Size: 820㎢
Location: Northern Cape, South Africa
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| Augrabies Falls |
The pristine karoo landscape and the pounding of the waterfall greets
you as you arrive at the reception of Augrabies Falls National Park. From the time you arrive you are drawn towards the
falls, you find that before you go to your accommodation (camping or chalets)
you need to see the falls. The torrenting power of the falls captivates you,
keeps you there and washes a kind of serenity over you.
Getting there
To get to Augrabies Falls National Park you can enter the park from the east via Upington (as you are passing Upington look out for the “Khi Solar One (KSO)” which is Africa’s only solar tower - it is quite impressive and very bright) into the Riemvasmaak Community Conservancy. The Conservancy is beautiful and the drive takes you through South Africa’s region of raisins.
To get to Augrabies Falls National Park you can enter the park from the east via Upington (as you are passing Upington look out for the “Khi Solar One (KSO)” which is Africa’s only solar tower - it is quite impressive and very bright) into the Riemvasmaak Community Conservancy. The Conservancy is beautiful and the drive takes you through South Africa’s region of raisins.
The Camp site
The Augrabies Falls campsite is inside the main gate but just outside the park gate. The campsite is quite large with ample shade, however, the day we arrived the temperature was over 30°C and all the large shady sites had already been claimed. Since it was a scorcher of a day that little piece of shade was very important so we drove around a little and managed to find a great spot right next to the grass where the dassies hang out. The site had a concrete work surface and a braai area which was cleaned daily. The ablutions and kitchen facilities are in the centre of the campsite and therefore easily accessible to all sites. Augrabies Falls is a beautiful campsite and is alive with dassies, red-eyed bulbuls and common waxbills. In the early evening, we watched the dassies playing on the grass near our tent and at night we lay in our tent listening to the quiet of the bush and the peaceful cascading of the waterfall in the distance.
The Augrabies Falls campsite is inside the main gate but just outside the park gate. The campsite is quite large with ample shade, however, the day we arrived the temperature was over 30°C and all the large shady sites had already been claimed. Since it was a scorcher of a day that little piece of shade was very important so we drove around a little and managed to find a great spot right next to the grass where the dassies hang out. The site had a concrete work surface and a braai area which was cleaned daily. The ablutions and kitchen facilities are in the centre of the campsite and therefore easily accessible to all sites. Augrabies Falls is a beautiful campsite and is alive with dassies, red-eyed bulbuls and common waxbills. In the early evening, we watched the dassies playing on the grass near our tent and at night we lay in our tent listening to the quiet of the bush and the peaceful cascading of the waterfall in the distance.
Although we were told to be aware of the monkeys and baboons, we
underestimated their sneakiness. I had messed water on the floor of the car on
our drive in and so I left the front door open to dry the carpet. We were
sitting right next to the car and the next thing we knew a monkey dashed into
the car, stole a bag of sweets and was gone. Not only was this the only food
item that was not in our storage box, the sweets were also hidden under a
jersey - sneaky, sneaky! Be very aware of the monkeys and baboons!
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| Augrabies Fall campsite |
Things to do
This first thing that you have to do when you get to Augrabies falls is read
the fact boards about the falls: their flood seasons and low seasons and the flora
and fauna - it is fascinating. Once you have done that you can take a stroll
along the winding wooden walk ways to view the falls. The Falls are majestic
and picturesquely set in a deep gorge. The surrounding rocks are covered in
brightly coloured lizards scurrying all over the place catching the insects.
The river was quite low when we visited but at sunrise you could still feel the
light mist of the waterfall tickle your skin. I highly recommend taking your
early morning coffee down onto the decks to enjoy the daily unveiling of the
falls to a backdrop of gold and orange hues as the sunrises from behind the
waterfall.
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| 1. Above the fall looking down the gorge. 2. Lizards on the rocks 3. Rainbow over Augrabies Falls |
Self-guided game drives are a great way to see the park at your own
pace. The park’s landscape is nothing like I have ever seen: elegantly littered
with black rocks and Desert Broom and Milkwood trees. We didn’t see a lot of
wildlife but thoroughly enjoyed the drive as the landscape is exquisite. There
are also many viewpoints (Moon rock, Echo Corner, Oranjekom to name my
favourites) where you can get out of your car and really take in your
surroundings. It was at one of these viewpoints where we got stuck in the sand
and after trying to dig ourselves out for about 20 minutes we were rescued by a
very kind couple in a 4x4. We were very weary of sandy patches from here on.
Augrabies National Park offers morning and sunset guided game drives. We
did the sunset game drive and our guide, Richard, was fantastic and very
knowledgeable about the area. We saw a spotted genet, striped polecat, spotted
eagle owl, klipspringer, kudu, eland and gemsbok which was a whole lot more
than what we saw on our self-guided day drive. The highlight of the game drive,
however, was when we stopped on a rise, got out of the vehicle and turned off
all the lights to do some stargazing. Richard spent some time pointing out some
of the major constellations and identifying significant stars. Standing there
on the hilltop in the wilderness, in the darkness was a humbling experience as
you realise how small and insignificant you are and how vast and wonderful the
world around you is.
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| 1. Echo Corner 2.Giraffe on our day drive 3. Sunset game drive |
The restaurant at the reception is a fantastic place to get a drink or a bite to
eat. The outside deck is the perfect place to settle in and enjoy
sundowner drinks while you look out towards the falls. The restaurant also
offers lovely meals for all 3 meals of the day as well as WiFi for those who
find it hard to remove themselves from the digital world.
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| Drinks on the deck at the restaurant |
One of the great things about Augrabies Falls National Park is the number of
walks and cycle paths that are available within the park. So, if you are
feeling energetic you can work up a sweat while enjoying the wildlife. Midday
can get very hot in the Karoo (especially in summer) so make sure that you
walk/cycle in the early morning or that you are well prepared with sunscreen
and water for time out in the sun.
If the midday heat has taken its toll on your energy levels, spend some
time relaxing in the swimming pool. You might find a dassie or two joining you
too take advantage of the dense shade.
Augrabies is a great place to really immerse yourself in the bushveld
and since there are no large predators this is easily done on the walks, cycle
paths and viewpoints in the park. If you need a timeout from your busy
schedule, Augrabies falls is the place to go to wash away the stresses of life
and rise re-energised to embrace to world.
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