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The Camdeboo National Park is a summer rainfall area and a place of extremities with summers being very hot and winters very cold. Thunderstorms are common during the summer and snowfall can occur in the high lying areas during winter.
There is not one main rest camp in the Camdeboo National Park, but two camps where accommodation is provided.
View LodgeThe Karoo is an arid, semi-desert region in central South Africa, which has not received much protection from government and conservation groups until the establishment of the Karoo Nature Reserve in 1979. In 2005 the 14 500-hectare reserve was incorporated into a larger park, the Camdeboo National Park. The aim is to ultimately link the Camdeboo Park with the Mountain Zebra National Park to protect a huge diversity of plant and animal species, including the endangered Cape Mountain Zebra.
The Valley of Desolation is the most well-known landmark of the Camdeboo National Park, being declared a national monument of geological and scenic significance in December 1939. A variety of significant sites display the historical richness of the area, which date back to the early stone age people who occupied these vast plains. Khoisan hunters and herders left proof of their existence and lifestyle in the form of rock paintings to be seen in the eastern part of the park.
In September 1921, the municipality of Graaff-Reinet started building
a dam to provide the town and agricultural landholders with water. The
Van Rynevelds Pass Dam was opened in July 1925.
A variety of programmes are run by and at Camdeboo National Park as part of their Socio-Economic Transformation Department task of education to protect the natural and cultural heritage resources.
The Mountain Zebra-Camdeboo Protected Environment is situated between Graaff-Reinet, Nieu-Bethesda, Cradock and Pearston and was proclaimed in 2016 to maintain the landscape in terms of its scenic, biodiversity and landscape value through collective action by private landowners. Four biomes are included in the transitional area, namely Grasslands, Nama Karoo, Thicket and Savanna. Being poorly conserved elsewhere in South Africa, this ecological region is protecting major vegetation types and important ecological processes.
Graaff-Reinet, the town nearest to the Camdeboo National Park, is practically surrounded by the park. A variety of banks, shops, pubs, restaurants, fuel stations and other facilities are available in Graaff-Reinet, including the Reinet House Museum.
Because the Big 5 – elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion and leopard – are not present in the Camdeboo National Park, visitors have the freedom to walk, cycle or hike through the park safely. A variety of hiking and walking trails are available. Visitors can enjoy non-motorized water sports on the dam, including surfing, kayaking or canoeing.
Self-drive game viewing is available, but don’t expect to see large quantities or a wide variety of animals. Enjoy the peaceful tranquillity and soak up the fresh air while birdwatching. The Camdeboo National Park is the ideal location for a family breakaway and for enjoying the vast landscapes and Karoo scenery.
The reception of the Camdeboo National Park is located 4 km from Graaff-Reinet on the N9 to Middelburg. The entrance at the Valley of Desolation and game viewing area is 5 km from Graaff-Reinet on the R63 to Murraysburg.