The town of Springbok is situated within the Klein Koperberge, and lies at the heart of this mythical region where the Nama pastoralists once roamed and serves as a gateway to the thousands of tourists enchanted by the Green Kalahari.
You can’t really miss the town of Springbok as you cruise the hazy plains northwards along the N7 route to Namibia. Pass through the rugged ranges of the Namaqualand basin until, nearly 700 km from Cape Town, you will happen upon this surprisingly large Northern Cape dorp slumbering on a rugged and scrubby landscape.
The ‘Namakwa’ was named for the nomadic Nama people, the largest surviving group of the Khoikhoi tribes emanating from South Africa, Botswana and Namibia. They were also the focus of a latter-day genocide during 1904-1907, when early German colonisers massacred between 50-70% of the Nama people.
The area is a business-like main street, dominated by impressive steeples, declares the commercial and cultural importance of Springbok as Namaqualand’s leading centre. Its location on the main trade route with the Namibian capital has been the main catalyst to more than 15,000 people prospering here, with income mainly generated through tourism, mining activities, commerce and farming. It serves as the shopping destination of choice for outlying rural dorps as far away as Pofadder, Garies and Port Nolloth, but it is with the arrival of spring that the town is truly transformed.
The dusty plains of the region burst forth with blooms of a thousand colours as the wildflowers arrive in all their breath-taking glory. This spectacular floral display transforms the arid landscape and, in the process, draws tens of thousands of tourists to the region.
By Jacques Marais
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