There are few places on earth where you can experience real adventure, and none more authentic or more awesome than South Africa’s Northern Cape Province. It’s Business Destinations’ Best Destination for Sports Tourism, Africa, 2013 – and for good reason. You’ll find real adventure as you raft the roaring white waters of the Orange and Vaal Rivers; as a canopy of stars sparkles overhead while you fall asleep listening to the sounds of the African bush; and as you get up at dawn the next day to paraglide across the impossibly blue sky.
Real adventure is in adrenalin-chasing sports, such as skateboarding; the Kalahari Desert Speed Festival; kayaking; mountain biking; and hiking the most astounding terrain on earth. It’s in tracking the mighty wild animals of Africa, getting them in your sight and slowly clicking the shutter button to capture a portrait of untamed magnificence. It’s in hiking the most beautiful, desolate and untamed stretch of coastline on earth. And it’s especially in knowing that the warmest welcome in the world awaits you here, in South Africa’s biggest and most sparsely populated province.
Africa’s best-kept secret
This stretch of rugged land, beach, desert and sea in the northwest of South Africa is the world’s best-kept adventure tourism secret, yet it’s superbly equipped for adventure-seeking visitors. Besides the natural splendour of the region, the Northern Cape is also home to one of South Africa’s most fascinating cultural groups. The Khoi San peoples continue to live as their ancestors have for centuries: with a profound connection to the land, its natural rhythms, flora and fauna. Northern Cape Province has a superbly equipped tourism infrastructure, with a wide variety of accommodation options to reassure thrill-seekers that comfort and awesome adventure do, in fact, make excellent bedfellows.
The Northern Cape is all about realness and the extreme. Global trends are showing a decisive move towards action-packed, authentic holidays; toward tailored holidays that meet the specific needs and desires of every visitor; and toward holidays where travellers connect with the locals to share stories, experiences, cultures and a common humanity. The Northern Cape, as Africa’s top sport adventure destination, ticks all of these boxes.
Awe-inspiring sport
The new World Skateboarding Championship draws professional skateboarders from all over the world to compete for a prestigious trophy in what is quickly becoming a globally recognised sporting code. The third consecutive World Skateboarding Championship will be hosted again in Kimberley this year – it flips off on September 29. The Kalahari Desert Speed Festival that takes place in September on the Hakskeenpan gives petrol heads an opportunity to rev their engines, drop their clutches and drive as fast as they can, across a 21km dry salt pan. It’s a high-octane festival of fun and horsepower, and another of those unique Northern Cape adventure events not to be missed. Hakskeenpan will see more action in 2015 when the iconic 1,000mph jet and rocket-powered racing car, Bloodhound SSC, will be seen in action in an attempt to break the land speed record.
Northern Cape is a unique treasure: an exciting offering that remains a largely unexplored and closely guarded secret in a world where ‘adventure and sport tourism’ has become a much harried term. Whether it’s spending an evening around the fire with a Khoi San family or tracking the African Big Five in the stark and breathtaking beauty of the Kalahari, this province caters – and caters richly – for all adventure activity tastes and preferences.
The Northern Cape is accessible, offers brilliant value for money and boasts a tourist infrastructure that’s capable, skilled and service-orientated. To unlock the excitement and awesome splendour of this adventure destination, you will need to fly into South Africa (either through Johannesburg or Cape Town) and take a connecting flight to Kimberley or Upington.
Further information:
Website, experiecenortherncape.com; email, marketing@experiencenortherncape.com; Facebook, Northern Cape Tourism
