The Place of Great Noise - 280km

At the main falls, several viewpoints allow visitors to gaze over one of Africa’s great natural wonders and to take in the sound which earned the falls the Khoikhoi name of Aukoerebis, ‘the place of great noise’. Below the falls, the Gariep (Orange) River has cut an 18-km-long gorge through the rugged moonscape of granite domes and ridges. Covering 32 000 ha, the park lies on both banks of the river, with tourist facilities provided in the southern section.

Although the falls are undoubtedly the main attraction, visitors can follow a number of short nature trails to places of interest near the rest camp. The road network gives access to viewpoints along the gorge, and to the Moon Rock, a large gneiss dome that dominates the surrounding plains. There is also a three-day hiking trail. Night drives are conducted, and adventurous visitors can do a one-day excursion combining canoeing, hiking and mountain-biking.

Visitors on a South African holiday can see African wildlife such as springbok, klipspringer, baboon and vervet monkey, while the section to the north of the river has been stocked with black rhino. Rosyfaced lovebird, black eagle, Ludwig’s bustard and a variety of larks are but a few of the 195 bird species that have been recorded.

Augrabies Falls National Park accommodation

KANONEILAND

With a length of about 14 km and a width of 3 km, the 2 500-ha Kanoneiland is the largest of several islands in the Gariep (Orange) River. The name of the island stems from an 1878 incident in which authorities bombarded it with cannon fire for six days during a campaign to dislodge the Korana, a northern Khoikhoi group who used the island as a hideaway. In the mid-1930s a group of 52 men, known as the Old 52, occupied the island and began cultivating crops.

As they had illegally seized state land, legislation had to be passed in 1939 to enable them to buy the land. Since then, a small settlement with its own school and church has developed on the island, which is intensively cultivated. A pont was used to cross to and from Kanoneiland until 1940, when a bridge was built to link the island to the southern bank of the Gariep River. The dual carriageway over the northern arm of the river was built in 1954.