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South Africa: Eastern Cape: Mid-Karoo Tourism Route
Mid-Karoo Tourism Route: A Desert of Landscapes, Legend and Life
"Few people have the good fortune to be born in a desert. I was. All my life I have been conscious of my luck. Not, indeed, that we of the Karoo often think of our land as desert. It is the travellers who have crossed our plateau for two hundred years, and our visitors of today, who have called it this - and still do"
The Great Karoo described by author Eve Palmer, in her book The plains of Camdeboo, may just be the best encapsulation of the perception outsider have of towns like Noupoort, Middelburg, Rosmead and Steynsburg in the Eastern Cape. Often only used by travellers as quick "refuel and toilet break towns", if not bypassed on new highways stretching the seemingly lifeless desert plains. Not only is this a grave mistake, but an opportunity missed to experience this desert of landscapes, life and legends.
The Mid-Karoo tourism route, launching on the 1 of February 2008, is sponsored by the Business Trust of South Africa and developed and supported by Open Africa, with the aims of poverty alleviation and the conservation of natural and cultural resources of the area, in mind.
The route is surrounded by dramatic mountains in the "heart" of the Great Karoo and falls into the Nama Karoo Biome. The region is recognized for herbal plant life, growing naturally in the fields, an exceptional array of scarce birdlife, the Teebus and Koffiebus koppies and the Orange River Tunnel Outlet from the Orange River Water Scheme. It is one of the few, and best, places in the world where fossils are found, as well as Rock Art in caves from the first known human inhabitants, the San Bushmen.
The area is truly home to quiet open spaces, magical Karoo sunsets, star gazing, fresh air, snow-capped mountains and legends like the late Helen Martins of the Owl House. For more information or any enquiries see the Mid-Karoo Route on the Open Africa website (www.openafrica.org) or phone Rialize Hayes at the Middelburg Tourism Office (049 - 842 2188).
Middelburg, Eastern Cape Weather Today
Information and pictures provided by Middelburg Karoo Tourism
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Middelburg
Middelburg Visitor Guide
Mid-Karoo Tourism Route: A Desert of Landscapes, Legend and Life.
Mid-Karoo Background Information
The Nama Karoo Biome
A brief history of Middelburg, Rosmead, Schoombee, Steynsburg, Nieu-Bethesda and Noupoort
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