|
|
The
Northern Cape is South Africa's biggest and least densely populated
province. Consisting mostly of Karoo semi-desert and Kalahari thirstland,
it's all about wide open spaces, big skies and immense distances. But it's
not all drab and dusty by any means. The Orange River, which flows through
the province, is a long, luscious, linear oasis where the combination of
generous irrigation and year-round sunshine produces succulently sweet
grapes for the fashionable tables of the world as well as a significant
crop for wine production. |
| Dates, too,
are grown in profusion in the warm sunshine. The Ai Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier
Park consists mostly of a spectacular desert mountain range that straddles
the Orange River, which is the border between the Northern Cape and Namibia.
It's a hotspot of botanical diversity with an impressive array of flowering
succulent plants. It's also an interesting cultural destination, where
nomadic herders still tend their flocks of goats and live in their traditional
matjieshuise, which are basically stone age tents - portable homes made
from straw mats and a framework of sticks.
 As
well as the awesome botanical diversity and dramatic scenery, visitors
to the Richtersveld are likely to see lots of birds and some small game.
There are only three ways of seeing this austerely beautiful landscape.
There is a four-by-four trail, which can be done either independently or
escorted, a hiking trail only for the very fit and - the easiest of the
lot - fantastically relaxing escorted multi-day canoeing and rafting trips
on the Orange River. The Augrabies National Park, which is centred on the
thundering Augrabies Falls and its spectacular granite gorge, has great
birding, some small game and a fun hiking trail. Close by is the settlement
of Riemvasmaak, which the original inhabitants regained in South Africa's
first land restitution agreement. There is a four-by-four trail, warmsprings
and some pretty self-catering cottages, all run by the Riemvasmaak community.
A part of the Kgalagadi Transfrontier National Park has also been the subject
of a land restitution agreement and was returned to a band of San (or Bushmen)
but with less success than Riemvasmaak. Nevertheless, it is an awesome
game viewing destination straddling the border between the Northern Cape
and Botswana.
|
| All Northern Cape
Locations:
Tourism Region
|
The coast is sparsely populated
- a few fishing villages here and there and some offshore diamond miners
who dredge the ocean floor for the elusive gems that form the basis of
the Northern Cape's economy. It was in Kimberley
that the South African diamond industry first started. And the glittering
baubles hidden under the austere surface of this somewhat Spartan and minimalist
landscape are reflected in the mega bright stars sparkling in the crystal
clear night air unpolluted by urban lightsources. The small town of Sutherland
is the site of the Southern African Large Telescope, otherwise known as
SALT. In spring the sere browns and ochres of the desert are transformed
into an iridescent carpet of multi-coloured flowers as far as the eye can
see. It's probably all the more spectacular for the contrast with its usually
subdued palette. The main flower-viewing areas are around the towns of
Nieuwoudtville, Garies, Kamieskroon and Springbok.
 There
are numerous cultural attractions. Many of the mission stations that were
built in the Northern Cape over the centuries are practically unchanged.
David Moffat's Kuruman Mission, where David Livingstone met his wife, the
then Mary Moffat, still stands close to the town of the same name and the
enormous freshwater spring, the Eye of Kuruman. There are museums aplenty,
fabulous rock art sites and some lovely old buildings. So, yes. Although
the Northern Cape is a huge expanse of semi-desert, there is so much to
do and see. The many small towns each have their own attractions. Much
as Kimberley only exists because of diamond mining,
the relatively new town of Kathu exists only because of iron mining. You
can tour the huge open cast mine where everything is significantly larger
than life.
|
| Even the trains
that transport the ore are over two kilometres long. The small, and rather
isolated, Karoo town of Victoria West has become a mecca for movie buffs
with its art deco Apollo Theatre running regular film festivals. The unusual
town of Orania, which is owned by the Afrikaner community that has settled
there and tried to form an independent 'republic' within South Africa,
is an indication of the level of tolerance that exists in South Africa.
The small town of Jan Kempdorp is renowned as an excellent winch-launched
paragliding venue with enormous thermals and the town Hotazel gives an
indication of what the Kalahari can be like in summer. |
| ©
Safarinow.com |
|
Top
|
