A Guide to the Three Slackpacking the Karoo Experiences
There are three ways to walk the Karoo. All of them will change you. But not all of them are for the same person – and that’s exactly the point.
If you’ve been dreaming about karoo landscapes, silence that doesn’t feel empty, and waking up somewhere your phone doesn’t reach, you’re already the right kind of person for a Slackpacking the Karoo experience. The only question left is: which one?
Let’s break it down honestly, so you can stop deliberating and start booking.
Three Caminos at a Glance
Based in the iconic Karoo village of Nieu-Bethesda in the Eastern Cape, Slackpacking the Karoo offers three distinct walking journeys – each designed around a different kind of walker, a different window of time, and a different depth of experience. Every route includes all accommodation, all meals, and luggage transfers. You only carry your day pack.
100km Nieu-Bethesda Camino
For the walker who wants to go all in.
This is the original. The one people talk about for years afterwards. A full 100km circular route around the Compassberg over five days, covering approximately 23km per day – this is a serious walking commitment that rewards serious walkers.
You move each day. Your luggage moves with you, whisked ahead to the next guest farm while you walk through private nature reserves, vast plains, and landscapes that feel entirely disconnected from the rest of South Africa. Groups are kept intimate – a maximum of eight walkers – and the remote setting means limited cell phone reception is the norm, not an inconvenience.
Accommodation is on fully functioning guest farms with hot water, electricity, and comfortable beds. You need one week: arrive, walk for five days, depart. All meals are included.
You need 7 days total. You pack once.
This one is for you if:
✓ You have a week to spend and the legs to use it
✓ You want the full pilgrim experience – the daily rhythm of rising, walking, eating, sleeping, repeat
✓You’re ready to disconnect completely and trust the process
✓ You want to say you walked 100km, because you want to say you walked 100km.
⏺ Nearest medical facilities are 60km from Nieu-Bethesda – come prepared and fit.
60km Nieu-Bethesda Mini Camino
For the walker who wants the Camino experience without the full week away.
Everything you love about the idea of the 100km Camino – the landscapes, the slack packing, the meals, the miles, the satisfaction – compressed into a format that fits around a real life with real commitments.
The 60km Mini Camino covers approximately 20km per day over three days, and it has one defining structural difference from the big Camino: a single base camp. You stay at a Guesthouse in Nieu-Bethesda every night. You walk out each morning, you walk back each afternoon, and your vehicle doesn’t move. No packing up and moving. No new room to navigate. Just the walk.
Groups are a maximum of six walkers. The accommodation – Riad Maroc Guesthouse and Furrows Lodge – offers self-catering units with en suite bathrooms and indoor fireplaces. Wi-Fi is available at the accommodation.
You need 5 days total. Your car stays put.
This one is for you if:
✓ You can only get away for a long weekend + a few extra days
✓ You want to test your legs before committing to the full 100km
✓ You like the idea of coming back to the same comfortable space each night
✓ You’re walking with a small group of friends who don’t all have the same leave days to spare
⏺ Also brilliant as a first Camino – complete this one, and the 100km suddenly feels very doable.
50km Karoo Mini Camino
For the walker who wants to experience the Karoo, not just walk through it.
The newest addition to the Slackpacking the Karoo family, and arguably the most immersive. The 50km Karoo Mini Camino covers 15–20km per day over three days, and it offers something the other routes don’t: a deep, unhurried dive into the living texture of Karoo farm life.
This route takes you through working sheep farms, past ancient Bushman rock art, into a private fossil collection, and through landscapes where the silence is thick and the light is extraordinary. You’re not just walking near a farm – you’re walking as part of its world. Think seasonal sheep shearing, animals underfoot, the kind of farm hospitality that makes you feel like a guest rather than a tourist.
Accommodation is at guest farms and a guesthouse in and around Nieu-Bethesda. Luggage is transported between stops. All meals included.
You need 5 days total. You move slowly and notice everything.
This one is for you if:
✓ You want the Karoo experience to include culture, history, and connection – not just kilometres
✓ You’re a first-time Karoo visitor who wants a rich introduction
✓ You prefer a gentler daily distance but don’t want to sacrifice depth of experience
✓ You’re curious about farm life, fossils, and San rock art and want them woven into your walk – not bolted on as an afterthought
⏺ New to the range and already turning heads – this is the one for walkers who want to experience the Karoo, not just tick it off.
Here’s a quick comparison sheet:
All three routes depart from in and around Nieu-Bethesda, include all meals and accommodation, and are fully slackpacked – meaning your biggest daily decision is whether to eat your snacks before the first ridge or after.
The Karoo is patient. It will wait for you. But it would really prefer you started making plans.
Request your info pack today.
Lynnette Blackie
slackpackingthekaroo@gmail.com
📞 +27 (0)82 367 2726
🌐 www.slackpackingthekaroo.co.za