Karoo Walking Experience

Nieu-Bethesda is a village in the Eastern Cape at the foot of the Sneeuberg Mountains, approximately 50 kilometres from Graaff Reinet. It was founded in 1875 as a church town and the biblical origin of its name means “place of flowing water”.

The Compassberg, is a mountain peak of the Sneeuberg range of mountains and is situated about an hour’s drive north west of Nieu Bethesda. At 2502m, it is the highest peak in South Africa outside the Stormberg-Drakensberg massif.

The Stone Folk Karoo Walking Experience encompasses the picturesque area around Nieu Bethesda, Doornberg Farm and the Compassberg mountain. The region has become well known, for its rich array of endemic plant species, its interesting cultural heritage and its abundance of bird and animal life.

In 2012, the Compassberg Protected Environment (CPE) was created, comprising about 26 000 hectares. The CPE is the first Protected Environment program in the Eastern Cape, and the second in South Africa.

The Stone Folk Karoo Walking Experience is “a walking-journey of discovery, of adventure and an experience, in a spectacular region of South Africa known as the Karoo that embraces the splendour of wide-open spaces.

“Karoo” is the Khoisan word meaning “land of thirst.”