The Great Karoo

It’s all too easy to wax lyrical about the Great Karoo. Explore the wide and varied landscape from flat-topped koppies to endless plains, lands encompassing four of South Africa’s biomes. Learn of its conservation and topography on an introductory game drive as you scan the grassland for giraffe, springbok, wildebeests and perhaps the rare Burchell’s zebra. Here, you may catch your first glimpses of the Big Five. As the sun sets, sip on cocktails atop Eagle Rock with achingly romantic views of the sweeping Karoo basin.

Get close to Africa’s elegant predators with the help of a successful conservation programme. Many of these wildcats are descendants of South Africa’s famed Sibella, the first cheetah to be released in the Karoo after 130 years. Learn how to track cheetahs with an expert guide by identifying scratch marks and paw prints. Radio collars make it easier to scout them out whether they’re hunting in the thickets or tending to cubs on the mountain slopes. Coming face-to-face with their beady eyes and graceful bodies is a soul-stirring experience.

Take the morning to participate in a tracking lesson. The Tracker Academy is an initiative aimed to develop eco-tourism and employment. It’s also a fun day out learning to trace animal prints and gaining privileged insight into current conservation projects. Pause for a picnic in the wild before an afternoon game drive. Or you could put your newly found skills to the test on a bush walk in search of resident wildlife. For total immersion into the wilderness, why not sleep out under the Milky Way in a four-poster bed.

If you’ve never heard of a spekboom tree, it’s an indigenous evergreen with the astounding ability to tackle carbon emissions. So, if you’re looking to offset your carbon footprint, there couldn’t be a better way than to plant this literal tree of life. In the early morning, follow your guide to the thicket to plant a young shrub in the red bare earth. Return a year later and to see how it’s grown – a feel-good activity for all.