Northern Cape Accommodation | South Africa Accommodation

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Northern Cape

The Northern Cape is noted for its San rock art, diamond diggings, 4X4 safaris and the Kgalagadi Wildlife Park. It is a vast stretch of semi-desert land. The distance from the capital, Kimberley, on the eastern border to Springbok (in the west) is more than 900km. It is a large, dry region of fluctuating temperatures and varying topographies. As the most arid part of South Africa it offers the visitor an experience that is not elsewhere available.

It lies to the south of its most important asset – the mighty Orange River – which provides the basis for a healthy agriculture.

The major airports are situated at Kimberley and Upington and it is serviced by an excellent road network.

Important towns are Upington, centre of the Karakul sheep and dried fruit industries, and the most northerly wine-making region in South Africa; Springbok in the heart of the Namaqualand spring-flower country; Kuruman founded by the missionary Moffat; De Aar, hub of the South African railway network; and the sheep-farming towns of Calvinia, Carnarvon, Colesberg and Prieska.

The establishment of the Kgalagadi ('land of thirst') Transfrontier Park, in the north of the province combines South Africa's Kalahari Gemsbok National Park with Botswana's Gemsbok National Park to form Southern Africa's first cross-border reserve. The 38,000 sq. km park is home to large herds of antelope, as well as the Kalahari lion. Within the Kalahari lies the Tswalu Desert Reserve - the larges private game reserve in the country.

Other highlights of the Northern Cape include the Augrabies Falls National Park north of Kakamas, a refuge for the rare black rhino and Namaqualand, an arid region that is turned into a vast carpet of flowers following the Spring rains in August.

Kimberley, capital of the Northern Cape, is worth exploring. In particular visit the 'Big Hole' and Open-air Museum, the result of the diggings of early diamond prospectors, and the McGregor Museum, which traces the history of the region, including the Anglo-Boer War. The two biggest battlefields of the Anglo Boer War are within 40 kilometers of Kimberley- Paardeberg and Magersfontein.

The Vaalbos National Park is situated close to the town of Barkly West on the road from Kimberley to Postmasburg. The park is inhabited by a large variety of birds and mammals, including black and white rhino. From Postmasburg follow the signs to the Witsand Nature Reserve, with its striking white sand dunes. At the area around Brulsand, a weird roaring noise is created when the sand is disturbed. The park is known for its birdlife.

At Upington visits to the Kalahari/Orange Museum and the wineries are recommended. It is recommended to spend a day in the Augrabies Falls National Park, where the river plunges nearly 200 feet into a narrow ravine. It is home to 55 mammal species and 63 types of reptiles and amphibians.

To the west is Springbok, the gateway to the remote and rugged Richtersveld National Park. From Springbok the route south through Namaqualand to Calvina and Cape Town is at its best in late July/August/September, when wild flowers bloom in this arid landscape following the spring rains. Further north the recently proclaimed Skilpad Wild Flower National Park at Kammieskroon protects an astonishing variety of indigenous Namaqualand flowers.

At Campbell (west from Kimberley towards Griquatown) visit the historic Barlett Church (1831), where missionary/explorer David Livingstone preached. At Griquatown visit the London Mission Society and the Mary Moffat Museum and the grave of Andries Waterboer, leader of the fiercely independent Griqua people.

East from Upington is Kathu, a small mining village close to the huge Sishen open-cast ore mine. Mining community tours are offered and there is an arts and crafts centre to the east.

From Kathu continue to Kuruman to see the Moffat Mission Station, set up in 1829 and the Eye, a fresh water spring. West of the town is the Kalahari Raptor Centre, a rehabilitation station and home to a growing colony of wild vultures.

The Wonderwerk Cave near Mount Carmel (at Danielskuil midway between Kuruman and Kimberley) offers evidence of occupation by early ancestors.