Augrabies Falls National Park is a national park located around the Augrabies Falls, about 120km west of Upington. It was established in 1966.
The Augrabies Falls National Park covers an area of 820 km² and stretches along the Orange River.
The area is very arid. The waterfall is about 60 metres high and is awe-inspiring when the river is in flood.
The gorge below the falls averages about 240 m deep and runs for 18 kilometres. The gorge provides an impressive example of erosion into a granitic basement.
The original Khoikhoi people named the waterfall Ankoerebis, meaning the "place of big noises". The Trekboers who later settled in the area derived the name Augrabies. There are many deposits of alluvial diamonds along the Orange River and legend has it that the biggest cache of diamonds in the world lies in the swirl-hole eroded into the granite at the foot of the waterfall by the thundering waters.
On the menu of plant species is the enigmatic Quiver tree or Kokerboom (Aloe dichotoma). Traditionally, the Khoisan hunters made their quivers from this tree which dates back thousands of years and which produces vivd yellow flowers in May and June.
The Augrabies Falls National Park offers an ancient landscape that will take you back in time to the world of the first hunter-gatherers.
