15  September 2013: Tankwa Karoo National Park

De Zyfer Cottage

Photo’s taken around the De Zyfer Cottage. There was so much to see. Beautiful landscapes and even more beautiful flora.

The Tankwa has been described as one of the most arid regions in the Karoo. The mean January temperature in the park is a sweltering 39.9○C, but in July the average drops to a freezing 5.7 ○C. Summer temperatures regularly soar into the 40’s. Rian, on the other hand, is not as plentiful.  According to the Park manager the park had a grand total of 25 mm in 2005. Historically the park averages about 170mm a year, as measured at the Roodewerf Station. As a designated arid park, the South Western section of Tankwa also fulfils the definition of semi-desert.

But within this arid, almost hostile region, men have tried to create a living out of the wilderness, and the evidence of this is found throughout the park in the form of houses, ruins, kraals and graveyards. (Above information quoted from park booklet)

 

Thank you for visiting my blog.

Coreen