Mountain Zebra National Park

A place with a vast memory

Mountain Zebra National Park is one of those places that leave a lingering memory of beauty. Amazing sunrise and sunset landscapes and the first place I ever saw the Aardwolf. A must for anyone planning to stay over for a few days.

This is an enchanting, small park, with a wide variety of animals and birds, easily viewed by car.

Quite small by South African game park standards, the Mountain Zebra NP has a wide range of wild animals and birds, easily viewed from a good road network. Although there are a small number of Lion and Black Rhino, which one would be lucky to see, we saw large numbers of Red Hartebeest and Cape Mountain Zebras, also Kudu, Springbok, Buffalo and Wildebeest. There is also a special walk available to track Cheetah. The birdlife is varied and quite beautiful, generally quite easy to spot and photograph, either from the car or on walks around the camp.

As a spectacle, this is a peaceful park, perched in the beautiful mountain areas of the eastern Karoo. It has a unique beauty, which is not spoilt by humans, as the numbers of visitors are limited. There is a variety of accommodation types. The two bedroom chalet that we stayed in, near the main reception building, was comfortable and well equipped for self catering. There is a restaurant and small shop in the main reception area, which was well patronised when we were there. As we were self catering, we did not have the opportunity to sample the fare. We walked around a well maintained camping site, with a large ablution block, so campers are well catered for.

The fenced camp is quite extensive, with two short, but enjoyable mountain side walks and a large swimming pool, which was well patronised when we were there.

All in all, a wonderful natural location for a peaceful 2 or 3 night break.

Great scenery, few tourists

The landscape is really wonderful at Mountain Zebra National Park. It had the most beautiful scenery of all National Parks we have been in South Africa. Few tourists were there so it was relatively calm and a nice atmosphere. We made a game drive ourselves and saw of course Zebras, Red Hartebeests, Blue Wilderbeests, Springboks etc. The park is generally not cramped with animals but you'll get quite a few nice sightings. We also did a cheetah tour which is definitely worth the money. We drove with a guide and his assistant around in a safari vehicle until we got a good signal from the collar some cheetahs wear. Then we got out of the car and walked outside until we found it. I would have never found it without a guide. I stood quite a few meters aside from it but I did not see it until the guide exactly showed me where it is lying under the bushes. Their covering works really very good ;) The guides do also have signals of the lions that are living in the park. If their signal is too close then you can't get out of the car. They care very much for your security. Our guide was very good. Not only he showed us the cheetah he also told us a lot of interesting things about it and the other animals we saw during the driving part. All in all I can very much recommend the park with it's amazing scenery and especially the cheetah tour.

A quiet park with lovely scenery

This tranquil little park in the Eastern Cape is one of the few places you can see its namesake: the Cape mountain zebra. The population of these animals dropped to zero in the 1940s, but through a very successful reintroduction programme, the park now boasts more than 700 Cape mountain zebras.
(Burchell’s is the most common zebra in southern Africa. The Cape mountain zebra is smaller than its common cousin, and has bigger ears. Its stripes are bolder than the Burchell’s, and its belly is white. There are no shadows on the stripes, as with the Burchell’s.)
Mountain Zebra National Park is also home to cheetah (which I didn’t see) and a lot of plains game: hartebeest, buffalo and black rhino, springbok and blesbok. When I visited, there were only two roads you could drive on – both one-ways, which take you along the beautiful open plains of sweet grass that stretch off into the distant hills. There are, however, a few 4x4 trails, and some walking trails too.
The night skies out here on the edge of the Karoo are exceptionally clear, so take a star-gazing reference book or download a night skies app, and take your safari into another dimension. There is an overwhelming sense of tranquillity in Mountain Zebra National Park, and while game-viewing doesn’t compare with many of South Africa’s other parks, it is a wonderful place to put your feet up, take out a good book and soak up life in the lovely Karoo.

Lots of mountain zebras, the landscape is beautiful and the restaurant provides good food.

Spectacularly wild

Getting to Mountain Zebra National Park by car gives you the impression of so many types of ecosystems in this one small area. Rising up to the plateau, being pursued by baboons coming out of rocky outcrops, the sudden sharp blue enormous sky against steely coloured grasses which hides leopards and zebras, all so beautiful!

Nice, but not superb, experience for an European

As a biologist, I enjoyed African Nature in many diverse places in South Africa; also in Mountain Zebra National Park, of course. Landscapes are beautiful, not very different to African savanna, I think. There were very few tourists when I visited the Park, so it was a good moment to relax and enjoying driving through it.
Apart from this, I have to say that mammals diversity was not too high, so we had to drive a long way to see "big" animals (gazelles and zebras, most of them). I can imagine that the most of urban citizens, unused to Nature, prefer to find wilder animals like rhinos, lions, cheetahs,... and that could be the reason why we saw so few tourists there.
My final impression was that Mountain Zebra is a good park, sure, but it shouldn'be a priority for visitors

Mountain Zebra park is a unique Karoo biome and utterly spectacular scenery and wildlife

The Park accommodation is very good and our chalet was newly refurbished - within easy walk of the swimming pool where you can laze away the hot midday hours while being watched by Rock Dassies (Procavia capensis), which are abundant in the area and the favorite meal for the Verreaux's Eagles. Far from being devoid of life the Karoo is alive with a wide variety of species specially adapted to the harsh semi desert conditions. Specials include the Mountain Zebra's which the Park was established to conserve, Blue Cranes (Anthropoides paradiseus)- South Africa's national bird and the nocturnal, shy, Aardwolf (Proteles cristatus) which feeds almost exclusively on termites and can be seen early morning or at dusk if you are lucky. The roads are good and suitable for normal cars and take you up onto the surrounding plateau with breathtaking views of the surrounding valleys and mountains. There are also nice hiking trails for early morning or late afternoon when temperatures are more comfortable. All in all a must do for a night or two to truly appreciate the magnificent Karoo.

Nice little National Park.

It is a good place to see the Mountain Zebra and other antelopes. No big game but very pleasant