5 Best Sights in Upington, The Northern Cape

Stop here if you are a fan of cognac and liqueurs or you want to sample some of the region's lesser-known wines. From his pot still, Tinus Bezuidenhout produces and sells really good brandies and high-quality liqueurs. It's a family business, so either Tinus or his son, Martiens, will likely be pouring generous tastings, something all except the designated driver will appreciate. There is also a walk-through of the distillery and maturation cellar, and a restaurant, Le Marché, serving Kalahari biltong and avocado salad, Kalahari venison pie, and beef-and-brandy burgers. It also sells a wonderful range of deli products, from Kalahari salt and barbecue sauce to wild marula jam produced on the farm. Tinus knows everyone in the area, so think of him as a tourism resource, too.

About 2 km (1 mile) from the Kalahari-Oranje Museum, in front of the Upington police station, this bronze monument honors the police who used camels as mounts when they patrolled the Kalahari in frontier days. If this rather lonely sight is in any way intriguing, you may want to plan a visit to the Camel Farm ( www.kameelplaas.co.za) in a breathtakingly remote Kalahari location about 90 minutes from the Twee Rivieren entrance to the Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. Its dairy farmer will introduce you to his gentle, free-roaming, long-eyelashed camels, and his herd is entirely descended from the first camels brought here for police and military use.

Conveniently adjacent to the Red Ox Steakhouse, the Kalahari-Oranje Museum comprises simple whitewashed buildings that were erected by missionary Christiaan Schröder in the 1870s. It has displays on agriculture and local history and collections of minerals and artifacts used by the area's San. Just outside the complex is the Donkey Monument, a bronze sculpture by Hennie Potgieter that is a testimony to the role played by the animal in developing the Lower Orange River Valley.

If you need a break from the Northern Cape heat and aridity, a sedate sunset cruise on the Orange River could be just the thing. Sakkie se Arkie (literally "Sakkie's Little Ark") is a small family operation offering a 90-minute trip on a double-decker raft complete with a cash bar. You might see catfish, monkeys, eagles, and other birds. But the main ingredients for the fun are the lively crowd, the gentle sensation of the cruise, and the wonderful cocktails made by Sakkie's wife. It generally only operates on weekends, but it might head out during the week if there are enough people interested.

This 12,000-plus-acre private reserve is about 14 km (9 miles) from Upington, and it's a good fallback if you don't have time to make it all the way to Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park. You'll get to see some wildlife, especially the iconic oryx (or gemsbok, as it is called in South Africa), eland, mountain zebra, and decent herds of springbok. Apart from such typical Kalahari game species, other predators to be seen are the jackal and caracal; resident bird species include the kori bustard, ostrich, and Namaqua sandgrouse. Whether you are a day visitor or staying over in one of the chalets (or in an RV), you should make a point of climbing to the top of the Spitskop at dawn or dusk, where you're likely to see a beautiful Kahalari sunrise or sunset. The cooler hours are also advised because day temperatures in summer in this desert reserve can hit 40°C–45°C (104°F–113°F).