Hidden Gem: Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve in the Southern Cederbergs

The Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve in the southern Cederberg Mountains is a true hidden gem in South Africa. At least I couldn't find much more about it in any travel guide. Besides wildflowers, you will find plenty of peace, impressive rock formations, and at night an amazing starry sky with the Milky Way.

Additionally, there are accommodations and small adventures along the way and on-site. Here you can find my experiences at Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve, which we visited as part of our road trip from Cape Town to Upington (Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park) to the northern tip of South Africa.

We were here in August (South African winter). The days are pleasantly warm to hot (24-30 °C), while the nights are cold (approximately 2 °C).

Since the nature reserve was on the route of our road trip, it was an ideal stop.

Kagga Kamma (translated as Place of Water) is far from civilization: the drive from Sutherland to the Cederberg takes about 290 km and 4 hours.

Worth it for: Extraordinary rock formations, sometimes wildlife like the mountain zebra and ostrich.

Accommodation: Lodge in Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve.

The nature reserve is quite far from civilization. No cell phone reception, no other people, but it is really worth the effort to get here.

From Cape Town, the journey takes about 3 hours; we came from Sutherland and took 4 hours for the 290 km. While a 4x4 vehicle is not necessary, it is more comfortable as you have to drive the last 35 km on an unpaved gravel road (it continues on sandy roads at the end).

Despite having a 4x4 Toyota Hilux with plenty of ground clearance (and good driving), I had my first flat tire in South Africa here. Therefore, you should definitely check if you 1) have a spare tire with you and 2) what the tire tread is like on the rental car.

Here you can view the directions to the accommodation along with gate opening hours.

The Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve features a beautiful lodge. You can choose between rock-built bungalows (unfortunately fully booked), open-air suites by caves, or regular self-catering chalets. Since we probably didn't book early enough, we got a regular chalet. This was still perfectly fine.

The reserve also has a spa and offers various treatments. You can also camp, which I plan to do on my next visit with my own pickup truck (that's the plan).

From the lodge at Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve, various activities are offered:

After our arrival and lunch at the restaurant, we first take a quad tour. The landscape with sand and gravel couldn't be more ideal! The scenery is unique.

Barely back, we continue on the Sundowner Drive. We hope to see animals. They take their time to appear. But we do catch sight of a herd of mountain zebras before the sun disappears behind the mountains, causing the temperatures to drop quickly.

After dinner (there are also vegan options) at the lodge by the open fireplace, we don't want to go to sleep before we photograph the stunning starry sky over South Africa. It's a dream.

Tomorrow we leave very early. We need to a) survive the gravel road in one piece b) organize a new tire and c) tackle the long journey (about 6 hours) to Namaqualand towards the border of Namibia!

The Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve is home to many animals. Unfortunately, we only saw a few of them. This is likely because it was winter and cold. There are among others: Aardvark, Aardwolf, African Wildcat, jackal, wildebeest, zebras, oryx, elands, duikers, porcupines, springboks, and ibex. With a lot of luck, you can spot a leopard.

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