Augrabies Falls National Park – South Africa

Augrabies Falls and National Park is a combination of a natural waterfall and an intentionally created national park, situated in the Northern Cape Province of South Africa, near the city of Upington.

The park was first established in 1966 to complement the already existing rocky waterfall and make the site a complete tourist attraction where people could go and experience the beauty of the waterfall while at the same time being able to tour the vast land which constitute the park.

Unlike most waterfalls which are located in tick dense forests, Augrabies waterfalls is located in a very rocky area and situated on  a high landscape, surrounded mostly by desert-like land with few trees.

An African Red-Eyed Bulbul at Augrabies Falls National Park in the Northern Cape province of South Africa.

The waterfall itself which runs through the top of the hill, among rocks and created by erosion activities which had taken place over a period of decades or possibly centuries, resulting in the large water run ways between the rocks on top of the hill.

In terms of geographic, Augrabie cover a total land size of 820 square kilometre with a waterfall that is about 60 metres high, forming an amazing natural fall, especially during the rainy season when there is flooding on top of the hill.

Due to the desert and rocky nature of the park, the tree population is not very impressive as compared to other parks in South Africa, nonetheless there are several botanic trees in the park which adapt to the unsuitable conditions and thrive.

The situation is same in terms of the animal population in the park with several species of animals who can perfectly adapt to the climate and dry nature found living there. These include the Gemsbok, Caracal, Black Rhinos, African Wild Cat and Fox.