Original subtitles

(whooshing) (resonating music)

(dramatic music)

(exciting music)

- Our journey begins in the harsh landscape

of South Africa's Northern Cape at the Orange River,

where vineyards line the banks.

The river continues through

one of South Africa's most dramatic landscapes,

the Augrabies National Park.

We then head west to the Atlantic Ocean

in the Diamond Coast,

where these precious gems were first discovered in 1908.

Much of the coastline is very remote

until we reach Lambert's Bay,

where holidaymakers travel up from Cape Town in the south,

and a lucky few can afford to build houses

overlooking the sea.

Inland from the coast is Clanwilliam,

where rooibos tea is grown at the only place in the world

where it will flourish.

Our last location is the dramatic Cederberg Mountains,

which are some of the oldest in the world

and boast spectacular rock formations.

Much of the Northern Cape is an arid desert-like landscape,

where large antelope called gemsbok, or South African oryx

thrive in these dry conditions.

They live in herds of between 10 and 40 animals

and are mainly desert-dwelling,

not depending on drinking water to supply their needs

as they supplement their water intake in the dry season

by eating wild melons and cucumbers,

which provide almost all the water they need.

Flowing through this arid landscape is the Orange River.

This is the longest river in South Africa

at just over 2,000 kilometers.

It rises in the Drakensberg Mountains

in the small nation of Lesotho,

and flows westwards across the country

before turning north into Namibia,

and emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.

Near the town of Upington,

the river provides irrigation for a number of wineries,

which began production here in 1965.

The largest producer is Orange River Cellars,

which have six wineries

along this narrow strip of fertile land.

(percussive music)

Since 2010, Northern Cape wines have begun winning

several awards at international events

for the grape varieties grown.

Away from the river, the landscape returns to dry desert,

and unsurprisingly, is also sparsely populated.

So it is somewhat strange

to find an enormously long runway at Upington Airport.

In fact, it's the sixth longest in the world

at just under 5,000 meters.

It was constructed in the 1970s.

And the reason for the extraordinary length

was to allow South African Airways to land Boeing 747s

for refueling before going on to Europe nonstop.

This was necessary as countries to the north

refused them landing rights until 1996.

Today, Upington serves as an international cargo hub

for non-scheduled charter flights exporting grapes

from the region directly to Europe and other countries.

It's also a good place for us to land and refuel

before setting off across the desert.

Our next location is close to the Namibian border,

and one of South Africa's most dramatic landscapes,

the Augrabies National Park.

(gentle music)

The original Khoekhoe residents

named one part of this dramatic landscape

Ankoerebis or "place of great noise,"

and with good reason.

(water swooshing)

These are the Augrabies Falls, where the Orange River flows

into the largest granite gorge in the world.

Over thousands of years,

the power of the water has carved out the gorge

below the water level to a depth of around 100 meters.

The gorge itself is 240 meters deep.

When the river floods,

four times more water falls here per second

than at the Niagara Falls in North America.

(water swooshing)

Following heavy rains,

over 7,000 cubic meters of water

pass over the falls every second.

That is the amount required to fill

three Olympic swimming pools in the blink of an eye.

It's a truly awe-inspiring and spectacular sight.

(somber music)

The name Augrabies was given to the falls

by a Swede named Hendrik Jacob Wikar

when he passed through here in 1799.

And it was this name which was given

to the new national park in 1966.

The surrounding granite landscape

seems to come from another planet,

with great folds of rock shaped millions of years ago.

And running for 18 kilometers through the center

of this 28,000 hectare park is the Orange River,

with both sides of the gorge punctuated by craggy outcrops,

forming projecting landmarks.

And in the arid landscape springbok,

giraffes and leopards roam freely.

Though in the heat of midday,

they will be sheltering from the oppressive heat.

The hottest season is between December and February,

when the temperature here

can reach close to 40 degrees Celsius.

There are many trails, some for the more adventurous,

taking days to hike,

as the landscape makes it one of the most

scenic parks to explore.

(dramatic music)

Overnights are spent in rustic huts that contain bunk beds

and mattresses, basic toilets, and drinking water,

firewood, and a few cooking utensils.

There is no electricity and no showers.

Early man has inhabited this area since the Stone Age.

When during this time,

evidence has been found that they had developed weapons

for hunting animals, such as the hippopotamus.

They also established themselves

near a good source of water,

just as today's farmers make use

of the thin strip of fertile land alongside the river.

But away from the river, in this dry semi-desert landscape,

not much will grow.

(calm music)

However, there is one tree

that has perfectly adapted itself to withstand

the extreme temperatures as well as the infertile soil,

the giant aloe tree.

It's distinctive silhouette

is typical of this part of the Northern Cape.

When the tree has hundreds of flowers in the winter,

flocks of birds are attracted to their copious nectar.

And baboons can be seen tearing the flowers apart

to get the sweet liquor.

It's known locally as the quiver tree

and grows up to five meters high.

The name comes from the San people who use the soft branches

to make quivers or containers for their arrows.

