Augrabies Falls

Few sights are as spectacular, or a sound as deafening, as water thundering over the 56-metre Augrabies Falls. This is especially so when the Orange River is in full flood in autumn & early winter. The Augrabies National Park lies 1½ hours west of Upington and 4 hours south from the Kgalagadi National Park.

Here the Orange River thunders through an 18km gorge. It is then unleashed, to plunge down into a seemingless endless rockpool below. According to legend a fortune in diamonds lies at the bottom of the Augrabies Falls. But the sheer weight of water cascading down prevents either confirmation or excavation!

Here you will see special drought-adapted wildlife such as klipspringer, springbok, gemsbok and giraffe. Predators come in the form of leopard, black backed jackals, caracal, the bat eared fox, and the African wild cat.

Temperature fluctuations have resulted in unique adaptations so that Augrabies wildlife can survive in extremely high and low temperatures. For example, the giraffes of Augrabies are lighter in colour than those found in the regions of the east. This acts as a counter measure for the extreme heat.

The Augrabies Falls offers simple rest camp accommodation with a restaurant, shop and swimming pool and makes the perfect overnight stay en route to a safari in the Kgalagadi Park. Near the Augrabies Falls, you can also stay at Dundi Lodge. And Tutwa Desert Lodge is the upmarket alternative where you can enjoy the majesty of the Orange River. (If staying here, you would visit the Falls as a day trip either on the way in to Tutwa or on the way out.)