Destinations / The Karoo >>

This huge and varied inland part of the Western Cape can be divided into the Great and Little Karoo.

The Great Karoo is a massive wilderness desert-like area of rocky outcrops and dry river valleys. Sweltering summers and bitterly cold winters with very little rainfall mean that not a lot grows here, which explains the lack of human population beyond some large farms sprinkled along long valleys. If you are flying from Johannesburg, look out the window before you reach Cape Town to get a sense of the scale of this place. The main reason you’re likely to see it is if you decide to take on the 15 hour drive from Cape Town to Johannesburg - after you leave the winelands you seem to climb relentlessly towards the big open skies of the Free State. Historic Matjiesfontein – a stop over for The Blue Train - feels a set of an old Western and Die Hell is appropriately named for city slickers only. The wide valleys and 'koppies' around Graff-Reinet make this awesome driving and wilderness country.

Route 62 runs through the more manageable Little Karoo. It is our preferred alternative to the disappointing N2 highway along the Western Cape Garden Route. It comprises the longest wine route in the world, running all the way from Cape Town and the winelands to where the best beaches, towns and coastline of the Garden Route start. The Little Karoo is a place of majestic towering cliffs, scenic passes, indigenous flora and clear-running streams interspersed with orchards and vineyards. There are many distractions from wine-tasting to game reserves, cultural tours, museums, hiking trails, ostrich-riding or simply having a picnic by the road and enjoying the tranquillity of it all. There are any number of excellent accommodation options should you wish to take your time along the way, from boutique hotels to working vineyards, from village guesthouses to five star luxury. Historic Swellendam is the perfect place to break your journey along Route 62 or the N2 and the quaint artisan villages of Greyton and McGregor offer some superb hiking options.

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