenery. Its proximity to Graaff Reinet offers amazing views over the town. The park is located in the foothills of the Sneeuberg range. The Valley of Desolation with its dolerite rock formations gives a spectacular insight into the Karoo landscape, formed hundreds of millions of years ago.
Weather & Climate
Winter in Camdeboo (May to September) sees cool daytime temperatures and cold evenings. In fact, in June and July, the average morning temperature is a very chilly 4°C/39°F. It can even snow on the park’s higher peaks. It’s warmer in summer (October to April), but the pleasant temperatures are counterbalanced by higher rainfall, particularly in March.
Best Time To Visit
The Dry season (May to September) is usually the best time for wildlife watching in South African parks, due partly to the ease of spotting animals in the thinned-out bush. But at Camdeboo, where the diversity of the wildlife is not exceptional, and annual rainfall is low anyway, you might want to try visiting in the wetter months (October to April). The park’s flowers will be in full bloom, it’ll be warm, and some baby animals will be tottering about.
