February 2025

You will probably remember that I mentioned in last week’s post that we recently visited Graaff-Reinet, the oldest town in the Eastern Cape Province (read here).

Valley of Desolation:

We have always wanted to visit the Valley of Desolation from where one can observe the unique Great Karoo landscape. It was designated a National Monument in 1939 and is described as follows: “The vertical cliffs and columns of dolerite teeter precariously 120 meters above the valley floor and offers breathtaking views.”

The Valley of Desolation is inside the Camdeboo National Park. We decided to drive to the viewpoint first and then to take a drive through the rest of the national park.

The viewpoint is approximately 9km/5.5 miles from the entrance gate. The road is tarred and winds up a steep slope to a small parking area at the viewpoint and toposcope.

A very unique sign to the viewpoint and toposcope

Footpath leading to the viewpoint

The vast plains of the Camdeboo are the product of volcanic and erosive forces of nature over 100 million years – you can literally see into infinity.

Spandaukop from the viewpoint

Vast plains of the Camdeboo

The town of Graaff-Reinet is surrounded by the Camdeboo National Park and is almost like an oasis amid the aridness of the Karoo.

View of Graaff-Reinet

Berto at the very end of the path at the viewpoint

Panoramic view

Looking down on Spandaukop

Mountains in different shades

The toposcope – a circular plaque mounted horizontally on an elevated area, indicates the direction and distances to notable landscape features.

Toposcope

At the viewpoint is another one of South Africa’s famous yellow photo frames, where we took a picture with the dolerite columns in the background.

At the Valley of Desolation

From the viewpoint the road continues about a kilometre further on. We followed the footpath from the parking area for 220m to another viewpoint from where we could see the amazing dolerite columns from closer.

View down towards the car parking area

Footpath to viewpoint

Platform at viewpoint                                                                          

The absolute silence at this viewpoint was incredible. It was a hot windless day and as we stood high above Graaff-Reinet and the highway, the only noise we heard was that of different birds – the perfect spot to just sit back and enjoy nature.

The Valley of Desolation seen through the high dolerite columns

Dolerite columns                                                                          

Near us, a small lizard sat on a rock, basking in the sun. This was quite appropriate to see, as a short walk (45 minutes) called the Crag Lizard Trail is close by. We would have loved to do this hike, but with temperatures hovering around 36°C/96°F, we decided it would be better to explore the rest of the park in the comfort of our air-conditioned ‘bakkie’.

Lizard on a rock

We decided to drive to the game viewing area of the park. To get there, we drove back the same way we came. We left the park through the entrance gate, only to find another entrance gate a few kilometres further to take us back into the Camdeboo National Park again. On the way out, we saw a couple of springboks and also a few kudus.

Kudu cow

Camdaboo National Park:

This side of the park was much greener than at the Valley of Desolation. The reason for this is probably because the Nqweba Dam is located here.

The greener side of the Camdeboo National Park

We were lucky to see a few animals, but I think because of the hot weather, most of the wildlife was hiding among the trees where it was hard to spot them.

Black Wildebeest

Springbok

Springbok and Blesbok high on a hill

One of the roads in the park led to the Nqweba Dam which we followed. Here we were lucky to spot quite a few different animals near the water.

Road next to the Nqweba Dam

Nqweba Dam

Herd of Black Wildebeest and Ostriches

By this time, we were pretty hungry and followed the road to the designated picnic area. We had our small camp fridge in the back of the ‘bakkie’ and it was great to enjoy ice cold orange juice and water with our homemade sandwich and hamburger. 

Happy with a bit of shade at the picnic area

Picnic time

We drove around for another half an hour, but it turned out that the animals had decided to hide in the shady tree areas rather than roam the plains where it would have been easy for us to spot them. I don’t blame them – it was sweltering hot! So, we decided to leave the park and stop at two more places on the way back to Graaff-Reinet.

Leaving the Camdeboo National Park through a river crossing

Gideon Scheepers Monument and Trail:

The Gideon Scheepers Monument is about 2km outside Graaff-Reinet. He was a Boer commandant, regarded by many as a hero, who started his own commando during the Anglo Boer War (1899 – 1902). He was eventually charged as a traitor by the British and during court hearings in Graaff-Reinet, found guilty in 1902 and sentenced to death. The memorial was erected by the Graaff-Reinet Afrikaans Cultural Society and is near the site of his execution. It is quite simple with three rocks supporting a steel needle. There is a 2km trail that starts at the monument and then climbs a steep hill to a plateau from where you can see the dam.

Gideon Scheepers Monument

Nqweba Dam:

The Nqweba Dam (previously known as Van Ryneveld Pass Irrigation Dam) was completed in 1924 and is fed by the Sundays River. The dam attracts a wide variety of water birds and is a vital source of water for the Camdeboo National Park’s wildlife.

Nqweba Dam

Fishing is limited to an angling zone and water sports such as boating, canoeing and windsurfing are allowed on the dam.

Nqweba Dam wall

The dam covers over 1,000ha of the Camdeboo National Park

We really enjoyed our visit to the Valley of Desolation and Camdeboo National Park. And even though we didn’t see a lot of wildlife, we appreciated the spectacular views and tranquility.

Next Week:

In our next installment (and last one) of Graaff-Reinet we’re going to take you inside an old historic house – the grape vine planted in 1870 was very interesting to see. We will also take you to a cemetery where a very famous pastor of South Africa is buried. And no post about Graaff-Reinet is complete unless it includes a few photos of the beautiful Dutch Reformed Church.

To read the final post on our visit to Graaff-Reinet, click here.