The stone cottages from the Cañon Lodge speak for its own.
Luxury and comfort in Karoo style.
Compared to the neighbouring Succulent Karoo the air is
drier. This probably accounts for the fact that there are less leaf and stem
succulents. Examples are the leafless Euphorbia Virosa and the Aloe
Dichotoma (quiver tree). On the whole, dwarf shrubs are predominant,
however; dry riverbeds are lined by trees. Tufts of annual grasses scatter
the plains.
The Nama Karoo in southern Namibia was originally
inhabited by the San. From about 1750 onward several Nama peoples started to
settle there. The area between the canyon, the Orange/Gariep River, the
Löwen River and today's eastern border was the domain of the Bondelswart
Nama. |
The Gondwana
Cañon Park is situated near the Fish River Canyon, the second largest canyon
on earth. It is a charming 1120 km² nature reserve in the Nama Karoo.
Explore the fascinating flora and fauna in the region.
Several accumulations of quiver trees, the typical stem succulents of the
Nama Karoo, are found on the sweeping plains of Gondwana Cañon Park. Watch
Springbok, Gemsbok, Hartebeest, Ostrich and Mountain Zebra and discover the
Sundowner Bar in a wall of rock.
Serveral activities such as a flight over the canyon and
game drives are organised by the lodge.
The Nama Karoo desert system takes up a large area in the
interior of South Africa and southern Namibia. In fact it even reaches as
far north as Angola in a narrow strip along the Great Escarpment. The Nama
Karoo separates the eastern tree and shrub savannah from the Namib in the
west and also marks the western border of the summer rain area.
Karoo means 'semi-desert' in the language of the Khoi-San.
However, with mean annual rainfalls of 80 mm to 220 mm and a water deficit
factor of 15 to 25 the Nama Karoo can well be regarded as a desert. During
the summer months (November to February) temperatures soar up to 45 degrees;
in winter they may drop to minus 8 degrees, depending on the area.
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