As we head west across the desert towards the coast,

we find an extraordinary patterned landscape,

but no one is quite sure how it was formed.

These circular smooth-topped mounds

are known locally as fairy circles,

and there are literally thousands of them.

They occur in a band just off the coast

and run for about 2,500 kilometers

from Angola in the north, down to here in South Africa.

They appear in largely remote and inhospitable areas,

and were first mentioned in scientific literature

during the 1920s.

There had long been debate

about the causes of these circles,

ranging from the mundane to the supernatural.

In 2008, it was believed that residual toxins

from a dead plant might have caused the circles.

And a few years later,

it was suggested that sand termites

may have created them.

The debate continues,

and this extraordinary ancient landscape

remains a mystery to the present day.

Our journey now takes us south along the coast.

This part of the Northern Cape

is the largest and most sparsely populated region

in the country.

It's also among the least visited

with a limited tourist infrastructure.

(waves swooshing)

The west coast is a wild, desolate, and windy place,

where the Atlantic Ocean rolls in.

And the sea is also decidedly colder

than the Indian Ocean on the other side of the country.

Even though the coastline

is remarkably flat and seemingly benign,

the amount of shipwrecks littering the coast

tells a different story.

(uplifting music)

Westerly winds and high seas have forced many a ship

onto the rocky shoreline,

where they quietly rust away and gradually break up.

There is a tourist route for off-road vehicles

called the Shipwreck Tour,

which takes visitors along fairly unforgiving coastal roads

of sand, pebbles, and rocks.

For many seabirds, particularly cormorants,

the wrecks make splendid nesting places.

These birds are widespread in South Africa,

particularly here on the west coast.

They construct shallow nests

using seaweed, sticks, and guano.

And live in dense colonies

at pecking distance from one another.

(uplifting music)

Along the coast,

there are a number of lighthouses to aid ships at sea.

This is the Groenriviermond Lighthouse,

which is a 17 meter high concrete tower built in 1988.

The range of its powerful lamp

can be seen 50 kilometers out to sea.

It's part of a chain of automated lighthouses

stretching right along the coast down to Cape Town.

Each lighthouse has its own distinctive sequence of lights,

which will be marked on navigation maps,

so that at night, and perhaps in danger,

ships can tell which one it is,

and know exactly where they are along the coast.

In 1908, the first diamonds were discovered on a beach

along the west coast of Africa.

And almost immediately,

a 25,000 square kilometer area of desert

and 1,000 kilometer length of coastline were closed off

as a diamond concession.

Today, it's known as the Diamond Coast.

Although the great majority of diamonds are mined inland,

they were originally deposited under water,

having been carried into the sea by rivers

at a time when the oceans were at a higher level.

In Hondeklip Bay,

are two diamond mining ships converted from fishing vessels.

They are quite literally marine vacuum cleaners.

They go out to sea for about three weeks

and suck up potentially rich alluvial sand.

The boats operate in strict concession areas,

which are owned by the various mining companies.

When the ship is full, it returns to harbor,

where the sand is sent to a processing plant

for sifting and sorting.

Just inland from the coast, are large diamond mines.

Diamonds originate as carbon particles

in the Earth's mantle,

which are subjected to such high pressure and temperature

that they crystallize to form diamonds.

Millions of years ago,

the molten rock, or magma, in the mantle,

burst through weak points in the Earth's crust as volcanoes.

And it is in the pipe of cold magma called kimberlite,

after the Kimberley mine in South Africa

that diamonds are found.

However, finding kimberlite

isn't necessarily a license to print money.

In every 100 tons of mined material,

there will only be about four grams of good stones.

Diamonds are measured in carats.

The name derives from the carob bean,

which was used as a measure of weight.

A small, single diamond ring, for instance,

might weigh in at under half a carat.

In South Africa,

the total weight of diamonds mined in recent times

is roughly 15 million carats a year.

In the past, mining companies just abandoned old sites,

and left scars on the landscape.

Nowadays, they are returned to nature

with a great deal of replanting and landscaping.

Along the coast is evidence of past human life.

These are the Spoegrivier Caves,

which will form part of a new coastal park

and gain even more protection

for their architectural importance.

Perhaps their very remoteness

has meant they have remained largely undisturbed.

Evidence has been found in the caves

of the earliest sheep in South Africa,

as the bones date back about 2,000 years.

The caves are on a track for off-road vehicles,

so strict rules state that anyone visiting them

is not allowed to camp in them, start a fire,

do any digging, or take any vehicle into them.

(peaceful music)

In this warm, dry climate,

it is not surprising to find sea salt production

where the salt is the residue

from the evaporation of seawater

rather than being mined from sedimentary deposits.

Here, the salt is produced by pumping seawater

across salt flats before arriving in the salt pans.

By then it is saturated in salt,

and the water is evaporated by the sun and the wind,

allowing the salt to crystallize.

It's then harvested in the autumn, and shipped to market.

Even though many food lovers and chefs

say sea salt tastes nicer and has a better texture,

experts say that there is little or no health benefit

to using it over other forms of sodium chloride.

