Desert stargazing destination
Inside-park stays and nearby lodges, sorted by distance.
Inside parkTankwa 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.
Inside parkDe Hoop Camping Site lies in the Tankwa Karoo National Park, a vast and remote stretch of arid plains on the border of the Western and Northern Cape. This is one of the quietest and most starkly beautiful corners of the country, where flat-topped koppies and dry riverbeds give way to wide horizons and some of the darkest night skies in South Africa. The camp offers a simple, back-to-basics stay suited to self-sufficient travellers who come for the silence and the space. Days are spent on long drives through the succulent Karoo landscape, watching for the gemsbok, springbok and Cape mountain zebra that move across the plains, and the area is a noted destination for birders and stargazers alike. Facilities are minimal in keeping with the wilderness setting, so visitors should arrive well prepared. The reward is an unhurried desert experience and, after dark, an exceptional canopy of stars.
Manyoni Private Game Reserve is one of the largest privately-owned reserves in Kwazulu-Natal. This 23,000-hectare reserve is the product of 17 dedicated landowners who dropped their fences in 2004 to create one contiguous protected area for our wildlife. The selection of the area as a potential release site for the WWF Black Rhino Range Expansion Project was a major driving factor in the establishment of Manyoni. In 2005, the newly established reserve was confirmed as a release site by the WWF and a founder population of black rhino were released into their new home.