Big Sky Country – Exploring the Northern Cape
Exploring the Northern Cape
With its vast, open spaces, unique and diverse flora, arid deserts, mighty rivers and expansive skies, the Northern Cape, the largest and most remote province in South Africa, is teeming with a variety of natural tourist attractions.
Known most famously for its desert landscapes, abundance of gemstones, and the impressive annual carpet of springtime flowers that appear after the first rains, South Africa’s least populated province is definitely worth putting on your travel bucket list.
The province lies south of it’s most valuable asset, the mighty Orange River, which forms a border with Namibia in the north, while the Molopo River marks the border with Botswana to the northeast and the icy Atlantic lies to the west. This is a land of stark contrasts and rich history and is well worth the adventure. Here are just a few of our favourite attractions in the region which are guaranteed to spark your wanderlust.
NAMAQUA NATIONAL PARK Millions of stars fill the skies as night falls in this semi-desert landscape, and when the sun comes up, mountains, giant granite outcrops, quiver trees and a myriad life forms awaken in this unique habitat. The Namaqua National Park is an oasis of life and natural splendour and, despite being a magical land to visit all throughout the year, the best time to witness this abundance of life is in spring when the landscape is blanketed by magnificent wildflowers. It is enough to take your breath away. The park is also home to over 3,500 different plant and