African Reservations

In a long history stretching back thousands of years, a variety of peoples have interacted in the Northern Cape. In remote northern and western parts of the province, a few old people still speak nearly extinct San and Khoekoen languages such as N/u and Nama, while in the north-eastern areas, Setswana cultural influences have predominated for nearly a millennium. Xhosa groups have lived and traded along the Orange River from the late eighteenth century, and missionaries and traders moved through the area during this time. The discovery of copper and then diamonds attracted huge influxes of fortune seekers and migrant workers. The province's archaeological heritage includes a wide variety of ancient rock art engravings.

Two of South Africa's biggest rivers, the Orange and Vaal River, run through the Northern Cape feeding 10 percent of vineyards growing in the country. Home to six national parks: Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Namakwa, Tankwa-Karoo and Augrabies National Park, the latter of which boasts the sixth highest waterfall in the world.

A prime destination for nature lovers, the Northern Cape should be high on the list of travellers that are curious about indigenous people, archaeology, geology, diamonds, architecture, Anglo-Boer War history, arts and crafts, ghosts and the paranormal.

Indulge in activities as diverse as riding a camel into the sunset to fighting it out with a yellow fish on a fly rod at sunrise; plunging down the oldest working diamond mines in the world to following Martial eagles and Pygmy falcons in the Kalahari. Stand in awe of San/Bushman rock engravings or strange plants like the 'Halfmens' (Half Human) or make your way down a thirty meter high Kalahari dune in a 4x4 or duneboard. Follow the footsteps of legends such as Dawid Kuiper (Khomani San leader), Andries Waterboer (Griqua Chief), Sol Plaatje (authored the first English novel written by an African), Maria Bocciarelli (first woman pilot in South Africa), Scotty Smith (for some a 'Robin Hood', to others a renegade and stock thief) or Cecil John Rhodes (founder of the mighty De Beers Diamond Mining Company) to tackling the river rafting rapids on the Orange River. Enjoy jazz music in a township shebeen or tracking ghosts in one of the many haunted houses.

Each spring, Namakwa, the land of the Nama and the San, shakes off winter's bite and covers the vast arid spaces with symphonies of floral splendour. The sunbaked deserts come alive with a multitude of wild flowers and unique plants. Adapting to a climate defying all life, they survive and thrive in a beautiful land of blistering extremes. Spend a weekend in Nieuwoudtville, and use this hidden away village as your springboard into the surrounding flower delights.

Tracking the Old Copper Way back to the 17th century soak yourself in the colourful histories of towns deeply rooted in a proud mining tradition. Take an unforgettable raft or canoe trip through imposing canyons on the sliding flow of Namakwa's artery of life, the Orange River. Or take your 4x4 on an adventure in the haunting moonscapes of the stunningly barren, saw-toothed mountains of the untamed Ai-Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park. Enjoy the cultural interaction of the Nama people whilst taking a donkey ride in Eksteenfontein or staying over in the community-run Kookfontein rondavels (huts) near Steinkopf or Okiep.

Experience the mystery and wonder of the star studded night, from the South African Astronomical Observatory in Sutherland where the clear Karoo sky shows millions of stars. Alternatively, wrap yourself in an aura of meditation and escape to the timeless serenity of a solitary, palm-fringed cathedral at Pella. Or, as the copper sun sets on Port Nolloth's diamond sea and the last, lonely lines are reeled in, indulge in a crayfish barbecue (braai). The land of the Nama is the Creator's playground, a kingdom of contrast where beauty and a rigorous climate pool mysterious forces to create a natural wonderland.

Green Kalahari - Bleak, shimmering semi desert contrast dramatically with lush vineyards filling the Orange River's fertile valleys. The large body of water meanders through a valley of its making, between the massive islands defying its erosive powers. Once the border of the Cape Colony, the Green Kalahari was South Africa's Wild West and many a rogue, including the notorious Scotty Smith, sought refuge from the law in its far spaces.

The legendary Koranna leader, Klaas Lukas, occupied the second-biggest island on the river. From his impregnable base, he gave the Cape government and Reverend Christian Schröder the permission needed to establish missionary settlements on the north bank of the river. His edict led to the establishment of Keimoes, and Abraham September, a freed slave, initiated irrigation along the Orange River. Klaas Island is now part of the Augrabies Falls National Park, where the fury of a huge torrent of angry water plummeting 90m down a series of granite cataracts speaks volumes for the river's awesome power. By 1884, the river had been claimed by colonialists, and irrigation and development followed. Today, you can travel peacefully from a raisin processing plant to a catfish farm; from wine cellars to tearooms in the desert; from a luxurious lodge to the desolation of Verneukpan, all in the vicinity of the village of Kakamas.

