Upington, Northern Cape

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Upington from the Air

Upington is a town founded in 1871 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. Its current population is estimated at 72,198 inhabitants. The town was founded in 1884 and named after Sir Thomas Upington, Attorney-General of the Cape. It originated as a mission station established in 1875 and run by Reverend Schröder. The mission station now houses the town museum, known as the Kalahari Orange Museum. The museum is also the home of the famous donkey statue, which recognizes the enormous contribution that this animal made to the development of the region during the pioneering days of the 19th Century.

Upington from the Air

The elevation of Upington is 2742 feet (835 metres) and its co-ordinates are 28°24′S, 21°16′E. It is the closest large centre to the Augrabies Falls, arguably the king of South African waterfalls. The landscape is very arid but the soil is fertile and crops such as fruit are grown in irrigated fields. The area is best known for its export-quality grapes, raisins and wines, which are cultivated on the rich flood plains of the Orange river.

1 Geography and climate
2 Wine Industry
3 Famous Upington people
4 Transportation
5 Interesting facts
6 External links

[edit] Geography and climate

**Climate Table**
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Highest recorded temperature (°C)	42	42	41	38	34	29	29	33	39	40	41	43	43
Average daily maximum temperature (°C)	36	34	32	28	24	21	21	23	27	30	33	35	29
Average daily minimum temperature (°C)	20	20	18	13	8	5	4	6	9	13	16	19	13
Lowest recorded temperature (°C)	10	9	5	2	-2	-5	-6	-7	-2	2	5	6	-7
Average monthly precipitation (mm)	24	35	37	26	10	4	2	4	4	9	17	17	189
Average number of rain days (>= 1 mm)	4	6	6	5	2	2	1	1	2	3	3	4	37
Source: South African Weather Service

[edit] Wine Industry

Upington's most famous wines are produced by an organization generally know as Orange River Wine Cellars (OWC). The organization has six depots in the area (all of them on the banks of the Orange River) at Upington, Kanoneiland, Grootdrink, Kakamas, Keimoes and Groblershoop. The wines from OWC are exported, inter alia, to Europe and the USA. The Upington region accounts for more or less 40% of South Africa's grape exports

[edit] Famous Upington people

Alice Krige
Scotty Smith - Robin Hood of the Kalahari

[edit] Transportation

Walker Flying Services

Upington has a modern airport and charter flights are available on request from [Walker Flying Services]. Scheduled flights are also available and is provided by SA Airlink (an affiliate of South African Airways).

In the first half of the 20th century there was a passenger train service from Cape Town to Upington but it is not clear whether this service is still in existence. Until the 1950's a narrow-gauge railway line (two foot gauge) ran from Upington to Kakamas and Keimoes, two nearby towns. The trains carried passengers and freight, being mainly dried fruit. The line was closed long ago.

[edit] Interesting facts

4900m Runway

Golf Course

Upington Airport has the longest runway in Africa at 4,900m (16,076ft)
Until the 1960s, the annual gliding world championships were held at the airport
The airport remains very popular with "air tourists" who fly light aircraft, because the weather is very stable
Die Eiland Holiday Resort in Upington has one of the longest and densest palm avenues in the southern hemisphere. The avenue of more than 200 date palms, planted 9m apart in 1935, is 1041m long.
Upington has the second longest railway bridge in Southern Africa (1 067 meter).