Through the Black Mountains to the desert lions in Karoo National Park

Our journey had begun in Cape Town a few day’s earlier, taken us over the Huguenot Pass, along the R62, through the Cango Caves and now we were back on the road.
With a little bit more time pressure to reach our destination, it was time to make our way back towards the N1 and the most direct route was the N12, straight up from Oudtshoorn. It was here that I had one of the best surprises of the trip. The N12 coincidentally goes through the Swartberg Pass, one of the most beautiful, if not the most beautiful pass in the country. The pass snakes its way through some of the most beautiful mountains I have ever seen and crosses over a number of tributaries, I’m pretty sure more than once and each with some of the most uncreative names I have ever read. With plenty of spots to stop off for a picnic or a quick swim and great facilities, this pass truly is a journey and a destination on it’s own.
As we came through the pass and exited through the mountains, what I assume is the Great Karoo (correct me if I am wrong) opened up in front of us. The landscape was dry and barren, the riverbeds full of nothing but sand, and the horizon clear as far as the eye could see in every direction. There is something special to me about deserts, vast open spaces, made up of the most extremes, where life thrives in its own way and the sun relentlessly beats down. My travel partner summed up the image around us perfectly, “This is big sky country” he said. It truly was, the sky seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see and almost seemed to engulf you in a way that cities, jungles and forests never allow it to.
I can’t remember how long I sat entranced, watching the wide open spaces around us, but suddenly we were at the N1 and about 2km from our next destination. We were on the N1 for a very brief time, before turning into the Karoo National Park. I had visited the park a few years earlier, but did not get a chance to see as much of the park as I had wanted to, but this time there was even more to my visit. Eight lions had recently been released into the park, the first time lions had been in this area for over 170 years. We never did find those lions, or any of the other big game that call the park home, but we did see some beautiful gemsbok, kudu and secretary birds, the first wild animals I had seen in well over a year since my last trip to Kgalagadi.
Even though the park was fully booked and had been for sometime, as always, the wonderful SANParks staff managed to find a campsite for us and with luck on our side we were able to spend a night in the park, rather than having to drive into Beaufort West to find accommodation.
The next day the hunt for lions continued in the early morning, still with no luck and we decided it was time to move on, even though we all could have happily spent four more days looking for the shy lions and enjoying the beautiful landscapes the park had to offer. So it was back onto the N1 for us and, headed in the right direction, we were well on the way. The only problem was, we were not too sure where we were on the way to, as we had not made any plans from here and decided that is exactly how we wanted it. So north we headed, towards the Orange Freestate, to see what lay in wait for us.