Area info ...


Namaqualand
A region in western South Africa. Namaqualand, sometimes called Little Namaqualand, is bounded on the west by the Atlantic Ocean, on the south by the Olifantsriver and on the north by the Orange River, which forms the border with Namibia.

Namaqualand contains three distinct terrains: a sandy coastal plain along the Atlantic, a central mountainous area with peaks up to 1707 m, and a high plateau in the east. It is an arid region, with 50 to 300 mm of annual rainfall. Average temperatures along the coast remain in the 12° to 18° C range throughout the year, while inland locations have very warm summers and more variable weather.

Vredendal has recorded the highest bodily felt temperature in the world - 56° C. The cold Benguela Current, an ocean current that sweeps northward along the south-western coast of Africa, is responsible for the low precipitation, frequent fog, and lower temperatures along the coast. Because of low precipitation and soil infertility, Namaqualand has sparse, stunted semi-desert and desert vegetation. Nevertheless, the region is known for the profusion of wildflowers that bloom briefly after the spring rains.

Namaqualand has a population of about 100,000 and an average density of only about one person per sq. km. Approximately 75% of the population is of mixed racial descent. About 18% are whites, and the remaining 7% are blacks.

The name Namaqualand refers to the Nama-speaking people (the Khoikhoi) who were once predominant in the region. The Khoikhoi and the San, another indigenous people, are no longer identifiable as distinct groups in Namaqualand. Afrikaans is now the primary language of the region, although English, Nama, and Xhosa are also used.

The economy of Namaqualand is based primarily on mining. The native population mined and traded copper before the first whites arrived. Modern exploitation of the richest copper deposits, at Okiep, began in the early 1860s. Rich alluvial diamond deposits were found in 1926 on the coast near Alexander Bay. Several other minerals are mined, including feldspar, beryllium, sillimanite, lead, iron and zinc. Earnings from work in the mines are crucial for the survival of many poor rural families.

The majority of the population is engaged in agriculture, both small-scale subsistence farming and large-scale sheep ranching. Along the Olifants- and Orange River there are intensive vegetable, grapes and other deciduous fruit farms.

A large commercial fishery is based at Port Nolloth, Lambertsbay and Doringbay. The main road from Cape Town to Namibia - the N7 - passes through the heart of Namaqualand, serving the local economy and affording access for tourists, who come to see the wildflowers and to visit Richtersveld National Park, located along the Orange River.

Namib Desert
It is a temperate desert, extending about 2500 km along the coast of south-western Africa, mainly in Namibia. It starts at the mouth of the Olifantsriver in South Africa and ends more of less near Lobito in Angola. The desert reaches inland for up to about 150 km and is kept cool and dry by the effects of the cold Benguela Current offshore. About 50 mm of rain falls each year.

Tungsten and diamonds are important mineral products. The desert is very sparsely inhabited except for isolated communities like Port Nolloth, Luderitzbay, Walvis Bay, Swakopmund and Namibe in Angola.

The Namib can be divided into distinct landscapes. From about Hondeklipbay to Luderitzbay you have a "stone desert" with flats and stony outcrops every here and there. From Luderitzbay to Swakopmund it is a real "sand desert' with some of the highest sand dunes in the world. The northern part is a stone desert again. The Namib is famous for its wild horses around Luderitzbay, for the sturdy gemsbok and the amazing Welwitcia plants that can get thousands of years old. Nama succulents of an amazing variety are found all over.

The Western Cape
A province in south-western South Africa, bounded by the Atlantic Ocean on the west, the Indian Ocean on the south, and by Northern Cape and Eastern Cape provinces on the north and east. Created in 1994 from part of Cape Province, one of the four former South African provinces, Western Cape covers about 130,090 sq. km.

The Western Cape can be divided into three climatic zones:

The western region, around Cape Town, has dry summers and rainy winters (from May to August); the average annual rainfall in Cape Town totals 500 mm.
The southern section of the province, along the Indian Ocean, receives some rain throughout the year; the average annual rainfall at Mossel Bay totals 380 mm.
The interior of Western Cape, which contains the Great Karoo, a large, flat, sparsely vegetated plateau that is dry most of the year.
Cape Town is the oldest town in South Africa situated at the feet of the magnificent Table Mountain (1086 m). A chain of mountain ranges, including the Outeniekwaberge, Hexrivierberge, Cederberg, and Tsitsikammaberge ranges, separates the coastal areas from the interior. Average temperatures in Western Cape range from 16° to 32° C in the summer and from 7° to 18° C in the winter.

The population of Western Cape was estimated to be about 5 million in 2000. People of mixed racial descent make up the majority of the population. Afrikaans, English, and Xhosa are the three primary languages spoken in the province. Most residents are Christians, but the province has a large Muslim community.

Founded in 1652, Cape Town is the province's capital and largest city, as well as the legislative capital of South Africa. Other important towns include Beaufort West, George, Mosselbay, Oudtshoorn, Saldanha Bay, Stellenbosch, Paarl, Worcester and Vredendal.

Important cultural and historical sites in the province include Groot Constantia, home of Simon van der Stel, one of the Dutch governors of the Cape Colony; Groote Schuur, located in Cape Town, the official residence of South Africa's president and formerly the home of Cecil Rhodes the famous diamond dealer; the Castle, a Dutch colonial administrative centre begun in 1665 and the oldest building in Cape Town; Genadendal, the first mission station established in South Africa; and Robben Island, the site of a notorious prison that housed South Africa's most famous antiapartheid political prisoner Nelson Mandela.

Western Province has three universities: the University of Cape Town (1829); the University of Stellenbosch (1859) and the University of the Western Cape (1960).

Textiles, fishing, and printing and publishing rank as Western Cape's most important industries. The province is also an important farming region, producing wheat and fruits such as apples, grapes, peaches, and oranges. Cape wine is world famous. The Karoo has many sheep ranches and is noted for its wool production. Ostrich farms around Oudtshoorn make the area a famous source of ostrich feathers.

The Kalahari Desert
An arid and semi-arid Desert in Southern Africa. Actually it is more Savannah without open water – except for the Okavango Swamps. The Desert includes most of Botswana and parts of Namibia, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Angola and South Africa. Usually the area between the Orange River (Gariep River) in the south and the Okavango River to the north is referred to as the Kalahari or the Kgalagadi. Actually it stretches much further than this area only.

The surface is generally covered with red soil and low-growing grasses and brush, except in the west, where large patches of open sand and dunes are found. Heavy rains cause pools of water to form in the region's extensive mud flats creating the famous saltpans of the Kalahari.

The Kalahari was crossed in 1849 by the Scottish explorer David Livingstone. Many of the Boers who attempted to trek across the Kalahari on their way from the Transvaal to Angola in 1878 and 1879 died of thirst in the desert thus it became known as the “Dorsland” or “Thirstland”.

The desert is the last dwelling place of the Khoisan peoples (the Bushmen). It is also inhabited by the Herero people of Namibia, the Tswana of Botswana and the Khoikhoi (Hottentot) of South Africa.

The Kalahari is famous for its amazing birdlife – especially in the areas between the Okavango, Zambezi and Chobe rivers where more than 460 species of birds has been counted. The animals of the Kalahari are usually bigger than their brothers living in the rest of Africa, which makes the Kalahari lion a truly awesome sight to see!

The Kalahari covers an area of about 712,250 sq. km, which makes it the biggest sand-flats on earth.