The Northern Cape

The Northern Cape is South Africa’s largest province and a must-see destination.

Exploring a land of ancient deserts, deep canyons, winding rivers and unique flora, the Northern Cape promises an unsurpassed experience.

The Northern Cape is all about wide open spaces, a magnificent coastline and a number of unequaled National Parks offering the tourist a very different experience of the South African experience.  Northern Cape’s sheer size, clear skies, elaborate sunsets, dazzling starry nights and incredible silence is mesmerizing.

The ideal habitat for some of the country’s most beautiful and exciting predators and prey. Experience the solitude of the landscapes, the heat of the sun on your shoulders as you explore the game reserves and parks of this fascinating part of South Africa.

The Northern Cape has always been a family-friendly destination and the region has a distinct and rugged natural beauty.

The Northern Cape’s natural beauty is enhanced by its enigmatic wildlife. From the “Small Five” to the Big Five, watching wild animals at close range is something truly unforgettable.

Just thinking of the Karoo and its endless wilderness plateau, unique flat-topped koppies, warm hospitality, wide open spaces and mysteries.

Each region will capture the imaginations of those who dare to explore its rugged mountains, endless flatlands, and undulating dunes. There’s an outdoor adventure activity or experience for everyone.

LOCAL TRAVEL

destination

Experience a destination for what it is today.

Make personal connections with people from a different part of the world. Every destination has a living, breathing society that is evolving all the time.

The reality is that it’s on us as travelers to explore the diversity each country has to offer. Even the most visited destinations can offer extraordinary experiences when you go beyond the usual tourist sites, museums, and monuments. Life is changing all the time.

Allow yourself to get lost, use food as a window to cultural diversity.

Pick up a local magazine or check out signs posted on the street corners to find art exhibits, music festivals, or other events. Go beyond the most popular cities.

Leave the cities for smaller places like villages and suburbs to find the hidden treasures of many countries, with unique cultural experiences, beautiful landscapes, and powerful interactions.

While staying local when you travel is indeed one important facet of local travel, its equally critical counterpart is what some people think of as “going local” – an exploration of faraway places, anywhere in the world, as if one were local to that place.

Local travel is about shifting your travel values so that you are mindful and supportive of local people, the local environment, local culture and local economy. It’s about putting yourself in the shoes, hearts, and mindsets of locals and making choices that benefit them as much as they do you.

Travel local, and encourage everyone to do the same.

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Magical moments

Karreekloof offers the inner beauty of the Karoo, breathtaking scenery from sunrise to sunset.

A star night that lets you get lost in another world and forgetting about the problems of yesterday and today. Breathe with the feeling of relief and relax for a while.

For the adventure-loving people who is crazy about water, the Orange River’s kayak rides can only be worthwhile or even take a trip down memory lane with white water river rafting.

Historical history from Magersfontein to Prieska will let your whole body fill up with goosebumps. Indulge your lifestyle for a moment, understand nature, experience it and you’ll never regret it one day. For that more social kind of feeling and tranquility of spirit, a boat on the river will work wonders, good company and the simplicity of the day as the host.

Attraction to the wildlife comes from inner excitement, wanting to experience and to see more.  Come and feel the power of nature, admire the birds, smell the different flavors of plant life and let the animal kingdom entertain you.

The challenge is easy.  Grab your bag, put both feet outside your front door, get in your car and experience all these unforgettable feelings.

“If you truly love nature, you’ll find beauty everywhere” – Van Gogh –

Agricultural road to Karreekloof

The world we live in today, we sometimes miss the little things in life that actually provide life itself.

The food we eat, the food animals live on and clothing that protects our bodies. Take the time to appreciate the beauty of agriculture.  So, start thinking:

Once in a while maybe, just maybe in a totally impulsive moment, you decide on taking a road trip and of course, it must be one to be planned to perfection, one not to be forgotten easily.  Not everyone has the same taste in destinations on where to go. But what if your decision is based on taking route N12 into the upper Karoo to a farm not far from a little town called Strydenburg. By now your head is spinning and thinking but what to do and see while taking this route to this farm I need to see, to spend some quality time and to understand the history of the name Karreekloof.

Agricultural things to do on your route to Karreekloof:

Stimulus your taste by taking a little detour to Jacobsdal where a peaceful and calm atmosphere Landzicht Winery will greet you and where you as a visitor are welcome for tasting and a tour through the winery.  Landzicht Winery has two cellars – one in Jacobsdal and one in Douglas.

Or, what about something a little bit sweeter maybe something a little bit Italian?  A brand-new Farm-Foods-Fabric opened at Modderivier next to the N12 where you can find nice pasta and delicious cookies.

In light for a movie feeling? But this time the movie takes you to greener pastures. Biggie Popcorn and country shop in Hopetown, has been popping the most scrumptious, crunchiest and the freshest popcorn.

Getting in the mode for that farm feeling.  Britstown Farmstall sells jams, chutneys, canned fruits, dried fruits, quince sweets, fruit sweets, homemade ginger beer, lemon syrup, rusks, biscuits, spices and much more.

Or just take a break at Victoria Trading Post Stop in Victoria Wes for some ginger beer, succulent biltong, and preserves, only because you want to take in as much as possible fresh air, after all, it’s a road trip to your final destination, Karreekloof.

Live your journey!!

Environmentally Friendly Eating Habits

Sustainable eating doesn’t have to be hard, and it also doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing.

Adopting just a few of the items on this list can make a big impact. For instance, if one person chose to use reusable bags for the rest of their life, beginning at the age of 25, they could save more than 21,000 plastic bags. Point being: You can make a difference.

