Gemsbok or the South African Oryx display of dominance, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park (formerly the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park).

Northern Cape

With only a million people inhabiting its 373,000 sq km, the Northern Cape is South Africa’s last great frontier. Its scattered towns are hundreds of kilometres apart, connected by empty roads across the sublime, surreal wilderness expanses of Namakwa, the Kalahari and Upper Karoo. Under the remorseless sun, vehicles share park roads with lions, dune boards swish down roaring sands, and Kimberley’s pubs serve cold beer as they have since the 19th-century diamond rush.

Attractions

Must-see attractions

  • Big Hole

    Big Hole

    Northern Cape

    Although the R50 million that turned the Big Hole into a world-class tourist destination came from De Beers, touring the world’s largest hand-dug hole…

  • Building of the SALT 11-meter telescope at the South African Astronomical Observatory near Sutherland.

    South African Astronomical Observatory

    Northern Cape

    During the day you can take a guided tour of the huge research telescopes, including the Southern African Large Telescope, but it's the two-hour night…

  • Workshop Ko Kasi

    Workshop Ko Kasi

    Northern Cape

    Serving both as a community centre and a much-needed tourist draw, Ko Kasi is a must-stop if you're passing through Kuruman. Started by two local…

  • Augrabies Falls in the northern Cape during the late afternoon.

    Augrabies Falls National Park

    Northern Cape

    The centrepiece of this park is the 56m-high waterfall created when the Gariep (Orange) River thunders through a ravine. The nearby Bridal Veil Falls drop…

  • The Orange River in |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, straddling the border between South Africa and Namibia.

    |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park

    Northern Cape

    South Africa’s remotest national park presents a barren but undeniably striking landscape filled with weird rock formations and sandy moonscapes dotted…

  • lioness in front of a 4x4 safari car crossing a dirt road in Kalahari desert, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Botswana, Africa

    Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park

    Northern Cape

    Welcome to the African safari of your childhood daydreams. Packs of entertaining meerkats scurry across the sand, antelopes wander the dry river beds…

  • Close up of mature male artist working on canvas

    William Humphreys Art Gallery

    Northern Cape

    One of the country’s best public galleries, with changing exhibitions of contemporary South African work, as well as a surprisingly good collection of…

  • Moffat Mission

    Moffat Mission

    Northern Cape

    Established by the London Missionary Society in 1816, the mission was named after long-serving Scottish missionaries Robert and Mary Moffat. They…

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Plan with a local

Articles

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Beaches

Escape to South Africa's Northern Cape

May 9, 2019 • 6 min read

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