Northern Cape Attractions
The Northern Cape had belonged to the old Cape Province until 1994 when the government split the two provinces. This province is one of the least populated provinces in South Africa and also one of the driest. The yearly rainfall rarely exceeds 400mm and summer temperatures are on average above 30 °C. The capital is Kimberley.
Interesting places to see
- Kimberley Mine Museum - This museum is part of the Victorian Village that had been founded in 1890. The museum shows life as it had been in the days of the gold rush.
- Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park - This peace park is a combination of the old Kalahari Gemsbok National Park and the Gemsbok National Park that had been set up in 1999-2000. There is abundant wildlife: Kalahari lions, cheetahs, leopards, and hyenas. There are also some of the modern must-haves such as air-conditioning, swimming pools and shopping areas.
- Augrabies Falls National Park - Aukoerebies means 'the place of the Great Noise' and is a Khoi name that refers to the Orange River. The Augrabies Falls National Park in the Northern Cape Province had been created in 1966 and The Falls is one of the park’s highlights.
- Richtersveld Transfrontier National Park - This park is one of South Africa’s world heritage sites [Link to South Africa’s world heritage sites article] and UNESCO had inscribed it in 2007. At least 20% of the plants in the park are endemic to the area; Halfmensboom and Giant Quiver Tree are two of these endemic plants.
- Namaqualand - The Orange River divides Namaqualand into Little Namaqualand and Great Namaqualand. This area covers 440 000 km ² and is the only arid hotspot in the world. Namaqualand is famous for its flowers that bloom in the spring. Springbok, Pofadder and Alexander Bay are some of the more well-known towns in Namaqualand.
Special events
- Hantam Vleisfees - Celebrate meat – lamb and mutton, mostly – at the Meat Festival in Calvinia every August. It has been a yearly 3-day institution since 1989 and guests can enjoy meat in its many guises: braaied, stewed, curried, in pita, on sosaties and in potjies.
- Apollo Film Festival 2009 - Victoria West has a yearly film festival – it started in 2000 – to promote South African feature films, short films and documentaries.
- Namakwa Festival - Springbok hosts the yearly Namakwa Festival that tries to raise awareness of the local cultures. It started in 2002 and has beauty pageants, Christmas Lighting Ceremony, a mass carnival, traditional storytelling and potjiekos competitions.
- AfrikaBurn - Every year in September or October AfrikaBurn is held in the Tankwa Karoo. The concept is similar to that of the US Burning Man Festival and is an invent of music and art: you invent; nobody is a mere spectator.
- Kakamas Sultana Kultuurfees - This festival has been around since 2007 and offers music, sport and cultural festivities.
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