Small, and isolated, but ever-welcoming. The various towns and villages of the Karoo Oasis Route have fascinating and differing histories. Each town, with its distinct Karoo architecture, rests in valleys between seemingly desolate plains with flat-topped “koppies” (rocky ridges). But don’t be fooled. The plains of the Karoo are filled with amazing wildlife and people.

The Karoo Oasis Route includes the towns of:

• Route 1: Colesberg and Norvalspont
• Route 2: Vanderkloof, Orania and Hopetown
• Route 3: De Aar, Britstown and Strydenburg
• Route 4: Petrusville, Philipstown and Hanover
• Route 5: Belmont, Modderrivier, Ritchie and Kimberley

Take a short trip from Colesberg, an essential stopover for all travellers and a sheep-farming hub surrounded by some of the country’s finest equine studs, to Hopetown, the scene of South Africa’s first recorded diamond find. Return, passing through Orania, a peculiar, anachronistic, self-proclaimed Afrikaner “volkstaat”, before making your way to the resort town of Vanderkloof and the Rolfontein Nature Reserve on the shores of the great Vanderkloof Dam. Indulge in the water sports of your choice or relax on its secluded banks which stretch for 100km to the Doornkloof Nature Reserve on this man-made lake’s southern shores.

Throughout this wonderful part of the Groot (“Great”) Karoo, you can visit and hike on game farms and nature reserves teeming with wildlife. Like the country they live in, the hardy inhabitants of the Karoo, are warm and friendly people who will welcome you with open arms.

General travel information for the Northern Cape can be found here.