3 Best Sights in The Northern Cape, South Africa

South Africa's largest falls by volume of water, Augrabies plunges 653 feet over terraces and into an 18 km (11 miles) long gorge, which was carved into smooth granite over millions of years. It is strangely otherworldly, mesmerizing to behold. Legend has it that an unplumbed hole beneath the main falls is filled with diamonds washed downriver over millennia and trapped there.

You can hike in the park for an hour or several days, and you don't need a guide. Markers will direct you along routes that range from the short Dassie Nature Trail to the three-day Klipspringer Hiking Trail. You can also drive to the park's beautiful, well-appointed lookout points showcasing the gorge below the falls; scenic stops are highlighted on the maps provided with your entry permit. All are easily accessible and well marked. Unfenced Ararat provides the best views. Oranjekom, which is fenced and has a shaded hut, is particularly welcome in the blistering summer heat. The Swartrante lookout offers a view over rugged, barren areas of the park. Some areas suggest that you've arrived on another planet; others might evoke the Arizona Badlands.

If you have a 4x4, you can spend a good six hours following the 94-km (60-mile) Wilderness Road into some of the reserve's most remote parts. Midway along it is a scenic picnic spot where there are toilets and a braai (barbecue) area.

Depending on how things are with the pandemic, you might have to undergo a quick COVID-19 screening at the main gate. The visitor center, with an information office, shop, and restaurant, is a few miles down the road; this is also where you'll pay entry fees and where boardwalks to the main falls viewing areas and the SANParks rest camp are situated.

Each spring, this reserve transforms into a wildflower mosaic, which you can explore on either of two short—4- and 6-km (2½- and 4-mile)—walking trails; mountain biking within the reserve is also permitted. A count has recorded 581 different plant species within the reserve, and there are animals to see, too, including Hartmann’s mountain zebras, oryxes, springbuck, klipspringers, duikers, and steenbuck. There are also some 94 different bird species, including ostriches, Cape eagle-owls, martial eagles, Verreaux's (or black) eagles, Ludwig's bustards, and Damara canaries.

Goegap is also home to the Hester Malan Wildflower Garden, which displays an interesting collection of succulents, including the bizarre halfmen or "half person" (Pachypodium namaquanum), featuring a long, slender trunk topped by a passel of leaves that makes it resemble an armless person—hence the name. There are picnic sites, and, during flower season, there's a small on-site kiosk where you can get a bite to eat. Quaint, simple, gas- and solar-powered, three-bedroom chalets cost as little as R1,000 per night per couple. The nightly rate for smaller, more basic "bush huts," with no electricity and shared ablutions, is R250.

During its flower season (early-August through September), Namaqua National Park can usually be counted on for superb wildflower displays, even when there are no flowers anywhere else. Covering an area of almost 200,000 acres and located 21 km (11 miles) west of Kamieskroon, the park is the world's only arid biodiversity hot spot. Look for Namaqua daisies in oranges and yellows as well as succulents, such as the many-colored vygies in hues of purple, magenta, and orange.

Park roads are good, though the nearest gas station is in Springbok, 87 km (54 miles) away. Driving from Soebatsfontein toward Springbok yields spectacular views over the coast from the top of the Wildeperdehoek Pass. Two short hiking trails take a few hours each, and you can ride bikes and make use of various picnic sites throughout the park. Recent upgrades include new routes and rest camps, and the reintroduction of game (tsessebe, oryx, springbok, and eland). There's a seasonal visitor center at the Skilpad entrance.