KarooInfo - Everthing about the land and its people

The "Encyclopćdia Britannica" entry on Karoo reads: "..... arid to semiarid geographic region of Eastern Cape, Western Cape, and Northern Cape provinces, South Africa. The Karoo is best defined by its vegetation, which consists of assorted succulents and low scrub bushes spaced from one foot to several feet apart. The area is devoid of surface water, and its name is derived from the Khoisan word meaning 'land of thirst' ..."

What more can we say, other than that it is inhabited by warm, friendly, hospitable people ... that it is cold at night... that it is beautiful ... that it is hard... that it is a haven of wildlife... that it is hot in summer... that it is a birders paradise ... and much, much more.

The Karoo is situated on a platteau that ranges from 400m to 2000m with the largest part at about 1200m above sea level. With an area of around 400,000 squire kilometer, it is about the size of the whole of Germany. The Karoo can be devided into the Tankwa and Little Karoo (winter rainfall region) and the Great, Upper and Northern Karoo (summer rainfall region).

300milion years ago, the Karoo was a massive lowland swamp with an abundance of wildlife. Increasing temperatures caused surrounding glaciers to melt, depositing sediment in the swamp. Many animals struggled in the heat and gathered around the waters edge. Some became trapped in the sediment and died. More sediment was deposited in the basin, covering these animals, forming countless fossils. Today Karoo fossils are famous for providing the most complete evolutionary record in the world, documenting the change from reptile to mammal.

In more recent times, the first inhabitants of this area were the Khoisan (Bushmen). These hunter gatherers, tiny yellow-brown lords of the plains, lived a primitive existence following game from one source of food and water to the next. These self-sufficient people depended entirely on the land for their needs. The plains teemed with game, so they neither sowed nor kept livestock. Indigenous plants provided a variety of edible bulbs and bark for further nutritional and medicinal requirements.

With their stamina, tenacity and endurance the Khoisan moved widely through the Karoo. At places where they sought shelter and rest from their wanderings, they left an artistic wealth of rock engravings. These petroglyphs tell us what this world was like when it was theirs. The Karoo is renowned for its wealth of Stone Age remains spanning at least half a million years of human history. Rock art makes up a distinctly visible element of this legacy, and predominantly dates from the last 10 000 years. South Africa's heritage of Stone Age Art, among the richest in the world, is found in the form of engravings (petroglyphs) and paintings. Both forms are found in the Great Karoo. Engravings predominate, but finger paintings, often no more than ochre daubs, are often found in caves, shelters and overhangs.

Then came the "trekboere", the settlers and the migrant cattle farmers. Times were no longer peaceful. Late arrivals were Xhosa tribesmen, herdsmen that moved into the Karoo after a war between tribes in the Eastern Cape, who continuously clashed with the farmers over water and grazing for their huge cattle herds.

The most constant clashes happened over water and grazing. Water is scarce in this harsh dry land. It is a precious commodity badly needed by both man and beast. Obviously those who controlled the fountains controlled the land. As the settlers moved into the area, so the game moved ever northwards. Predators, the Khoisan, and even the run-away slaves who had hunted the huge herds for food then turned to the farmers's stock as an alternative source of food. Other law breakers, gun runners and liquor smugglers also regularly plundered stock from these fledgling farms. Adventurers, explorers and big game hunters regularly passed. They were rough and ready lot, and so were the ivory traders who fiercely guarded their heavily loaded wagons bound for the coast. The last stages of the Boer war saw action in the Karoo. Scars and relics of this war can still be seen.

Today the Karoo is much more peaceful. A destination ignored by many, yet enjoyed by all who take the time to visit.