Mountain Zebra National Park is a place where you can breathe

The late afternoon wind knifed through the open windows of the car, bringing a surprising chill to what should have been a hot Karoo landscape. But, the rain hadn’t even progressed to the rumour stage yet, judging by the high, wispy clouds.

On the three nights and four days we spent at the Mountain Zebra National Park, we had talked about how difficult it would be for the park’s lions – introduced in 2013 but still numbering less than a dozen today across its 28 000 hectares – to hunt in such a forbidding place. On the high plateau, as we wound slowly along the gravel road, I remarked about the fact that there seemed to be more rocks than blades of grass.

Not much sustenance for animals and even less cover for an apex killer like a lion. Fair enough, the drought in these parts of the Eastern Cape has hammered the park like it has everywhere else … but still. We’ve seen lions all over but it remains a mystery how they survive in places like the Karoo and even more harsh desert environments in Namibia.

Seeing a lion was not a realistic prospect we thought, as we decided to travel on – “two more corners and that’s it”, I said, aware that we needed plenty of time to get back before the rest camp gates closed at 7pm. Then we saw a bakkie stopped close to an acacia tree which was more of a struggling bush.

Picture: Brendan Seery

We could see nothing and were about to pass by, muttering about how “twitchers” (birding fanatics) would sit for hours looking at even nondescript species. But as we got closer, we noticed a large greyish-brown shape in the shade. It was a male lion, sleeping it off after having recently killed what looked like a red hartebeest, the carcass of which had been dragged under the tree.

Having seen so many amazing animal sightings over the years in so many places, I thought we would be blasé about this one. But we weren’t. We knew this was special and we were privileged. Mountain Zebra is like that: not as well known as some of the other national parks but those who have been there – either on longer visits or as a stopover on the way to or from the coast – often return.

We first camped there as newlyweds more than 30 years ago and have been back since a few times with the kids … and now as a couple again, with them out of the house. We’ve used it as a stopover on the end-of-year trips to the coast but this time decided to add in an extra night on the way down so we could spend more time in the park.

The first morning, we went on a hike within the camp’s fenced-off area. It was only about 2.5km, but included some stiff uphill climbs and balance-testing downhill sections. But, we were the only ones up at the top and could appreciate the view across the endless vistas of the Karoo. There is an additional, guided, hike to the top of Saltpeterkop, one of the highest points in the area, but which is outside the fenced camp and, therefore, you need someone with you, because of the lions.

Picture: Brendan Seery

The park is about 10km outside the town of Cradock and, during the Boer War, Saltpeterkop was occupied by British forces, who used it as an observation post to track the movements of Boer kommandos. British soldiers at the top fashioned a chessboard out of stone and played against their comrades in the garrison in the town, using the mirror signalling system they used to communicate messages. You can still see the chessboard atop the kop today.

There are also, lower down, the graves of a dozen soldiers who died in the area in a skirmish. Mountain Zebra is, as its name indicates, home to that peculiar sub-species of zebra which was thought of once as the quagga. They are odd looking … with different colour – more brownish – than other zebras. There is plenty of other game, though, ranging from gemsbok to wildebeest to giraffe, kudu and buffalo, with the expected herds of springbok, which seem to do better in these harsh conditions than other buck.

The camp offers self-catering cottages (two or four sleeper) as well as newer, luxury units, in addition to basic stone cottages and a farmhouse. Even the normal cottages are decently equipped, following upgrades since we started going all those years ago. Now you get a TV with a partial DStv bouquet as well as air conditioning plus all the regular amenities you’d expect.

You won’t be wowed by the bathrooms, though, which are civil-service plain… All units have patios, some with good views, on which to sit and braai as evening falls. There are two swimming pools – the second a comparatively recent introduction – which are a lifesaver in the Karoo midsummer heat. It’s the opposite in winter, though, but the units have fireplaces to take the chill off.

Picture: Brendan Seery

The roads in the park are generally in a good condition, particularly because you won’t want to be belting along anyway. The steep bits have all been covered in concrete, which is important if it rains or even if ice accumulates in winter. In bad weather, some roads are closed and there are some 4×4 only routes for the more adventurous (and well-equipped) traveller.

The reward of the long journeys on the park roads (take a couple of hours and do it at barely above walking pace) is that you’ll see (as we did) things like startled klipspringer in a kloof, and will have the Karoo unfold before you as you reach the summit. There are places – away from the lions presumably, where you can stop, get out of your car and stretch your legs … although you are reminded that everything you do is at your own risk.

Mountain Zebra is an intriguing mix of habitats, stretching from the Karoo plains to the acacia-dotted wooded kloof transition to the thicker bush of the Eastern Cape. The drought, sadly, meant that the transition is almost lost – everything looks like semi-desert. The park is efficiently run … judging by staff at reception as well as the clean state of our unit (they are serviced daily) and the restcamp features a restaurant (which we didn’t try) as well as a reasonably well-stocked shop.

Picture: Brendan Seery

An added bonus, for us, was that the fuel station was up and working and I was able to top up the tank in our VW Caddy with diesel. That meant we didn’t have to go into Cradock – and we were getting a bit nervous because the car had travelled 820km from Joburg to the park but we had got down to the reserve with all the low-speed driving we did.

Even though the park was dried out to yellow and grey because of the drought, it was still able to give us the sense of getting away from the madding suburban crowds at home. In this, the still, remote heart of South Africa, you feel you can breathe…

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