About 280-million years ago, when the earth was much younger, the Great Karoo was a vast swamp. Today, among the world's most fascinating arid zones, it is a place of infinite horizons and endless plains, rimmed by blue mountains. Visually, it is stark, but its very starkness distills into grandiose beauty that is often awesome. Sunsets and dawns stun with their vivid bursts of colour and cloud shows, while night skies are filled with stars you can almost touch.
The Karoo, the world's largest plateau outside Asia, is five times the size of great Britain and considered a wonder of the scientific world. Its name comes from the indigenous word for thirstland. In South Africa it stands alone; globally the region is an envied rarity. Ancient and fossil-rich, the Karoo features the largest variety of succulents found anywhere on earth. Some of the world's most important archeological and stone age sites are located in the Karoo. A rich legacy of rock art and artifacts makes it integral to the work of many scientists. A myriad species of indigenous and rare game roam these plains, while birdlife is abundant.
Over a century ago, British soldiers, with all the paraphernalia of battle, moved across the plains of the Karoo to engage the Boers in the Anglo-Boer War. Now lonely graves dot these plains and the silent blockhouses still guard the railway lines as grim reminders of those turbulent times. The Karoo is indeed a place of infinite enchantment and mystery. Those who linger in its vastness soon sense the magic are drawn back again and again. Karoo National Park (Central Karoo) Towards late afternoon, the great, unyielding canopy slowly softens its fierceness, and from pastel shades of pink and blue, the colours deepen, setting the endless Karoo canvas ablaze with glorious hues of orange and red. The Groot (Great) Karoo is a vast and unforgiving landscape of which Karoo National Park is but a small portion. Being the largest ecosystem in South Africa, the Karoo is home to a fascinating diversity of life, all having adapted to survive in these harsh conditions. Karoo National Park is dominated by the lofty Nuweveld mountains and rolling plains, where many species which originally occurred here now occupy their former ranges. The Karoo National Park has a wide variety of endemic wildlife. Many species have been relocated to their former ranges - such as black rhino and buffalo, as well as Cape mountain zebra. Over 20 breeding pairs of black eagle find sanctuary within the park. There is also a wide diversity of succulent plants and small reptiles. |
