Pete took Friday off work so our road trip of the Karoo started on Friday morning. We somehow managed to squeeze 5 people into the Audi, including pram and bassinet for Harrison! We stayed at Mountain Zebra National Park on Friday night, a reserve established as a sanctuary for the endangered mountain zebra. The reserve is positioned in a natural amphitheatre of the Bankberg Mountains. Whilst the land is quite arid and dry, the scenery and views as you drove around the reserve were incredibly picturesque. Highlights of the game viewing were the Mountain Zebra, an adult & baby Rhino, numerous ground squirrels and the black wildebeests. Harrison's first game sighting was an ostrich- he preferred to sleep for the majority of the time!
On Saturday after a morning game drive, we proceeded west to the tiny isolated village of Nieu Bethesda. It is accessible only on dirt roads and is nestled in a narrow fertile valley of the Sneeuberg Range. It is a cute little village with traditional Karoo Cottages, a brewery and a few cafes. However, it is the owl house that draws visitors to the town. Helen Martin, an outcast in town, resolved to bring light & colour into her drab and isolated life. She achieved this through transforming her little Karoo cottage into a colour kaleidoscope. All surfaces of the interior of her house were adorned with crushed glass and brightly coloured paint, whilst the backyard was filled with giant cement animals (including owls). After Helen's death in 1976, her house was preserved as a testament to her vision. Not artwork to our tastes, however certainly interesting and unique!
The warm winter's sun made for pleasant strolling through the town, including a trip to the local brewery to sample their ales. We returned to our cute cottage for the evening as the sunset and the icy cold winter night emerged. As electricity was only introduced to Nieu Bethesda in the '90s and there are only a few streetlights we could see the abundance of stars in the sky.
We revisited Graaff-Reinet to show Ian and Julie the spectacular views of the Valley of Desolation. From numerous view points within the Karoo Nature Reserve we overlooked the endless Karoo Plains and neighbouring mountains of the Spandaukop Ranges. Lunch was enjoyed in the sunny courtyard of the old Drosty hotel prior to the return drive back to PE.
Whilst the Karoo is semi-desertous and incredibly vast, it still has some pretty attractions and scenery to lure us away from the coast.
Harrison rugged up in the blanket Jen knitted whilst pregnant! 
Harrison's first game sighting- an Ostrich
A rhinocerous with her baby
A cute ground squirrel
Black wildebeest, mostly only found in the Karoo of South Africa
The morning fog in the surrounding valleys of the reserve...
The pretty bee-eater
Ian and Julie eating lunch on the stoep of the rustic Outsider's cafe in Nieu Bethesda
Strolling through town...
Our accommodation for the night in Nieu Bethesda, a quaint Karoo Cottage
The unique owl house, with crushed glass adorned surfaces
Ian & Julie overlooking the Valley of Desolation
Pete precariously resting on a rock at a viewpoint in Karoo Nature Reserve
On Saturday after a morning game drive, we proceeded west to the tiny isolated village of Nieu Bethesda. It is accessible only on dirt roads and is nestled in a narrow fertile valley of the Sneeuberg Range. It is a cute little village with traditional Karoo Cottages, a brewery and a few cafes. However, it is the owl house that draws visitors to the town. Helen Martin, an outcast in town, resolved to bring light & colour into her drab and isolated life. She achieved this through transforming her little Karoo cottage into a colour kaleidoscope. All surfaces of the interior of her house were adorned with crushed glass and brightly coloured paint, whilst the backyard was filled with giant cement animals (including owls). After Helen's death in 1976, her house was preserved as a testament to her vision. Not artwork to our tastes, however certainly interesting and unique!
The warm winter's sun made for pleasant strolling through the town, including a trip to the local brewery to sample their ales. We returned to our cute cottage for the evening as the sunset and the icy cold winter night emerged. As electricity was only introduced to Nieu Bethesda in the '90s and there are only a few streetlights we could see the abundance of stars in the sky.
We revisited Graaff-Reinet to show Ian and Julie the spectacular views of the Valley of Desolation. From numerous view points within the Karoo Nature Reserve we overlooked the endless Karoo Plains and neighbouring mountains of the Spandaukop Ranges. Lunch was enjoyed in the sunny courtyard of the old Drosty hotel prior to the return drive back to PE.
Whilst the Karoo is semi-desertous and incredibly vast, it still has some pretty attractions and scenery to lure us away from the coast.
Picnic lunch at Mountain Zebra National Park
Harrison fast asleep on our first drive through the reserve...
The Mountain Zebra
Harrison rugged up in the blanket Jen knitted whilst pregnant! 
Harrison's first game sighting- an Ostrich
A rhinocerous with her baby
A cute ground squirrel
Black wildebeest, mostly only found in the Karoo of South Africa
The morning fog in the surrounding valleys of the reserve...
The pretty bee-eater
Ian and Julie eating lunch on the stoep of the rustic Outsider's cafe in Nieu Bethesda
Strolling through town...
Our accommodation for the night in Nieu Bethesda, a quaint Karoo Cottage
The unique owl house, with crushed glass adorned surfaces
Ian & Julie overlooking the Valley of Desolation
Pete precariously resting on a rock at a viewpoint in Karoo Nature Reserve
Comments