The Augrabies Falls National Park is renowned for its spectacular waterfall, which is the main reason why the park gets so many visitors.
However, there is more to the park than just the waterfall, with its hiking trails, moon rock, and wildlife that thrive in the arid desert conditions.
Below are things to do in the Augrabies Falls National Park.
1. See the Falls
You can’t visit the park without walking to all the viewing decks to see the Augrabies Falls, or ‘Place of the Great Noise’ from all sides. However, be sure to check that viewing decks are open, as flood damage can sometimes affect them.
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2. Walk one of the Hiking Routes
A few hiking routes in the park take you through different parts of the park. The Ebony Trail starts outside Main Camp and is about 2.8km long. Other trails include the 2 km Gorge Trail, the 7 km Dassie Trail, and the overnight 36 km Klipspringer Trail.
3. Walk up Moon Rock
Moon Rock looks like a moon in the middle of the park. You can drive to the rock and walk to the summit for views of the park’s landscape or walk to the rock via the Dassie Trail.
4. See the gorge
The Echo Corner, Oranjekom, and Ararat viewpoints look over the Orange River gorge, which can be seen below the gorge. You’ll need to drive to these viewpoints, but it will be worth it.
5. Admire the Augrabies flat lizard
The flat lizards are typical of the Augrabies Falls and are vibrant creatures to admire when walking the boardwalks of the falls. The colourful males spend their days trying to attract the females by bobbing their heads and running around them.
6. Drive Hartmann’s Loop
If you like a slow and leisurely drive, you can take Hartmann’s Look further west of the park. You’ll enjoy the interesting rock formations, landscapes, and diverse plant life and do a little game viewing. The park is home to wildlife like eland, kudu, klipspringer, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, giraffe, springbok, and gemsbok.
7. Camping
There are 40 stands that campers can make use of in the park. What’s special about camping is that day visitors need to leave by about 6 p.m., so you can take advantage of visiting the falls or going on a nighttime game drive with fewer visitors.
8. Stay at Gorge Cottage
If you’re not one for camping, the gorgeous Gorge Cottage is situated at Oranjekom. It offers some of the most glorious sunset views over the gorge.
9. Capture a quiver tree photo
The Northern Cape boasts the unique quiver tree or kokerboom, a succulent tree that flowers in the winter. You can find these trees in the park, and you should definitely capture a photo or two of them.
10. Go birding
Twitchers love spending a day in the national park, trying to spot the Verreaux’s eagle, the African fish eagle, the Namaqua warbler, the dusky sunbird, and many others.
Pictures: Robynne Baudin/ @intotheout
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