Yet, not all is tamed. The mighty Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Africa's first transfrontier park, comprises almost four million hectares of sparsely vegetated, red sand dunes and dry riverbeds. The reserve provides sanctuary for antelope, gemsbok, springbok, blue wildebeest, red hartebeest, eland, giraffe, lion, leopard, cheetah and smaller game. One of Africa's last pristine game reserves, the size of the park allows for the mass migration of different species.

Kalahari - Land of Thirst. An often bleak and forbidding country, its shimmering spaces spread out beneath an unrelenting, hot and metallic sky, it seduces the visitor and those living in its towns and villages with a disarming lack of pretension hiding an embarrassing wealth of natural and mineral riches. For between the simple sweep of its horizon and the clean, spherical arc of its deep blue sky, visitors will find historical towns and villages, the easy-going charm of the country and an always-warm welcome.

Today, the Kalahari is home to 40 raptor and vulture species (of 67 species in South Africa) and seven owl species (of 12 species nationally). Beneath the clean sweep of the uncluttered horizon, not far beneath the Kalahari's great blanket of red sands, hides a treasure trove of iron, manganese and other precious ores. Though the mechanized giants of the open-cast mining industry have gouged great, gaping wounds in the desert floor, they have - with all the modern technology at their disposal - only dented the surface of its enormous wealth. In towns like Black Rock, Hotazel and Dingleton, the mechanical behemoths will continue to harvest nature's mineral wealth for decades to come. And, each day, in an exuberant display of super abundance, millions of litres of crystalline, mineral rich water pours into this arid landscape. Flowing from an amazing dolomite spring as strongly and as steadily as if the rock had been struck by Moses, the beautiful Eye of Kuruman feeds forests of majestically tall camelthorn trees silhouetted against the seamless horizon of the great, mystical and miraculous Kalahari desert.

Diamond Fields - The sights during the original diamond rush of up to 30 000 miners working 3 600 claims have long gone but memories of the Kimberley tent-town's glory days still linger. Many old buildings, museums and one of South Africa's most important art galleries lend an historic ambience to the modern city. A partial reconstruction of the original 'rush town' alongside the incredible Big Hole, the largest hand-dug excavation in the world, still offer visitors insight into the lives of those early adventurers. Today prospectors still sift for treasure at their claims in the gravels of the Vaal River near Delportshoop, site of the first alluvial diggings in 1869.

During the Anglo-Boer War, Kimberley and the British Army were besieged by the Boers for four months. Lieutenant-General Lord Methuen's struggle to reach Kimberley from Orange River Station just 120km south of the town is an epic story of courage. One of several conflicts on Methuen's northerly march, the Battle of Magersfontein ranks as one of the Boers' greatest victories. The town was finally relieved by General John French's cavalry on 15 February 1900. But Kimberley's diamond story and the siege are parts of only the most recent history here. A rich archeological heritage, including stunning examples of ancient rock engravings, reflects a past that reaches back to the very origins of humankind.

Groot Karoo (Great Karoo) - Small isolated but ever-welcoming villages with fascinating, widely differing histories, a distinct Karoo architecture and imposing churches rest in valleys between desolate, flat-topped koppies. Take a short trip from Colesberg, an essential stopover for all travellers and a sheep-farming center surrounded by some of the country's finest horse studs, to Hopetown, the scene of South Africa's first recorded diamond find. Return, passing Orania, a peculiar, anachronistic, self-proclaimed Afrikaner volkstaat, before making your way to the resort town of Vanderkloof and the Rolfontein Nature Reserve on the shores of the great Vanderkloof Dam, 100km from the bigger village of De Aar. Indulge in the watersports of your wildest choice or relax on its secluded banks which stretch 100km to the Doornkloof Nature Reserve on the man-made lake's southern shores.

Throughout this wonderful part of the great Karoo, you can visit, hunt or hike on game farms and nature reserves teeming with every species of antelope. And, like the country they live in, the hardy inhabitants of the Karoo, many being the descendants of 19th century Trekboers, exude an uncommon hospitality, making you feel immediately at home in their beloved countryside.