The Tanqua Karoo, a part of the Succulent Karoo Biome (see p.7), merits one full day’s exploration at the very least, although two days are preferable. As a dawn birding start is optimal, staying overnight in the nearby town of Ceres is a favourable option. This provides the freedom to explore, unhurriedly, both the Tanqua Karoo and the series of scenic and productive passes that lies between it and Cape Town. The route incorporating these passes is the less direct of the two main possibilities — the faster road, for a pre-dawn dash, takes in the N1 national road. It is quite feasible to make the round trip from Cape Town in a single day, but note, however, that this entails a total drive of about 500 km.

Visitors with limited time would do well to leave Cape Town about two hours before dawn and embark on the N1 to reach Karoopoort — at the edge of the Karoo — shortly after sunrise. From Karoopoort, you can work your way north to Katbakkies, stopping at the sites described below, before heading back again by mid-afternoon. Katbakkies makes a good lunch stop, as the birding here is not as dependent on early-morning activity as is that at Karoopoort and the plains between. You can then make a leisurely return to Cape Town via the scenic but undeniably slower ‘three passes’ fynbos route through the towns of Ceres, Wellington and Paarl.

The winelands town of Paarl has two excellent birding sites associated with it, offering, respectively, localized fynbos and waterbirds, and can be included in a Karoo excursion. Alternatively, these sites can easily be tackled as a relaxed day trip from Cape Town.