One hundred and eight paddlers from across the nine provinces of South Africa will participate in the two-day Orange Descent Canoe Marathon stage race, covering 54km, to be held in Upington and surrounding areas on 7 and 8 November 2020.

The Northern Cape Tourism Authority supports the events as part of promoting the destination’s sports tourism. The chairperson of the Northern Cape Tourism Authority (NCTA), Mr Colin Fortune, shared his sentiments about the event:

“We are excited to support the Orange Descent Canoe Marathon event in the Green Kalahari region after not seeing events taking place for a long time this year due to Covid-19 pandemic.

“While we are all still observing the Covid-19 protocols outlined by the government, we are pleased to host such a number of paddlers in the Northern Cape. For two days these paddlers will be battling it out on the mighty Orange River trying to achieve the event winning record.”

The event starts on Saturday 7 November at Die Punt Resort in Keimoes and will see the K1 SA River Champs taking on a challenge of 26km downstream towards Die Mas Resort in Kakamas. The last day of the race is on Sunday 8 November for the K2 SA River Champs, which will start at Sakkie se Arkie in Upington, taking on a 28km course to the finish point at Oranje Rus Resort in Kanoneiland. No spectators are allowed at the event.

“From the provincial tourism destination, we wish the participants the warm hospitality of the Northern Cape and further encourage them to visit the Northern Cape with their families for the summer holidays and explore the beauty of the tourism offerings that await them. I also wish all the visitors to the province safe travels and ask that they abide by Covid-19 health protocols when travelling,” said Mr Fortune.

The !Ae!Hai Kalahari Heritage Park was voted as one of the 20 must-do experiences for 2020 by the prestigious National Geographic Traveller, thus making the Northern Cape a Southern African bucket-list destination.

The province is divided into five regions: the Diamond Fields, Green Kalahari, Kalahari, Karoo and Namakwaland. Each region offers one or more specially packaged routes to give visitors an easy do-it-yourself option to explore the province’s incredible year-round experiences.

The Northern Cape further offers two World Heritage Sites – the Khomani San Cultural Landscape and Richtersveld Cultural and Botanical Landscape; six transfrontier and national parks: Augrabies Falls National Park, Ai/Ais-Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, Kgalagadi Transfrontier Park, Mokala National Park, Namaqua National Park and Tankwa Karoo National Park; the world’s sixth-largest waterfall – the Augrabies; two of Africa’s largest deserts – the Nama and the Kalahari; two of Africa’s mighty rivers, the Orange and Vaal; and five provincial nature reserves: Doornkloof Nature Reserve, Goegap Nature Reserve, Rolfontein Nature Reserve, Oorlogskloof Nature Reserve and the famed roaring sands of the Kalahari at Witsand Nature Reserve.

Ends.

Released by the Northern Cape Tourism Authority. For enquiries please contact Mr Tebogo Velembo, marketing communications officer, on +27 (0)71 462 3150 or email [email protected].