South Africa Blog

Upington is the chief city in the Northern Region of the Northern Cape in South Africa. This dry and hot area is characterised by desolate deserts and harsh landscapes. However, do not let that deter you. Upington boasts a marvellous oasis: the fertile and lush Orange River valley which runs through it. This shimmering valley provides a green ribbon through the harsh landscapes bringing life-giving water from the distant highlands of Lesotho.

Upington was founded in 1884 and currently boasts a population of 72 198 inhabitants. It was named after Sir Thomas Upington, the Attorney-General of the Cape. It originated as a mission station established in 1875. The mission station now houses the town museum, known as the Kalahari Orange Museum. The museum is also the home of the famous donkey statue, which recognizes the enormous contribution that this animal made to the development of the region during the revolutionary days of the 19th Century … continued at:
http://www.sa-venues.com/attractionsnc/upington.php

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The Northern Cape

The Northern Cape is a landscape of vast, arid plains, broken only by the odd haphazard rock pile. It is this very desert scene and blazing sunshine that allows for the quality of space and silence found nowhere else in the country. This is the land of San rock art, diamond diggings, safaris and game parks, Richtersveld National Park, Vaalbos National Park, Witsand Nature Reserve and the Tswalu Private Desert Reserve.

Across this landscape flows the Orange River, intermittently a silent trickle while in other parts it carries the full wrath of a river in flood. The presence of the river has allowed for historic towns and villages along its banks that have transformed large stretches of land into fields of cotton, lucerne, dates and grapes.

Kimberley, the diamond capital of the world’s Big Hole, has received a recent face-lift offering spectacular, thrilling views over the hole on a cantilevered platform - a unique backdrop for a wedding with a difference.

The green Kalahari region offers a number of photo moments against the background of the spectacular Augrabies Falls or the Kalahari Gemsbok National Park, while the immense, spacious plains of the Karoo offer a not-so-gentle landscape with intense blue skies and distant horizons.

In complete contrast is the Kuruman Valley, the – oasis of the Kalahari - set on the edge of the Kalahari. The town, seeped in missionary history, has a permanent source of water that delivers some 20 million litres daily.

Stunning scenery, a largely pollution-free atmosphere – allowing for some of the most awesome stargazing under skies unblemished by buildings or man’s footprint - and the unique ability of this arid land to shed its barrenness to make way for the rich riot of colour that explodes every spring in a brilliant array of wild flowers, makes the Northern Cape such a unique experience.

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Northern Cape, South Africa
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Every year from July to September, thousands of people flock to Namaqualand to view one of Nature’s gifts – the annual Flower Display. But when is the best time to go? Will the flowers be in full bloom when you get there? What is the weather doing? With the help of a new blog, visitors can now get up to date reports from the region in the form of field reports posted by residents in the area. Here’s what they aim to do ….

ABOUT THE NAMAQUALAND FLOWER REPORT
“This site (http://www.south-north.co.za/flowers/) is a combined attempt by tourism stakeholders in Namaqualand, South Africa. Our aim will be to compile a comprehensive and ongoing report pertaining to the wildflower phenomenon that occurs in our part of the universe annually and lasts from July to September. During this time Namaqualand sheds its dowdy disguise and deluges the world with flowers of every hue. Nature discards any pretension of desolate aridity and runs riot with shades and rainbow hues of rich and splendid intensity. When Mother Nature saturates the air with fragrance and the earth with colour, your senses will be assaulted and your soul will be rejuvenated. Too soon the show is over and the freshly-spilled seeds hide, once again, beneath the soil, awaiting the onset of a new year, another winter and the ensuing first drizzle.”

So if you are anywhere in Namaqualand contact the site administrators and get blogging to keep your visitors informed – or, if you are planning a trip to go and see the flowers this year, visit the website at http://www.south-north.co.za/flowers/ to get up-to-date info on when and where to go to make the most out of your trip.

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“The Northern Cape Province of South Africa boasts a colourful history and is particularly well known for its incredible annual floral display that takes place annually in Namaqualand. The Northern Cape lies to the south of the powerful Orange River and is mainly isolated desert and semi-desert. Northern Cape covers the largest area of all the provinces yet has the smallest population. The last remaining authentic San (Bushman) people live in the Kalahari area of the Northern Cape“.

The Northern Cape Accommodation site has undergone a redesign and is now a very user-friendly site. You can find accommodation in the Northern Cape either by using a small menu that appears on all the pages within the site, or find Accommodation in the Northern Cape by fast loading Clickable Search Map. You click on the town you wish to visit in the map to view the hotels, game lodges, guest houses, bed & breakfasts, self catering holiday accommodation and conference venues listed in the area and the map clearly shows the proximity of towns to major highlights and activities in the Province.

The site includes a sction on all the attractions and destinations in the Northern Cape. To Visit the Site please click here: Northern Cape.

Article by: Colin Cruywagen, Source: BUA News

Sutherland – Today’s inauguration of the Southern African Large Telescope (SALT) will provide the sub-continent with a scientific facility with a capability normally associated with the developed world. The SALT will be used to detect planets and study other solar systems.

This massive telescope is located about 15km outside Sutherland in the Northern Cape, a town known for experiencing the coldest nights in South Africa while during the day temperatures soar into the 30s (degrees Celsius).

In using the Hobby-Eberly Telescope (HET) as a model, the SALT project team was able to improve on the design by making use of recent technological advances. The 11-metre primary mirror is stationary when observing and is always at a fixed elevation angle of 53 degrees. It has an array of 91 hexagonal mirror segments, each with a spherical surface and an alignment system that was a major area enhancement in the SALT design.

The most significant improvement in SALT was the redesign of the “spherical aberration corrector” needed to correct optical aberrations that arise from the use of spherical mirrors. SALT’s distinct advantage over many other similar telescopes is its ability to observe many different objects in a variety of instrumental configurations, and many different observing programmes can be undertaken efficiently in one night.

The first scientific observations by SALT, with its final complement of mirrors and its first scientific instrument, SALTICAM, began in August. The “first-light” images were officially released worldwide on 1 September. These images taken by SALT demonstrated the huge light-gathering power of the telescope and its enormous potential.

With the inauguration of the SALT, South Africa maintains a proud history of joining with nations around the globe in searching for “buried treasure” of knowledge at the “outposts of the universe”.

Article from Bua News
Related Links The Northern Cape, South Africa
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