Experience a magical Karoo safari
Camp Karoo offers an off-the-beaten-track adventure through 700 hectares of pristine Karoo bushveld in the Eastern Cape surrounded by mountains in a valley all of your own.
There’s nothing quite like it: Camp Karoo completes the African farmhouse romance – in utter comfort, we might add – with the best of bed linens, blissful air conditioning and a broad veranda for lazy siestas and languid sundowners on its outsize-floral sofas.
Camp Karoo is close to nature and nature close to you… especially when you leap out of bed to watch a dramatic sunrise turning stately aloes an intense pistachio-green in an early shaft of sunlight, and suddenly realize you’re not alone. For a brief moment, a fresh dawn breeze picks up and then a sound that’s distinctively giraffe becomes bolder, beginning with leaf-pulling and gentle chomping a little closer behind you. Quietly observing this elegant creature is a magical way to start the day. And if you sit long enough on the stoep, kudu or nyala often drift through the garden and sip a little pool water on their way.
A comfortable oasis in rugged terrain
It can get hot at this bush getaway: really hot. But early-morning game drives with coffee and rusks up at a 360-degree viewpoint right around to the distinctive Cockscomb peak are a highlight. By mid-morning, glasses of iced tea and endless swims are the order of the day. Ideal for families, the generous veranda at this retreat space becomes holiday central – games and books are brought outside and precious time is spent together.
Indoors, the farmhouse is filled with much-loved and beautifully curated collectables by its owners who are passionate about conservation in the Eastern Cape. Winter evenings are cosy, with a wood fire blazing in the central fireplace and the comforting scent of paraffin lamps filling the farmhouse.
If Camp Karoo isn’t available, browse our other self-catering safari hideaways.
What we love!
- The complete isolation and the realization that it’s all yours. No traffic and no lights for miles and miles mean that life here offers a chance to enjoy bright starry skies for hours around the fire at night. And that means this is a good place for a digital detox too…
- That children are welcome and they can completely relax here – there are no predators.
- Its proximity to Port Elizabeth makes Camp Karoo easy to drive to and it’s easy to visit Addo on your way back to the airport.
- The inviting, relaxing stoep.
What you need to know…
- Please note Camp Karoo can only be booked for sole-use by you and your loved ones, and not on a room-by-room basis.
- One game drive is included per day with your own game ranger at Camp Karoo but others may easily be booked.
- This is the ideal introduction to the African bush for families, and Addo Elephant National Park is under a two-hour drive away, making it a great day trip from Camp Karoo or the perfect detour on the way back to the airport.
- Pack good shoes and protective socks, especially for kids.
- Pre-shopping is available – for a small fee we can do it all for you and pop your groceries in the fridge and freezer before you arrive.
- If you want big five accommodation, you need to include a stay at Addo on the way in or out.
- The nearest clinic, butcher and shops are half an hour away in Kirkwood (en route to Addo).
- A full-time ranger lives nearby on the property.
- From time to time, we hear about a rise in the number of snake and scorpion sightings at some of our game farms and lodges, as well as an increased gathering of bees around water during dry seasons. If you plan to go walking we recommend ensuring you bring good walking shoes and socks, especially important for little ones, as well as long trousers for ticks and antihistamine tablets.
- Please note that the access road to this hideaway is a little rough due to sharp stones, although still doable in a regular car. It just requires some slow and careful driving!
- The Karoo has been in drought conditions for almost seven years and this has naturally impacted both the vegetation and the behaviour of the animals. You will see less abundant vegetation but happily more of the animals, as they congregate around the feeding stations close by.
- Camp Karoo was selected as one of Perfect Hideaways ten of the best self-catering safaris.
Edited by Dawn Kennedy