Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
Northern Cape · Best Aug to Oct
8 places
Trees & flora
Camel Thorn
Vachellia erioloba
Vachellia erioloba (camel thorn, giraffe thorn) is a tree of southern Africa in the family Fabaceae.
Species insights
When to visit
Most records Jul to Aug
When Camel Thorn sightings peak, from open records. Outside these months it is seen less often, not never.
Best monthsJul to Aug
Records1,514 records
Curve from 1,514 national iNaturalist observations, not from one property. Single-month spikes are discarded as upload artefacts, and below 50 records we show no curve at all.
Where you'll find it
Northern Cape and beyond
Provinces where Camel Thorn is most recorded. Tap one to find places to stay.
1,511 records, iNaturalist
Parks where hosts record the Camel Thorn
Stays that give back
Across South Africa
Twee Rivieren Rest Camp
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
From R 450a night
Camel Thorn recorded here
Mata-Mata Rest Camp
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
From R 450a night
Camel Thorn recorded here
Grootkolk Wilderness Camp
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
From R 2,634a night
Camel Thorn recorded here
Bitterpan Wilderness Camp
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
From R 2,634a night
Camel Thorn recorded here
Tlopi Tented Camp
Marakele National Park
From R 1,866a night
Camel Thorn recorded here
Mosu Lodge
Mokala National Park
From R 1,401a night
Camel Thorn recorded here
Kieliekrankie Wilderness Camp
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
From R 2,634a night
Camel Thorn recorded here
Gharagab Wilderness Camp
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
From R 2,634a night
Camel Thorn recorded here
Kalahari Tented Camp
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
From R 2,314a night
Camel Thorn recorded here
Urikaruus Wilderness Camp
Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
From R 2,634a night
Camel Thorn recorded here
More stays nearby
Oceans Away
Benguela Cove, Hermanus
From R 51,428a night
Thabile Lodge
Oudtshoorn
From R 1,400a night
Baobab Hill House by RETURN Africa
Kruger National Park
From R 17,120a night
Bartholomeus Klip Farmhouse
Riebeek Valley, Riebeek West
From R 5,636a night
Rhino Sands Safari Camp
Hazyview
From R 22,680a night
Babylonstoren
Klapmuts, Simondium
Price on request
Welgelegen House by RETURN Africa
Gardens, Cape Town
From R 2,800a night
An African Story by RETURN Africa
Bakoven, Cape Town
From R 9,900a night
Tanda Tula Safari Camp
Timbavati Private Nature Reserve
Price on request
Pafuri Camp by RETURN Africa
Kruger National Park
From R 11,820a night
Nkula Walking Camp by RETURN Africa
Kruger National Park
From R 8,380a night
Rhino Ridge Safari Lodge
Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park
Price on request
Hutwini Walking Camp by RETURN Africa
Kruger National Park
From R 11,820a night
Schoone Oordt Country House
Swellendam
From R 4,355a night
The Karoo
Next stop
South Africa's vast inland heart: silence, stars, and wide horizons
See places that give backPlanning a trip
When and where to find the Camel Thorn
The camel thorn is the tree of the Kalahari and the Namib: a wide, dark crown on red sand, often the only shade for kilometres, with sociable weaver nests the size of haystacks in its branches.
Where to base yourself
The Kgalagadi
Nossob · Auob riverbeds
The KgalagadiCamel thorns along the dry riverbeds, weaver nests in their crowns and lions in their shade.
Self-driveGuidedStays in the KgalagadiMokala
Mokala National Park
MokalaThe park named after the tree, an easy drive from Kimberley.
Self-driveStays near Mokala- Sossusvlei and Deadvlei
Living camel thorns in the dune valleys, and the dead ones of Deadvlei.
Self-driveGuidedStays near Sossusvlei
Species
Vachellia erioloba
Records
1,511
iNaturalist observations
Every booking on Spekboom supports conservation.
Questions travellers ask
A record means a host has seen the Camel Thorn on the property or nearby. It is never a guarantee of a sighting.
More about the Camel Thorn
The camel thorn is the tree of the Kalahari and the Namib: a wide, dark crown on red sand, often the only shade for kilometres, with sociable weaver nests the size of haystacks in its branches. Its roots go down further than almost any tree’s to reach water, and its grey, velvet pods feed the desert’s antelope through the dry season.
In South Africa it lines the dry riverbeds of the Kgalagadi, the Nossob and the Auob, and gives Mokala National Park near Kimberley its name, from the Setswana for the tree. In Namibia the most photographed camel thorns are dead ones: the black skeletons standing on the white clay of Deadvlei, near Sossusvlei, killed when the dunes cut off the river centuries ago and preserved by the dry air.
Where are the dead trees of Deadvlei?
Deadvlei is a clay pan near Sossusvlei in Namibia’s Namib-Naukluft National Park. The trees are camel thorns that died when the dunes cut off their water centuries ago, and the dry air has kept them standing.
Where can you see camel thorns in South Africa?
Along the dry Nossob and Auob riverbeds in the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, in Mokala National Park, which is named after the tree, and across the Kalahari of the Northern Cape.
When is the best time to see the Camel Thorn?
Sightings of the Camel Thorn peak from Jul to Aug, based on 1,514 iNaturalist records. You may still see it outside those months, sightings are just less frequent.
What is the Camel Thorn?
Vachellia erioloba (camel thorn, giraffe thorn) is a tree of southern Africa in the family Fabaceae. Its preferred habitat is the deep dry sandy soils in parts of South Africa, Botswana, the western areas of Zimbabwe and Namibia. It is also native to Angola, south-west Mozambique, Zambia and Swaziland. The tree was first described by Ernst Heinrich Friedrich Meyer and Johann Franz Drège in 1836.
