The Great Karoo, the Klein (Little) Karoo, & the Garden Route--part 1

It's Saturday, October 15th, and we are packed and ready to go. We went to the From the Earth Expo at the Cape Town International Convention Center on Friday evening. This was a display of agricultural products and activities brought to the city. Many animals and much food to sample and buy. Not many people in attendance but maybe there were more on Saturday and Sunday. Had some good conversation with a beekeeper and folks from WWF-SA. Also got information on different degree programs in agricultural fields. Glad we went.

Off to the east we head along the N1, one of the main national highways. This one is the one that goes to Johannesburg, known as Joburg, and Pretoria and ends in the far northeast of the country, at the border with Zimbabwe. We weren't going that far, just to Beaufort West in the heart of the Great Karoo. Our first stop is for gas at a garage along the highway. Getting gas is an experience no matter where you get it in SA, but this was quite an experience. When you turn into a garage at least one if not many attendants greet you and attempt to direct you to a particular pump. In this case there were many attendants guiding me in. I told one of them to fill the tank and before I could say anything else the others were giving the whole car a wash. Not with a hose but with buckets of soapy water and rags. They even scrubbed the tires and hubcaps and towelled the car dry. Usually they wash the windscreen, and usually after asking. But this time it was the whole car. I rummaged through my pockets and collected some bills and change to give them. It wound up being 24 Rand, a little over $3. And that was probably generous by SA standards. Wow!

The next stop was the Karoo Desert National Botanic Garden in Worcester. Karoo is a term that is applied to the arid regions of SA. This encompasses a huge area and extends from the Atlantic coast above the area of the fynbos across more than half the interior of the country. As you probably already guessed there are differences across this huge area, thus the Great Karoo and the Klein Karoo (and these are only two). And the differences come down to rainfall, when it occurs and how much falls. The Great Karoo is a summer rainfall region while the Klein Karoo is a winter rainfall region. The result is that though the landscape is a harsh one, there is tremendous plant diversity present. Some of the descriptions of the Karoo seen are 'richest desert flora in the world', 'largest variety of succulents found anywhere on earth', and 'more species than in the whole of Great Britain'. And one source puts the number of plant species in the Karoo, all varieties, at 9000. Thus the stop at the botanical garden. And it was worth it. Plants of all shapes and sizes and flowers the same. Not all of what we saw would be in the Great and Klein Karoos, but much would. And the others were from areas we probably will not get to see in person so this would have to do. Here are a few pictures to give some feel for what we saw. But first I have been instructed that photographic proof was needed to show I am actually still around! And the hat proves it!!

This is what the landscape looks like. Notice the patches of color. And notice there is much silver and grey to the foliage as might be expected in such a water limited environment.


Here is what some of the patches of color are. And there are reds and purples and whites! Most of these plants are called vygies. And if you think you've pronounced that word correctly you are terribly mistaken. I am still trying to get it!



The big plants below are a species of aloe (Aloe dichotoma). The common name is quiver tree. Guess what is made from the trunk. And the trunk is used as a natural fridge! The sap is also used. This plant is found in the very dry regions of the Karoo known as Namaqualand and Bushmanland. These areas are to the north of the Cape and continue into Namibia. Neat plants! And notice the mountains, they are everywhere!

Great run through the garden but it did get hot. A bit too hot for Marcia and she was showing the signs of overheating. So after a spin through Worcester looking for a convenient place to get some lunch we got back on the N1 and made a stop at a little shop next to a local garage. Marcia got her ice cream and I got a toasted ham, cheese, and tomato sandwich with a ginger beer. I am going to miss these sandwiches! Everybody makes them and with some wonderful fillings. Then on the road we were again. This was for a lengthy drive to our evening's destination, Beaufort West. BW is a small town in the middle of nowhere, but it is on the edge of Karoo National Park, and that is where we wanted to be.

It was a long drive with many delays for road work. Not just any type of road work but three very specific types: maintenance, rehabilitation, and construction. And lots of it! The landscape became noticeably drier after we made our way through vineyards and olive groves. Then there were sheep and every once in a while a few cattle. We were in the Karoo.

We arrived in BW and drove through town in about 5 minutes, and that was even with time at robots, those are traffic lights. We found our place of residence for the next two nights, Donkin Country House, and I was not impressed. We could manage with the wheelchair but it was not wheelchair friendly. The chef was not going to be in town to prepare our Karoo lamb dinner on Sunday evening as planned (not a problem as it turnd out). And there were a few too many bugs in the room for Marcia. It could have been worse. Next up was to find a place to eat. That was something of a challenge, remember how big BW is, but Mac Young's A Taste of Scotland Restaurant was found. I am still trying to figure out why Scotland in the middle of the Great Karoo in SA! And we were the only ones there. Once again, it could have been worse! At least we got to head to bed early. Good thing as it turned out, the next day was very full!

Edward