Augrabies: Place of (Reasonably) Great Noises

I’ve only visited Augrabies Falls National Park once before. I was filming a documentary on the Orange River, which cuts directly through the park before forming the border the South African border with Namibia. It was a short visit, just three days, but it didn’t take long for me to get comfortable there.

It’s a bit if a haul to get to Augrabies from Cape Town. A solid 9-hour car trip stands in the way. Lucky for me, road trips are my favorite way to get around. Plus, you get to visit numerous small towns along the way. Malmesbury, Bittefontein, Springbok and Pofadder are just some of the s***holes that you can look forward to filling up your petrol tank in.

Named after the massive waterfall on its premises, it was originally called ‘Aukoerabis’ by the local Nama-Khoi, this ancient name translates to ‘the place of great noise’. This is a bit of a stretch in my opinion. It sounds like any waterfall does – like water falling... But its failure to impress me with the iconic "thunder" I'd heard so much about can probably be chalked up to my visiting in the dry season, during one of the worst droughts in South African history. The noise might not be the first thing you’ll notice when you arrive at the camp, (which is located conveniently close to the parks namesake), but you will notice the gangs of vervet monkeys rolling through the camp, trying to woo some sort of food off of unwitting tourists with their adorable begging…

Can I haz banana preeeeeez?

Loads of these arboreal mammals swing around with babies hanging off their backs and bellies. The babies look like some pensioner/baby hybrid out of Benjamin Button, but are incredibly cute!

Dat face :')

Don't let their adorable exterior fool you. These little bastards made off with a 1kg bag of sugar from our chalet. I was left sipping a cup of bitter coffee while I watched them enjoy their spoils, Scarface style...

Let it rain, motherf***er.

Sound aside, the Augrabies falls is an immense sight to behold. It purges over a precipitous 56-metre drop before pummeling the waters below. Here, it has carved an impressive plunge pool, nearly 50-metres deep. A legend of a terrifying monster that dwells in these depths has circulated the region for centuries… The Gariep Monster.

Pretty incredible, even in the dry season. The water level pictured here is considered extremely low. Seeing this baby in flood must be an amazing sight!

Below the falls is an extensive gorge, hollowed out and smoothed over by centuries of white water pushing through the gap. There are several viewpoints to check this out from, each offering a unique perspective on the ravine.

Absolutely gorge-ous! #sorrynotsorry

I was surprised to see how many international tourists popped in at Augrabies during our two-week stay. I was completely ignorant to this parks existence until I had to come film here. But hordes of French, German, British, American and Arabic tourists came and went during our visit. At one point, when I was exploring on my own around the camp, thee guys from Pakistan bounded over and excitedly asked if they could have their photo taken with me. I didn’t have the heart to tell them that I’m not a celebrity. As much as I wish I had a copy of the photo, I wish even more that I knew which celebrity they thought I was :/…

Visiting Augrabies in the summer is a daring move. Temperatures regularly soar to over 40°C - and it doesn’t help when, like us, you’re sitting on the bouldering rocks waiting for the resident hyraxes to exhibit some noteworthy behavior. Unfortunately, expecting these little mammals to do anything but sleep is a big ask – so a lot of our time was spent lingering around the colony in the sweltering heat. Rock Hyrax's (or Dassies) are curious creatures with a penchant for wallowing in piles of their own faeces. They're highly social, and enjoy a bit of snoozing in a family stack.

Dassies dossing.

Their inquisitive nature is very endearing, especially the juvenile fluffies which are far more entertaining to watch than their elders. They're full of energy and clamber over the boulders with ease... They're also ridiculously cute! Like the vervet monkeys, the dassies enjoy fleecing the tourists of their belongings at any given opportunity. Some of the youngsters found our GoPro and upcycled it into a chew toy and jungle-gym. While I was distracted by them, their spritely contemporary managed to sneak off with my banana. When I tried to take it back, he emitted a maniacal growl that would unnerve the devil himself. I figured I’d leave him to it, he probably needed the potassium…

I lost a good banana this day. I will remember it always.

Another interesting player in these parts is the charismatic Augrabies (or Broadley’s) Flat-Lizard, Platysaurus broadleyi. His bright, multi-coloured scales make him a conspicuous character on the hot rocks, but more so does his chauvinistic (and rather obnoxious) behavior. Especially when he adopts his classic ‘push-up’ position – a display of dominance for any intruding males.

BRUH, DO YOU EVEN LIFT?!?

Another antic to look out for is the lizards acrobatic leaping to snatch Black Flies right out of the air. This is a damn difficult act to film/photograph, but really is an remarkable spectacle.

Both the dassies and the lizards are abundant on the rocky landscape – which boasts hundreds of dramatic geological features. One of my favorite is this rock that looks like Darth Vaders helmet:

"Search your feelings... You know it to be true!" - Lord Vader

Augrabies is far more than just a waterfall. The greater park is spectacular, even in the dry season. When the golden hour hits, everything glows up like a fire. Highlights of the red rocks, yellow grasses and seaweed green euphorbias pack a visual punch for your enjoyment.

Everything's better in the golden hours.

Every so often, a Quiver Tree punctuates the horizon – this is a species of Aloe that got its name because the Nama-Khoi used its branches for quivers in which to keep their arrows. This is an exquisite feature to photograph, and probably my new favorite plant (after the lithop).

These textural goldmines = good for the budding photographer.

The game viewing isn’t bad either – Gemsbok (Oryx), Eland, Kudu, Giraffe, Klipspringer, Springbok, Hartebeest and the unique Hartmann’s Zebra are all on offer in the park.

One downside is that these animals are KAK scared of people – we spent a lot of time unloading our camera equipment, just to bite the dust of these skittish beasts as they hoofed it into the thick of the veld. Even the baboons are edgy… Luckily, there are a variety of smaller and (in my opinion) much more interesting creatures – such as Karoo Sand Snakes, Toad Grasshoppers, Bibron’s Geckos and my favourite, the Egyptian Free-Tailed Bat!

I like to hold things...

In all honesty, Augrabies in the heat of summer is a film-makers nightmare. Endless heat-haze, biting flies, warm winds and formidable dust devils are just a few of the challenges one has to face here (forget the blazing sun itself).

Despite this, I had one pensive moment while we were filming giraffe at sunset. Ettiene (on camera) had pushed in to get closer shots while I (not wanting to scare them off) hung back on the rocks above him. The light was gorgeous, there was a gentle breeze at my back, and as I watched this small family of five move over the stony landscape, I felt totally, like, one with the earth, and stuff...

Irie vaabs for days bruh.

Augrabies is an interesting spot for twitchers. A unique habitat means unique species and probably a few more ticks off the list. Various pipits, larks and cisticolas are a few of the LBJ’s you might find – but you can also look out for the Pale-Chanting Goshawk, Pygmy Falcon and Rock Kestrel. One of my favorite residents is the Namaqua Sandgrouse – a stunning bird that amasses here in great numbers and constantly looks like it’s tripping on some really bad acid.

I CAN TASTE COLOURS, MAN!

Of course, a big tick here is the iconic Verreuax's (Black) Eagle. At certain points at the lookouts you might even spot them visiting their nest. We had a close encounter with these beasts of the sky as they swooped low over our crew, showing off their emblematic black and white uniform.

A birdwatchers dream but a dassies worst nightmare.

If you’re looking for something different, Augrabies is a great place to visit. The unique geology, vegetation and wildlife makes for a great experience. It’s well worth the trip up -although I would definitely recommend visiting in the winter months, when it is cooler and more lush. All in all, it's an underrated gem and certainly deserving of a bit of roaming!

#blogpost #wildlife #travel