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Northern Cape
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361.830 SQ km
pop. 814.000
Capital : Kimberley |
Being the largest province, covering one-third of the nation’s landmass, the Northern Cape is not an easy region to travel. It is dominated by heat, empty spaces, aridity and huge travelling distances.
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Its main attractions are the desert, its wildlife, diamonds and flowers. The Northern Cape is off the beaten track, but the tourist will be rewarded with stunning panorama’s and complete silence.
In the north, the Orange River, flowing from Lesotho to the Atlantic Ocean, separates the Great Karoo and the Kalahari. Upington, the main town, is the gateway to Namibia, the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park and Augrabies Falls NP.
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In the west, the brief winter rains in August and September set alive Namaqualand. From a harsh desert the land transforms into a magnificent display of wild flowers.
Travel further up north to explore South Africa’s only mountain desert, Richtersveld NP. It is a stunning, hot, dry and forbidding place, only to be explored by 4x4 drive or drifting down the Orange River in a canoe.
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The N12, from Johannesburg to Cape Town is the mean reason tourists visit Kimberley, the provincial capital. Although being the centre of the diamond industry, Kimberley is neither large nor glamorous. But the many old buildings,the Mine Museum and the Big Hole make it worthwhile to spend a day here. Trips to the nearby Anglo-Boer War Battlefields and Vaal River diamond diggings are well worth the effort.
Highlights
The abundant wildlife of Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
The mountaineous desert of Richtersveld NP
The red dunes and breathtaking sunsets of the Kalahari
Springtime in Namaqualand, an astounding display of wildflowers
Augrabies Falls, Africa’s second-biggest waterfall ,where the Orange River thunders into the gorge
Follow the steps of Cecil Rhodes in the Kimberley Diamond Tour
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Visitors Counter:907565
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