northern-cape, accommodations

South Africa’s Northern Cape Province offers scenery unlike that found anywhere else in the country. Most of the province consists of rugged desert-type terrain, and it is the seeming desolation of this ancient land that gives it a unique aura. Renowned as the jewel province of South Africa, the Northern Cape holds large deposits of valuable treasures beneath its rocky surface. These include gemstones such as garnet, topaz, opal, jasper, rose quartz, agate and of course diamonds.

For visitors to this arid land, the province offers scenic treasures that include vast open plains and rust-red sand dunes. Four of South Africa’s major national parks are found here, with their large variety of wildlife that includes the Big Five. The province is also known for its roaming herds of antelope.

Included in these four is the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, one of the largest protected natural ecosystems in the world. With a surface area of more than 2 million hectares, it also offers tourists the chance to see rare black-maned lions.

In the spring, witness the annual explosion of brilliantly coloured flowers in Namaqualand, while the mighty Augrabies Falls are the world’s sixth largest waterfall. The Northern Cape is a paradise for hikers, river rafters, divers and wildlife tourists, not to mention for 4x4 enthusiasts, thanks to the variety of desert, dunes, rivers and sea one can explore in this region.

Also among its many attractions, the Northern Cape is home to one of the world’s most important diamond mining towns, Kimberley – home to the world famous ‘Big Hole’, a hand-dug hole the size of eight football fields.  Here you can also take the world’s only guided tour of an operational diamond mine, descending some 840m below the earth.

Kimberley also faced a siege during the Anglo-Boer War, and the province is also the site of another famous battle from this war, the Battle of Magersfontein. Here, in December 1899, the Highland Brigade - known as The Black Watch – were defeated by Boer forces while trying to relieve Kimberley.

Finally, for those of a more scientific mind, near the tiny town of Sutherland (incidentally the coldest place in SA) is the Southern African large telescope (SALT). This telescope is one of the most sensitive and powerful in the world.

Regardless of whether your interests are historical, scientific, natural or purely driven by the need to be away from civilisation in the quiet aridness of nature, you will find what you seek in the Northern Cape.

Things to do:

• Go bird watching at Kimberley's Kamfers Dam, where thousands of flamingos can be seen, stretching for as far as the eye can see. It is also one of only five breeding sites in the world for Lesser Flamingos.
• See the Kimberley Africana Library, which houses one of the finest collections of Africana history books and examples of early printed editions of African indigenous languages (San, Tswana, Zulu, Xhosa).
• Travel through the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, one of the largest nature conservation areas in southern Africa.
• View the beautiful ancient paintings of animals and abstract objects that are found at the Wonderwerk (miracle) Cave in the Kuruman Hills. Ongoing archaeological excavations have revealed that this is one of the longest inhabited caves on Earth.
• Stop by the Riemvasmaak Ecotourism Project, a community-based project where you can share the locals knowledge of traditional plants and medicines and experience traditional storytelling and dancing.
• A new 50km, three-day hiking trail has been opened called the Diamond Coast Hiking Trail, found in the Namaqua National Park. It aims to give explorers a chance to access areas that were previously off-limits to the public due to mining activity.
• Experience genuine shivers on the thrilling Kimberley Ghost Tour. As one of the country’s oldest towns, it is reputed to have a wide number and variety of resident spirits, such as the phantom Scottish piper who plays on moonlit nights on the town’s outskirts.
• Namaqualand is a must for any visitor to this region, especially during the flowering season. You can also explore it on horseback, where you will be able to see wildlife up close, including jackal, zebra, springbok, oryx, and bat-eared foxes.
• For the more intrepid traveller, the Orange River offers plenty of canoeing, rafting and fly-fishing adventures. This river is ideal for those who want to spend a day relaxing in the sun or those seeking a week-long white-water expedition.
• Visit Sutherland to see the Southern African large telescope (SALT), a powerful instrument capable of looking into deep space, back to the very beginnings of our universe.
• Kimberley’s ‘Big Hole’ is a sight that will leave you awestruck. A massive hole dug entirely by hand during the 1870s diamond rush, it is a sight well worth seeing. You can also go on a tour down into an operational diamond mine.

Top Festivals and Events:

• The Kakamas Sultana Cultural Festival takes place in Kakamas over four days in March, showcasing music, theatre, food, wine and sporting events.
• AfrikaBurn in April/May is a freedom of expression festival in the Tankwa-Karoo National Park. It is an exercise in total self-reliance: participants camp for four days and provide entirely for themselves, including all their water, shelter and food needs - the aim being real social interaction.
• The Orange River Canoe Race in April/May starts from Hopetown and runs to the confluence of the Orange and Vaal Rivers at Bucklands.
• The Speedo Ice Swim Africa will witness a number of extreme swimmers participating in the coldest swim in Africa, racing in an icy dam near Sutherland in July (mid winter).
• Hantam Vleisfees (meat festival) takes place in Calvinia in August. This region is known as sheep country, and this festival celebrates sheep meat of all kinds, cooked in a variety of different ways.
• Gariep Kunstefees (arts festival) is held annually in September in Kimberley. It features local musicians, a film festival showcasing new film-makers, as well as art exhibitions and children's theatre.
• The Williston Winter Festival in September is a day of family entertainment and fun, including gospel choirs, local musicians, fun activities and competitions and a host of varied entertainment.
• St Augustine’s Cultural Festival in Okiep, Namakwa, celebrates the diversity of SA cultures in late September and early October.
• The Kalahari Augrabies Extreme Marathon is one for fitness freaks. It takes place in October and is an energy-sapping seven-day, 250km self-sufficiency run through the Great Kalahari.
• The Namakwa Festival showcases indigenous cultures and the celebration of the creative spirit of the people of the Namakwa District. It is a festival that promotes cultural equity within cultural diversity and includes arts, crafts, carnivals, music and dance.

Things you should know:

• Use Kimberley as a starting point to explore the Northern Cape. Kimberley has direct air links to Cape Town and Johannesburg.
• Since this is a semi-arid region, it experiences little rainfall in the summer. The weather conditions are thus extremely cold in winter and extremely hot in summer and this should be factored into your planning.
• The Northern Cape is the largest province in the country and yet it has the smallest population.
• The discovery of an 83.5 carat diamond on the farm Vooruitzicht sparked off the world’s greatest diamond rush ever. The stone is now known as the Star of South Africa.
• Pella Mission boasts a striking yellow cathedral built by French missionaries in the late 1880’s. It is truly in the middle of nowhere, approximately 150km from the nearest habitation, the tiny town of Springbok.

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