Keimoes

Northern Cape

Like most of the places on the Orange River, Keimoes subsists on the growing of grapes. However, here they don't press them into wine, but spread them out on fields to let them dry in the burning sun, to become raisins.

A particularly beautiful subject for a photographer is the paddle wheel of the old watermill, which still does its work the traditional way, leading water from the Orange River to the vineyards.

Top: Paddle wheel for irrigation in Keimoes.
Bottom: Grapes spread in the sun to become raisins.

Augrabies Falls National Park

The Orange River drops 191 metres at the Augrabies Falls. The thundering cascade of water led the original Hottentot residents to believe that evil spirits were active here, and so they named the waterfall Ankoerebis, "place of big noises", from which the Trek Boers, who settled here later on, derived the name Augrabies.

Especially in late summer, when the river carries a lot of water, the roaring waters fully justify that name. New waterfalls then form at the sidewalls, and the air is filled with dense spraying fog. The gorge at the Augrabies Falls is 240 m deep and 18 km long. It is a most impressive example of granite erosion. When the whole landmass of the area lifted about 500 million years ago, the Orange River slowly started to dig its bed into the ground.




Visitor information and accommodation

The Augrabies Falls National Park, an hour from Upington, comprises an area of 820 sq km and stretches along the Orange River. The vegetation is suited to the arid desert climate. The Kokerboom, or Quiver Treegrow here. They are succulents and can store huge amounts of water in their stems and so survive long periods of drought. The park contains a game reserve with rhinos as the main attraction.

Top: Augrabies Falls. Centre: Breathtaking view in the park. Left: Kokerboom tree and Orange River behind the precipice.