The Karoo

The Great Karoo (or die Groot Karoo) stretches endlessly, or so it seems, through parts of the Free State, Northern Cape, Eastern Cape, and Western Cape provinces. According to Jeff’s Lonely Planet: South Africa, karoo is an Afrikaans word that means something like “great thirst land.” Its boundaries in the south and west are spectacular coastal mountain ranges. The east and north boundaries are the Orange River. The Karoo covers almost ONE THIRD of South Africa’s total area. It is a vast – and really, that seems the most appropriate word – expanse of mostly flat, dry land, covered with brown, scrubby bushes, very little brown grass, and even fewer trees. It is a land of windmills and sheep. The windmills are needed to bring up water from below, and the sheep are about the only things that will grow there. In the Karoo, you can find places like the Valley of Desolation (Eastern Cape), and Die Hell (die=the) (Western Cape). Driving through it takes a long time, but it has its own unique beauty. The stars at night in the Karoo are absolutely breathtaking.

More information can be found at: http://www.routes.co.za/nature/ecoregions/namakaroo.html

I’ll post a couple of Jeff’s photos when I get them.