Category: Karoo

15 things to do in Graaff-Reinet in the Karoo

10/4/2024

By Roxanne Reid
[Updated April 2025]
If you love history and old buildings, you’ll love Graaff-Reinet in South Africa’s Eastern Cape. The town has more than 220 listed heritage sites, so there’s lots of history to be explored. If you love nature, you’re in luck too, given that the town is surrounded by 195 square kilometres of national park. Here’s my pick of things to do in Graaff-Reinet in the Karoo.

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17 things to do in Nieu Bethesda in the Karoo

15/11/2023

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By Roxanne Reid
The small village of Nieu Bethesda in South Africa’s Eastern Cape Karoo was once a dusty little place no one had heard of. Then it rocketed to fame on the reputation of Helen Martins’ strangely compelling Owl House and Camel Yard. But there’s much more to it than the Owl House. After making multiple visits over the past few years, here’s my pick of things to do in Nieu Bethesda in the Karoo.

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White Lion Lodge at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, Little Karoo

18/10/2023

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White Lion Lodge, Sanbona Wildlife Reserve, Little Karoo

By Roxanne Reid
We timed our visit to White Lion Lodge at Sanbona Wildlife Reserve perfectly. Although some years this Karoo reserve in South Africa has little rain, by the end of September this year it had had lots, spawning a fiesta of colourful flowers among the green bushes. Small wonder, then, that one of our nature drives from the lodge focused on plants and flowers, while the second showed us some of the reserve’s big game.

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16 things to do in Willowmore in the Karoo

21/6/2023

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Things to do in Willowmore: colourful buildings

By Roxanne Reid
[Updated October 2024]
Anyone who thinks South Africa’s Karoo is full of a whole lot of nothing just isn’t paying attention. Same goes for anyone who speeds past Willowmore in the Karoo without stopping to scratch beneath the surface. Here’s my pick of some of the things to do in and around this little dorpie.

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The Tankwa Padstal in the Karoo

1/12/2022

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By Roxanne Reid
We pulled up at the Tankwa Padstal in the Karoo. Officially, it’s on the R355 about 70km from Ceres, on the way to Calvinia or the Tankwa Karoo National Park in South Africa. Unofficially, it’s somewhere between nothing and nowhere. Two bikers were switching off their engines and taking off their helmets. We greeted them in Afrikaans and asked how their ride had been. They looked at us as if we were from outer space.

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22 things to do in Montagu, South Africa

19/10/2022

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Montagu, Karoo is surrounded by orchards and vineyards

By Roxanne Reid
Taste the fruit and wine. Listen to the sound of birdsong. Feel the hot water of a natural spring on your skin. Smell the fynbos as you hike among ancient rocks. See a star-dusted sky. These are just a few of the pleasures that await you a two-and-a-half-hour drive northeast of Cape Town. Here’s my pick of things to do in Montagu, South Africa.

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Best South African holiday destinations and places to visit

26/3/2021

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Best South African holiday destinations: Cape Town

By Roxanne Reid
If you were to compile a bucket list of places in South Africa you have to visit at least once in your life, what would you include? For me they’d need to offer something special in the way of nature, wildlife, beaches, culture and heritage, activities and experiences. Here’s a roundup of 20 of the best South African holiday destinations including a bucket list of places to visit if you haven’t already.

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Finding Olive Schreiner & 10 other things to do in Cradock

10/2/2021

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Olive Schreiner museum in Cradock, South Africa

By Roxanne Reid
Why would anyone be interested in a frumpy old woman with a beaky nose, who could curdle milk with one disapproving glance? Who spent her life writing her fingers to the bone, died 100 years ago and is remembered by almost everyone today for just a single book? Visit the Olive Schreiner museum to find out, then discover other things to do in Cradock.

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21 things to do in Prince Albert, Karoo

18/11/2020

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Prince Albert accommodation: Swartberg Hotel

By Roxanne Reid
If wide open spaces and a deafening stillness appeal to you, if small Karoo towns make you happy, then Prince Albert is your kind of town. But just because it’s peaceful, that doesn’t mean there’s nothing going on. Here are some of the many and varied things to do in Prince Albert, Karoo.

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15 things to do in Sutherland in the Karoo

14/10/2020

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By Roxanne Reid
You might come to Sutherland in the Karoo, South Africa, for the stars or the snow, but there are lots of other things to do and see in this little town 110km north of Matjiesfontein on the R354. We found ourselves enjoying it as much for the history and people as for the clear night skies that make it famous. Here’s my pick of 15 things to do in Sutherland.

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