However, it's true that table salt

is more heavily processed to eliminate minerals,

and usually contains an additive to prevent clumping.

As we head south along beautiful pristine beaches,

we leave the Northern Cape province,

and cross into the Western Cape province.

(soft music)

The remoteness of this landscape is about to end,

as we are now only 300 kilometers from Cape Town,

and close enough for city dwellers

to start building holiday homes.

As we approach Lambert's Bay,

it's only the more affluent families

who can afford these luxury houses

with their unrivaled views of sea and coast.

Lambert's Bay started life as a small fishing town

in the Western Cape.

But more recently

has been proclaimed "the diamond of the west coast"

because of its white beaches, wildlife, and seafood,

particularly lobsters.

Although primarily a fishing town,

it has become a significant tourist attraction

on the west coast due to its moderate,

all-year-round climate.

And being only a two-hour drive from Cape Town,

the harbor is also home to more diamond mining ships

with their coiled vacuum hoses.

Alongside these vessels

is the small but important three hectare sized

Bird Island Nature Reserve.

It is one of just six breeding colonies

of Cape gannets on Earth,

and is also a significant nesting and roosting site

for a variety of other seabirds,

including Cape cormorants and kelp gull.

On the beach to the south of the town,

is the Muisbosskerm fish restaurant,

which is often voted one of the top 10 restaurants

in the whole country.

It was started as a hobby to entertain family and friends,

and only became a business in 1986.

It now offers the freshest seafood and an extensive buffet,

which will take over two hours to enjoy.

Our journey now leads us away from the coast

and inland towards Clanwilliam Dam lake.

On the way,

we pass these rather dramatic striped field patterns,

which can only be properly seen from the air.

(soft music)

This is the Clanwilliam reservoir,

which has become a major resort

for all sorts of outdoor activities.

Purpose of the reservoir is to provide water,

irrigation downstream from the lake.

The first dam was constructed in 1935,

along the Olifants River.

And in 1964, the height was raised to 43 meters

to provide for the increasing demand for water.

Since 2015,

there's been a plan to raise the height of the dam again.

However, since filming the reservoir,

low rainfall in the Western Cape,

has made water a very scarce resource.

And the water level has fallen to under 6% of its capacity.

Even when the rains do come,

it will take many years for the water level

to rise to full capacity once again.

Clanwilliam is also the only place in the world

where rooibos tea is grown.

And ahead of us is the Red T plantation,

one of many small tea growers in the district.

The name rooibos translates as red bush.

It's been drunk by local people for centuries.

But it was only in the 1930s

that a proper production method was developed.

To make red rooibos, the leaves are picked, chopped,

and left to cure outside in the mountain air

on large concrete slabs, slowly turning a deep red color.

The key difference between it and ordinary teas,

is that rooibos has no caffeine.

It is also a refreshingly light tea with a mellow taste

and a slight natural sweetness.

And unlike many other teas, which can be a little bitter,

rooibos contains very low levels of tannins.

As a result,

no matter how long you leave your tea bag in the cup,

the tea will always remain delicate and light,

and never stewed.

Rooibos tea grows in the foothills of our final location,

the extraordinary Cederberg Mountains.

In 1973, around 700 square kilometers of this mountain range

were turned into the Cederberg Wilderness Area,

administered by CapeNature,

the government body responsible

for maintaining nature reserves in the Western Cape.

This mountainous area is well-known

for its spectacular rock formations

that were sculpted by wind and water

over many millions of years.

Almost the entire area consists

of sedimentary rock, sandstone and shale,

and was formed around 130 million years ago

before the African and American continents drifted apart,

creating what is now the Atlantic Ocean.

(uplifting music)

Over all this time,

wind and water have carved the Cederbergs

into a magical landscape.

Pinnacles and fissures seem to create fantasy castles,

and reddish rocks start to resemble

strange creatures frozen in action.

This extraordinary landscape

is part of the Cape Floral Region

that has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

The area is also rich in wildlife.

And visitors with keen eyesight

may spot porcupines and aardvarks.

And for the more patient,

the elusive leopard, and many other smaller predators.

One of the highest points in the range

is Tafelberg or Table Mountain,

not to be confused with a more famous one

overlooking Cape Town to the south.

This wilderness area is a popular place to go hiking,

and one of the favorite trails is to the top of Tafelberg,

where the views are breathtaking.

(gentle music)

Other trails will take hikers past two well-known landmarks.

The first is the Maltese Cross,

which stands out alone on a high plane.

It has been created by softer stone,

slowly eroding away over thousands of years,

leaving this harder stone cross-like shape.

It's a spectacular example of nature

sculpting a natural work of art.

But there is an even more spectacular rock formation

high up in the peaks of the Cederberg Mountains.

This is the Wolfberg Arch, where again,

the softer rock has eroded away,

leaving this dramatic, almost architectural formation.

It's a perfect place to end this journey.

(exciting music)

(whooshing) (resonating music)