Camdeboo Adventure Tours - Explore the Graaff-Reinet area / The Plains of the Camdeboo / the Karoo [Sunday, April 10, 2011]
Guided tours offered to Graaff-Reinet’s main highlights - including the Valley of Desolation, Game Viewing in the Camdeboo National Park & Umasizake TownshipTours.
For nature lovers there are a variety of guided nature walks on offer in the area.
4x4 Trips in the Camdeboo National Park & a variety of overnight trips to the Baviaanskloof are also available.
For more information
Our Adventure Tours on offer are the following:
Valley of Desolation – a geological phenomenon that is situated in the Camdeboo National Park
Approximately 3 hours spent exploring the Valley of Desolation. The tour starts with an introduction to the Fauna & Flora of the Graaff-Reinet region. Game may be spotted on the drive up to the Valley of Desolation such as Kudu, Blesbuck, Spingbuck & Mountain Rhebuck. At the toposcope a brief overview of the surrounding mountains are given, as well as information on the way of life of the people of Graaff-Reinet. At the Valley of Desolation a circular walk is done offering a great view of the dolerite pillars & Camdeboo plains. Sundowners available upon request.
Game Viewing in the Camdeboo National Park
There are 43 species of mammals, 336 species of plants and over 225 recorded species of bird life to be found in this Karoo region. Early morning or late afternoon is the best time for game viewing in the Camdeboo National Park. One of the Big Five on offer is the Cape Buffalo.
Township Tours
A two-hour trip through Graaff-Reinet's Xhosa township - Umasizakhe. Walk around with your local guide and visit a family where you enjoy tea and roosterbrood - a small bread baked on an open fire. You pass the house where Robert Managaliso Sobukwe, the founder of the Pan African Congress, grew up. The people of Umasizake have undertaken to broaden the tour by exhibiting and demonstrating the Xhosa culture and having handmade goods for sale.
Guided Nature Walks
Gideon Scheepers Trail - The trail starts from the Gideon Scheepers Memorial roughly 3km outside of Graaff-Reinet on the Murraysberg Road. The trail zigzag’s up the foot of the mountain & levels out to give one a great view of Ncqueba Dam & the surrounding area. Numerous antelope can be encountered along the route, such as Kudu & Hartebeest.
The Eerstefontein Day Walk
Duration: 6 Hours max (3 options available, varying in difficulty)
This ‘pan-handle’ shaped trail starts and ends on the fringe of town.
The first option is to walk to Eerstefontein (at the base of the ‘pan-handle’) and back, a distance of about five kilometres, passing through Spandaunek at 935m. Following the route hikers experience a wide change in vegetation types and birds that are representative of the Karoo.
The second option extends your walk to Agterstefontein and hikers who move quietly are assured of numerous wildlife sightings, including Kudu, Cape mountain zebra, mountain rheebuck, springbok, baboons and perhaps a bat-eared fox among many other species.
Hikers who decide to do the entire full day route (a total distance of 16 km from start to end) continue with the trail climbing to the top of Akkediskrans along a twisting pathway between large dolerite boulders with many mountain plum, cabbage and shepards trees. From this point it is a fairly level walk along a doleritic terrace until dropping downhill into Wildebeeskom. From here the trail follows an old game path along the alluvial sediments of a flat-bottomed watershed which originates at Spandaunek – the base of the ‘pan-handle’.
Driekoppen Trail – A scenic route situated in the Eastern-side of the Camdeboo National Route. Plenty of wildlife along the route. Approximately 12km. This is a strenuous route during the hot summer with a 510m gain in altitude from 784m at the start to 1284m.
4x4 Trips in the Camdeboo National Park
2 4x4 trips are available in the Camdeboo National Park
Driekoppe 4x4 Trail (grade 2) is a great day trip offering numerous opportunities to do short walks & close sightings the mountain zebra – Same route up & down
Koedoeskloof 4x4 Trail (grade 3 to 4) offers spectacular views of the surrounding mountains. Also same route up & down
Baviaanskloof Overnight Tours
Fully guided tours available in the Baviaanskloof that stretches more than 100 km between the Kouga Mountains (in the South) and Baviaanskloof Mountains (in the North). The Baviaanskloof is situated between Willowmore and Patensie. This wilderness area can be explored by traveling along an untarred road that cuts its way down through the Winterhoek Mountains in the North to the Gamtoos Valley in the South. The Baviaanskloof is a U-shaped reserve currently occupying 180 000 hectares, is named after the baboons commonly found in the area. This road was built by Thomas Bains in the 1880’s.
Travel either the Grootrivierpoort pass road from Steytlerville to Patensie or travel from Patensie via Bergplaas, into the Baviaanskloof Nature Reserve & unto Willowmore. Or combine the two routes into a 3 day exploration of the Baviaanslkoof.
Prior booking is necessary and rates vary according to size of group and length of stay. Contact us to get a quote. We would tailor make each tour to suite each individuals' needs.