Unveiling the wonders of the Karoo at KhoiSan Karoo Conservancy

Khoisan Karoo Conservancy

Near the town of Hanover, and approximately six hours from both Johannesburg and Cape Town, KhoiSan Karoo Conservancy spans over 8000 hectares on two of the Karoo’s most exciting nature reserves.

Owned and managed by P.C. Ferreira and his wife and daughters, KhoiSan Karoo Conservancy strives to preserve the unique flora and fauna of the Karoo. At the same time visitors are offered the opportunity to experience the uniqueness of the Karoo while enjoying comfortable accommodation.

Accommodation

Accommodation comes in different styles, each offering a unique atmosphere and experience.

New Holme Nature Lodge is the main lodge at Gariep Nature Reserve and offers warm homely B&B accommodation.

New Holme Stable rooms are suitable for families with small children.

Stoffels Rus is a charming self-catering log cabin, situated the gardens of New Holme.  The cabin features two bedrooms and sleeps four and is ideal as a quaint honeymoon suite, or for an extended Karoo visit.

A tented camp is also available which sleeps four guests in two separate compartments.  Each features a double bed and two singles, with private ablution facilities for each tent.

All accommodation has access to the facilities at the main lodge, including a swimming pool. Lunch and dinner can be arranged at the main lodge at an extra cost.  All have air conditioning, tea/coffee facilities, electric blankets, ensuite showers, double or twin beds, a sleeper couch for children under twelve, and Wi-Fi.

Mieliefontein Guest Farm is the main lodge at Hanover Aardvark Nature Reserve and can sleep ten guests. Set in magnificent park like gardens, Mieliefontein offers B&B accommodation in elegant individually decorated ensuite rooms. 

Owner and host Elma Ferreira is famous for her three course haute cuisine dinners.

Woltemade self-catering Cottage, on the same property, is recommended for larger families and longer stays.  Comfortably furnished, the house has five bedrooms and can sleep twelve guests.  Meals can also be enjoyed at Mieliefontein but will require pre booking.

Activities

KhoiSan Karoo Conservancy offers a range of activities for nature enthusiasts.

Birding in the area is exceptional, with 230 recorded species. The conservancy offers two birding drives per day.

A drive to the Hippo Pool where guests can enjoy sundowners on the deck and watch the only hippos in the Karoo, while P.C. shares their incredible story.

A 2km guided walk to the koppies to see the rock etchings of the San, and learn about their history and their relationship with nature.

A three-day birding package includes a sunset drive to see the hippos and buffalo, a night drive to meet some of the nocturnal species, and a veld braai or dinner back at the lodge.

Nineteen species of dragon flies and damselflies have also been recorded on the conservancy.

There are challenging mountain bike trails, fishing in the Seekoei River, and the Karoo Oasis Route to Explore.

Khoisan Karoo Conservancy Contact Details

For more information or to make a reservation, call 064 652 3230 for central reservations or 082 567 9211. WhatsApp messages are preferred. Or email info@karoogariep.co.za

New Holme Nature Lodge may be found at 8 Kilometres off N1, Hanover, Northern Cape. Find them on Google Maps.

Facebook: @KhoisanKarooConservancy

Instagram: @khoisankarooconservancy

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Actually, Home Food and Travel offers a lot more than just reviews of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.  We also visit great destinations, receive advice from interior designers and stop to smell the roses and taste the coffee.

Our team of journalists are seasoned travels and love visiting the myriad of exciting places around South Africa.  Whether it is off the beaten track or in the heart of the top attractions of the country, we’ll be there,

Home Food and Travel advice on finding the right accommodation

So what is the right accommodation?  Well more often than not, it’s your travel budget that dictates the type of accommodation that you choose. 

Expensive is not always better.  Our team at Home Food and Travel will tell you that they have camped in areas with limited ablutions and had a wonderful holiday.  They have also spent a night in a five star hotel only to be disappointed because their expectations exceeded the experience.

The reason for your travels will also affect your choice.  A business trip requires different amenities to a beach holiday. 

Our articles, reviews and experiences can certainly help you make your decision.

Restaurants with a good mix of service, food and ambiance

To my mind a great restaurant offers three things – excellent service, great food and a wonderful ambiance.  Of these, service is the most important. 

No matter that the food is delicious and the setting delightful, poor service can ruin the occasion.  However, great service combined with mediocre meal and a plane jane restaurant can still be a pleasant night out.

We’ve eaten in restaurants that are really dirty but with incredible food and couldn’t help but give a rave review.  We’ve also hardly noticed what we ate because the setting was just amazing.

However, the best restaurants come with the best of service, food and ambiance.

Spas are the ultimate relaxation aid

How do you know when you have had a great spa experience?  The answer, of course, is when you doze off on the treatment table. 

Well that’s our theory anyway.  It also doesn’t take a grand location with enormous facilities for a spa to be really good

A small, personal spa that is owner run can result in the best massage you have ever experienced.  However, the grand spas in five star hotels offer unsurpassed facilities in an environment that just makes the stress in your shoulders and neck melt away before you even finish checking in.

Adventure!

You don’t have to be an adrenaline junky to enjoy an exciting experience.  In fact, what are commonly termed adventure activities usually have incredibly high safety standards and unblemished safety records.

Ziplining, bungy jumping and shark cage diving are all very safe.  It’s just that our mind tells us we are craaazzzzyyyy to be doing this.

On the road to great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities

If you’re driving, be safe and make use of all the wonderful farm stalls that populate South Africa’s open roads.

If you overhear somebody asking a lot of questions or see someone taking photos of empty bedrooms chances are it’s one of our Home Food and Travel team members.

We’re out looking or those great places of accommodation, restaurants, spas and adventure activities.

See you on the road!

 

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