The Northern Cape is once again in the spotlight with Kathu being nominated in the Kwêla and Rapport Town of the Year competition. The hugely popular competition is run on a regional basis with towns being nominated to represent each region. The regional winners will go up against each other in August. Kathu means “town under the trees” and was named for the forest of indigenous camel thorn trees in which it is located. This forest is reckoned to be one of only two in the world and has been recognised as a national heritage site. Considered as the iron capital of the Northern Cape, this rustic town has a special ambience that has enticed residents and visitors for years with its unique blend of country-style living and modern development. The town and surrounding areas offer visitors a treasure trove of exciting experiences ranging from abseiling to 4x4 trips, game and bird watching, a recreation resort with camping, fishing and horse-riding facilities as well as a sports club. Visitors can also explore the mining history of the region during a mine tour of the world’s largest open-cast iron mine. Keen golfers should not miss playing a couple of rounds at the beautiful Sishen Golf and Country Club on the outskirts of town, rated as one of the top 20 courses in the country. Accommodation facilities range from luxury four-star lodges, star-graded bed and breakfasts to guests farms or camping facilities. Kathu is located in the heart of the Kalahari region of the Northern Cape, an area world-renowned for its spectacular scenic beauty. With its vast open plains interspersed by the undulating red dunes of the Kalahari desert, the region is perfectly geared for outdoor pursuits ranging from hiking to game viewing and is a gateway to world-famous safari destinations Namibia and Botswana. Do vote for Kathu and ensure its place in the finals, SMS Kathu to 33157 from 29 July till 7 August. Fabulous prizes are up for grabs for anyone who enters the SMS competition, …
NORTHERN CAPE REVS UP FOR AN AFRICAN FIRST
Speedweek SA in conjunction with the Northern Cape Tourism Authority will be hosting the inaugural Kalahari Desert Speedweek event at Hakskeenpan in the Northern Cape from 22 – 30 September 2012. The epic club event will simulate the legendary Bonneville Speedweek hosted in Utah, USA and promises South African motoring enthusiasts the experience of a lifetime. Different classes of vehicles and motorcycles ranging from pre-war classics to modern-day supercars and superbikes will be eligible to participate in the competition, which will be a timed race over a track featuring a 7km straight. According to Sharron Lewis, CEO of the Northern Cape Tourism Authority, the first Kalahari Desert Speedweek is yet another mega-event that will showcase the enormous potential of South Africa’s largest province to host extreme and adventure sport events. “The province has a unique appeal to outdoor enthusiasts and Hakskeenspan is fast becoming world-renowned for its exceptional offerings to motoring enthusiasts and scientists alike. The first edition of the Kalahari Desert Speedweek will share the location of Hakskeenspan with the global BLOODHOUND Project, which will attempt to set a new world land-speed record attempt of 1600km per hours in 2014. Obviously, this will draw the global media spotlight to our province, but it will also be a platform to introduce our infrastructure and technical expertise to a global audience and serve as community upliftment opportunity for this area of the Northern Cape,” mentions Lewis. The Mier Community Trust Fund has been established with this purpose in mind and local community members will be trained as marshals and scrutineers for Speedweek. It is expected that between 50 and 80 temporary jobs will be created by the event. In addition, Speedweek organisers will also invest in the installation of a reverse osmosis water purifier to kick-start a water bottling project, owned and managed by the fund. A percentage of the net profits …