Augrabies. About 120km west of Upington in the Northern Cape, it’s a place that feels like another world. While the Augrabies Falls are understandably the centrepiece, there’s way more to the national park than that. For instance, think arid-adapted plants and animals, interesting rocks, hikes, and more. Here’s my pick of 17 things to do at Augrabies Falls National Park.
1. Be awed by the Augrabies Falls
Watch the water crash over the rocks and plunge into the gorge below and you’ll understand why the Khoi people called this place Aukoerebis, which means ‘place of great noise’. Normally, about 50-60 cubic metres of water flow over the falls each second, but during the January 2011 floods, a wild 4 800 cubic metres roiled over the falls every second.
If you’re up for an evening adventure, head back along the boardwalk with a torch after dark when the Falls are lit up between 20:00 and 22:00. They take on a softer, slightly eerie vibe at night, way different from their daytime roar.
The Falls are likely to be at their highest between February and April, after good rains. Be aware that the raised boardwalks may be slippery when wet.
* Note that high water levels in 2022/23 damaged three of the viewing decks and a contractor appointed in 2024 defaulted on the repairs. While the park arranges to appoint another contractor, four viewing decks remain open so you can get different close views of the Falls.
2. See the gorge
3. Spend a night at Gorge Cottage
See more photos and info about Gorge Cottage
4. Enjoy a game drive
Predators in the park include African wild cat, black-backed jackal, and caracal. Along the river, look for the Cape clawless otter. Other animals that live here but you’re unlikely to see given their nocturnal habits are aardwolf and small-spotted genet.
Look out too for birds like sociable weaver, pygmy falcon, Verreaux’s (black) eagle, and swallow-tailed bee-eater. See point 10 for more about birding.
Take a picnic or braai fixings with you on your drive and stop about halfway along the main game route at the Af en Toe picnic site. It has braais, picnic tables, and ablutions. After your lunch, you can take a different road home; if you’ve driven out along the northern route, drive back along the southern road, or vice versa.
5. Admire the ingenuity of the klipspringer
6. Go rock spotting
The rocks around here are imposing – different shapes and colours from red to black, appearing at times like a landscape from another planet. You’ll find rose and crystal quartz as well as seven different types of granite, with an array of weathering patterns that create pop-ups, mushrooms and arches. Moon Rock (see point 7) is possibly Augrabies’ most famous rock, where you can see some of these weathering patterns.
7. Climb Moon Rock
8. Marvel at the quiver tree
There are about 70 species of other plants in the park, including the dominant camelthorn tree (Vachellia erioloba), sweet-thorn (Vachellia karoo) – both more commonly known as acacias – and the shepherd’s tree (Boscia albitrunca). All provide both food and welcome shade for animals during the heat of the day.
9. Take a hike
For something more full-on, book ahead to hike the 35.8km Klipspringer Trail that will take you three days and two nights. The first day is 14.4km, the second 9.9km, and the last day 11.5km. It’s a demanding hike so don’t take your planning lightly. Start early and be prepared for hot hiking. Take everything you need because all that’s provided at the overnight stops are bunk beds, mattresses, fire wood, braai grid, kettle, potjie, and water for washing. There’s a flush toilet but no electricity or showers. The water on the trail is fine for washing but NOT for drinking, so bring some kind of filtration/purification device. Note that this hike is closed between October and March because of extreme heat.
Don’t forget to wear sturdy hiking shoes and to take a pair of something more comfy for around the camp after the day’s hiking is done. Sunscreen and a hat are also essential, as well as drinking water.
Download a brochure for the Klipspringer Trail here. It gives more info about what to expect and how to book. It’s essential to prebook with SANParks Central Reservations (see ‘Need to know’ below) and there’s a minimum of 2 and maximum of 12 people.
10. Go birding
On drives around the game area, scour the rocky koppies for mountain wheatear, Cape bunting, short-toed rock-thrush, and cinnamon-breasted warbler.
Other birds you might see in the veld include Karoo korhaan, Ludwig’s bustard, double-banded courser, spike-heeled lark, grey-backed sparrow-lark, and chat flycatcher. Look out too for sociable weavers and their huge communal nests, which can have up to 50 chambers and accommodate 300 birds. The nest is so well insulated that the temperature never falls below 15 degrees in winter or rises to more than 30 in summer.
11. See the stars
12. Explore a 4×4 Trail
There’s a 30km 4×4 Trail that starts about 3km before the Hartmann’s Loop in the game area and spits you out again onto the main gravel road about 5km before the Af en Toe picnic site. It’s a one-way route and requires a minimum of two 4×4 vehicles. There’s no need to prebook, but it’s a good idea to let someone know where you’re going. It’s mainly hard, rocky terrain, with some sandy dry riverbeds to drive through. It’s well worth while for the scenery alone, as well as a chance to spot mammals and birds.
