Destinations / Northern Cape >>

The Northern Cape is the largest, yet least populated, province in South Africa. Most tourists only pass through it on their way to Botswana or Namibia or to see the flowers of Namaqualand.

But there’s more to the Northern Cape than that. Big skies and bigger distances. Tradition and old-fashioned hospitality make the few, sleepy towns interesting places to get to know the locals.

The annual explosion of colour in the normally dry desert of Namaqualand is the stuff of postcards and nature documentaries. Almost over-night the barren landscape is covered in a carpet of amazing variety and colours that assault your senses. This floral kingdom is so extraordinary that buffs from all over the world flock to see it

We barely dipped our toes into the massiveness of the Kalahari, but still returned with stories of unimaginable expanses of bushveld and salt pans interspersed with islands of vegetation. The wildlife in the Kalahari is ‘wild’ in the true sense of the word – with very few fences covering thousands of square kilometres you can encounter the famous Kalahari lions or herds of roaming elephants. Summers are sweltering, but night times surprisingly cold, with frosts in winter. The Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park stretches over a vast area into Botswana and offers a haunting emptiness that you won’t find in more populated parks with the river beds forming a natural gathering place for game.

The Orange River descends from its humble beginnings in the Lesotho highlands to make its way across the harsh semi-desert expanses of the Northern Cape, bringing vegetation and wildlife to otherwise uninhabitable places. This is best seen in the Augrabies Falls National Park where the river has carved deep ravines and tumbles over waterfalls, bringing life to some unique flora and fauna.

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