Dassie Trail Augrabies

About Dassie Trail Augrabies

Start: Augrabies National Park, rest camp
Finish: rest camp – the trail is circular
Duration: 5 km
Fitness: moderate
Our tip: if you are in the reserve during summer, try to hike either early or late in the day as it can get incredibly hot

This is a far gentler hiking trail in the Augrabies National Park than the Klipspringer trail - a challenging three-day affair.

Dassie Trail is easy to do with children, which makes it popular with families. The self-guided trail begins at the park's main camp and takes hikers on a circular route that moves from one geological feature to the next, taking in the Potholes, Swartrante and Moon Rock.

There is a fair amount of scrambling involved, however, there are slippery sections and you will need to watch your children close to the edge of the gorge.

The trail leaves the camp and heads along the edge of the gorge to Arrow Point, where the views are impressive. Quiver trees dominate the landscape.

The Potholes are a collection of circular depressions in the rock that are fairly deep (you may want to watch your children around these). They are caused by the movement of pebbles swirling in water that eventually wear away the rock.

Moon Rock is a granite dome. The large exfoliation dome measures some 700 metres by 100 metres and is a major landmark in the park. Climb to the top for one of the best views of the park.

From here it the trail heads back to the camp.

Look out for dassies (rock hyrax), Broadley's flat lizard, Verreaux's eagle and mountain zebra.