There are two escape routes along the way if you want to back out and return to the main gravel road. Although it’s only of moderate difficulty, it’s slow going so leave plenty of time. The 4×4 route alone should take around 4-6 hours, depending on how often you stop for photos. But if you include the time getting to the start of the trail and back from the end, the total drive time would be around 8 hours. Download a pdf of the map showing the 4×4 trail, marked in green, from the top of this page.
13. Enjoy the landscapes
14. Go mountain biking
If you’re a keen mountain biker, bring your bike and knock yourself out riding any of the roads in the park. Don’t go off-road because if you’re caught you’re liable to face a fine. Your rewards – apart from the exercise-induced endorphine rush – are the changing landscape and interesting rock formations. (PS Motorbikes aren’t allowed in the game viewing area.)
15. Get to know the Augrabies flat lizard
16. Go rafting
Join Kalahari Outventures for a guided half- or full-day rafting trip on the Orange River at Augrabies, with grade 2 and 3 rapids. Or if you’re looking for a longer adventure, book an overnight or two-night rafting trip on the river. All these rafting trips happen inside the park although they’re led by guides who are independent of the park. They have accreditation from the Field Guides Association of Southern Africa and the South African Maritime Safety Authority.
17. Stay in Augrabies accommodation
Given all there is to enjoy in this scenic arid park, you’ll want to stay over for two or three days. Even if you can’t get a booking for the popular Gorge Cottage (see point 3 above) sleep over in one of the main camp’s air-conditioned self-catering chalets where you can hear the rush of the Falls not far away. If you’re on a tight budget, book a spot in the shady campsite.
- It’s particularly impressive to see the Falls when in flood, usually from February to April after good rains upstream.
- Temperatures in the spring/autumn months of April/May and August/September are more moderate and comfortable for visitors visiting Augrabies Falls National Park.
- This is an arid region, with extreme variations of temperature. The summer months of October to March can be stifling. Average daytime temperature in December to February is 41 degrees Celsius, although temperatures in the mid 40s aren’t unheard of. (This is just one reason why the rest camp’s swimming pools are so popular in summer.) The high temperatures are compounded by the presence of lots of rocks, which hold the heat so that temperatures around them can soar to 70 degrees.
- Remember that the 3-day Klipspringer hiking trail is closed between October and March because of extreme heat.
- The average minimum night-time temperature in mid-winter (June and July) is 0 degrees Celsius, occasionally plummeting to minus 5 degrees, but warming during the day to pleasant temperatures in the low 20s.
- Average annual rainfall in the park is around 125mm. The rainy season is mostly from November to April, with some exciting thunderstorms, lightning, heavy rain, and even hail. Some rain may occur in June/July but these are gentle rains compared to the summer rains.
- Download a pdf map of the park here.
- At the rest camp, there’s a restaurant and shop selling food, meat, liquor, firewood, ice, and curios.
- There’s no ATM in the park so bring your credit card and enough cash.
- There’s a dedicated day visitors site where you can picnic, braai and use the swimming pool, even if you haven’t booked overnight accommodation in the park. The park is open to day visitors from 7:00 until 17:00 only, and a day visitor’s fee needs to be paid.
- You can buy petrol and diesel at the main rest camp. The staff can also repair punctures.
- All roads inside the game area are gravel roads.
- The speed limit on the tar road between the entrance gate and the rest camp is 60km/h. The speed limit on gravel roads is 40km/h.
- Wear shoes on summer nights as a precaution against scorpion stings.
- It’s a good idea to use mosquito/insect repellent, especially in summer.
- Black flies (muggies) breed in fast-flowing, rocky sections of the Orange (Gariep) River and can be a pest at Augrabies, especially between September and April.
- You can ride your motorbike to the park and use it around the rest camp and campsite, but motorbikes aren’t allowed into the game area.
- Two chalets in the rest camp are adapted for disabled visitors. There’s also an accessible ablution at the campsite. There are two wheelchair-accessible walkways and platforms to view the Falls, but wheelchair users will need help to get over the rough trail to the start of the walkway. There are ramps to the shop and restaurant.
- There are three swimming pools at the rest camp for overnight guests.
- Reception hours are from 7:00 till 19:00 daily.
- Entrance gate hours are from 7:00 to 18:30. Although the gate is manned 24 hours a day, you need to make arrangements with the park beforehand if you want to arrive after 18:30 or leave before 7:00.
- The game area opens from 6:30 to 19:00 in April to August and from 6:00 to 19:30 in September to March.
- Don’t feed the wildlife and remember that this includes birds!
- Don’t pick, damage, or remove any plant, wildlife, natural or cultural items from the park without permission. This includes a prohibition on collecting firewood from the veld.
- To make a booking, email [email protected], phone Central Reservations on 012- 4289111, or book online.
- To contact the park directly with any queries, email [email protected] or phone 054-4529200.
- For all other information, see Augrabies Falls National Parks’ website.
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