Go organic

The definition of organic can be a little confusing, but food labels can help. Certified organic foods are grown and processed using farming methods that recycle resources and promote biodiversity and without the use of synthetic pesticides, bioengineered genes, and petroleum- or sewage-sludge-based fertilizers.

Though their benefits to the environment have a long-term payoff, organic foods can be pricier — if you’re on a budget, find out which foods are most worth buying organic, and limit your organic purchases to the ones that make the biggest impact.

Turn waste into a resource. 
If you’ve got the inclination and a little bit of free time, give composting a try and turn food scraps into a resource that keeps on giving.

https://greatist.com/health/33-environmentally-friendly-eating-habits

Fascinating Reptiles

Ever since the time when Adam bit into the infamous apple, reptiles have caused a shiver down people’s spine and our inborn reaction is to scream and run, or on occasion, worse for the reptile, pick up a blunt object and beat it into oblivion. Reptiles however play a vital role in the environment and if one takes the time to study them, they are generally shy but fascinating creatures.

Southern Africa has a incredible diversity of reptile fauna with a minimum of 517 species that have so far been described. These include 151 snakes, 338 lizards, 27 tortoises and one crocodile. Many more species are still awaiting description in the scientific literature. Sadly, many of these reptiles have largely been ignored in conservation management plans and require special attention in the future.

The Puff Adder is one of the most wide-spread snakes in South Africa and can attain an adult length of just under one meter. It is a slow moving snake that relies on its camouflage to avoid detection and ambush prey.

The Puff Adder is responsible for more cases of serious snakebites in South Africa than any other. The venom is cytotoxic, causing extreme pain. Handlers use plastic tubing and a snake stick to carefully capture and handle Puff Adders.

The male Southern Tree Agama is brightly colored to both attract females and warn other males of their dominance status. They form family groups that are centered around clusters of trees. They avoid danger by moving rapidly around the tree trunk and fleeing into the upper branches.

Southern Tree Agamas are unusual in that they feed almost entirely on ants and termites.

The Leopard Tortoise is the largest species to be found in southern Africa and may weigh as much as 12kgs. Their home ranges may exceed 80 hectares

During the breeding season between September and April, male Angulate Tortoises use their enlarged gular shields in intensive battle with other males and try and use the gular shields as levers to overturn and ram their rivals.

The Robertsons Dwarf Chameleon is one of 15 currently described species of Dwarf Chameleon and adults are small  ranging between 4,5 and 10cm in length. Dwarf Chameleons are heliothermic using the suns rays to raise their body temperature and climb into exposed positions in the mornings to bask.

Chameleons eyes can scan almost 180 degrees and can be moved in different directions simultaneously. Their vision is more acute that that of humans.

 

GETTING TO KNOW THE NORTHERN CAPE

Home to the ancient San people, the Northern Cape is about wide-open spaces, an utterly beautiful coastline and a number of unique national parks offering the tourist a very different experience of the South African landscape. This province boasts a colorful history and a variety of cultural tourist attractions and is particularly well known for its incredible annual floral display that takes place in Namaqualand.

Overview The Northern Cape lies to the south of the mighty Orange River and comprises mostly desert and semi-desert. The landscape is characterized by vast arid plains with outcroppings of haphazard rock piles. The cold Atlantic Ocean forms the western boundary. This region covers the largest area of all the provinces in South Africa yet has the smallest population. The last remaining true San (Bushman) people live in the Kalahari area of the Northern Cape. The whole area, especially along the Orange and Vaal rivers, is rich in San rock engravings. The province is also rich in fossils.

The first people of the Northern Cape were the San, who were gradually pushed out of the area by the arrival of Europeans, and other African tribes.  The Dutch came to the area to mine for copper under the famous Cape governor Simon van der Stel.  Mining has always defined the history in this part of the world and, when diamonds were discovered in Kimberley, unprecedented growth took place in the province under the leadership of men such as Barney Barnato and Cecil John Rhodes.  In 1899, the Northern province was the scene of the Anglo-Boer War, where Kimberley was one of the first towns to be besieged by the Boers.

Climate Apart from a narrow strip of winter-rainfall area along the coast, the Northern Cape is a semi-arid region with little rainfall in summer. The weather conditions are extreme cold and frosty in winter, and extremely high temperatures in summer. Sutherland, in the Hantam Karoo, is one of the coldest towns in southern Africa with an average winter minimum is -6º Celsius.  In winter, snow often blankets its surrounding mountains.

Major attractions in the area:

  • Richtersveld National Park
  • Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park
  • Augrabies Falls National Park
  • Flowers, Flowers Everywhere During August and September, the area of Namaqualand is transformed into a brilliant carpet of wild flowers.
  • Rock Art
  • Diamond Digging Country Kimberley boasts an excellent museum called the Kimberley Mine Museum.
  • The Big Hole at Kimberley
  • Trains and Trams
  • Moffat Mission Station Missionaries, Robert Moffat and his wife Mary arrived in the Kuruman area in 1820.
  • Wonderwerk Cave Not too far from Kuruman, lies the Wonderwerk Cave.
  • The Kalahari Desert
  • Small-town delights The Northern Province is littered with small towns that are fast growing in popularity with the arty set. Places such as Nieuwoudtville, Calvinia, Poffadder and Springbok are definitely worth a visit, especially for their warm-hearted local hospitality.
  • Orange River Adventures
  • Pella Mission Pella Mission is truly in the middle of nowhere. Approximately 150km from Springbok, Pella boasts a striking yellow cathedral that was built by French missionaries in the late 1880’s.

 

Information courtesy of South African Tourism (www.southafrica.net)