Tankwa Karoo Rest Camp

Tankwa Karoo Rest Camp lies within the Tankwa Karoo National Park, in one of the most remote and arid corners of the Northern Cape, where the Roggeveld escarpment looks down over an immense, near-empty plain. This is true desert country, a land of red earth, low succulent scrub and silence, and the park is best known for its spring wildflowers and its extraordinary dark skies.

Despite the apparent emptiness, the Tankwa is rich in specialised life. Gemsbok, springbok, klipspringer and Hartmann's mountain zebra range across the plains and rocky ridges, and the park is a magnet for birders seeking Karoo and arid-zone endemics.

Accommodation is in cottages and converted farmsteads scattered across the reserve, simple and self-catered, suited to travellers who value solitude and space. There are few facilities for many kilometres, so visitors come prepared. The reward is one of the quietest and least light-polluted landscapes in South Africa, where the Milky Way arches undimmed from horizon to horizon.