South Africa Guide
The Northern Cape
The vast Northern Cape, the largest and most dispersed of South Africa's provinces, is not an easy region to tackle as a visitor. From the lonely Atlantic coast to Kimberley, the provincial capital on its eastern border with the Free State, it covers over one-third of the nation's landmass, an area dominated by heat, aridity, empty spaces and huge travelling distances. The miracles of the desert are the main attraction – improbable swaths of flowers, diamonds dug from the dirt and wild animals roaming the dunes.
Most traffic to the Northern Cape is in its southeastern corner, through which the two main routes between Johannesburg and Cape Town, the N1 and the N12, pass. While the N12 provides a good opportunity to spend a day or so in Kimberley, neither route offers particularly inspiring scenery or sights, and so the southeast of the province isn't covered in this book. A less obvious option is to take the N14 from Johannesburg through Upington, passing the atmospheric old mission station at Kuruman, and on to Springbok and the scenic N7 to Cape Town. This route is around 400km longer than the N1 or N12 and, while the N14 doesn't offer respite from long, empty landscapes, the sights on the way are more interesting; it also puts the Augrabies, Kgalagadi and Richtersveld national parks within striking distance.
Getting around by public transport can be a pain. While the main towns of Kimberley, Springbok and Upington lie on Intercape's bus routes (with connections to Windhoek in Namibia), many services arrive and depart at night and thus miss the scenery. Minibus taxis cover most destinations several times a day during the week, but are much reduced or nonexistent at weekends. Taxis don't serve the national parks (take an organized tour instead). As ever, early starts (6–7am) are best.
Highlights
1 The Big Hole The vast crater that dominates Kimberley is an awesome testament to South Africa's pioneer diamond hunters.
2 Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park Discover lion, gemsbok and suricate among the parched red sand dunes of the Kalahari.
3 Augrabies Falls Africa's second-biggest waterfall, where the Orange River thunders into an echoing gorge.
4 Pella Mission One of the country's most improbable sights, a towering yellow cathedral in the middle of a tiny, mission village.
5 Namaqualand flowers In August and September the veld puts on a superb natural floral display.
6 Driving down the N7 The province's most scenic drive stretches south from Springbok through rocky mountains and peaceful dorps.
7 Richtersveld Transfrontier Park South Africa's only mountain desert, a hot, dry and forbidding place which can only be explored by 4WD or by drifting down the Orange River in an inflatable canoe.