Upington is a town founded in 1884 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River. The town was 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 a donkeystatue, which recognizes the enormous contribution that this animal made to the development of the region during the pioneering days of the 19th Century.
The elevation of Upington is 2742 feet (835 metres). It is the closest large centre to the Augrabies Falls, arguably the greatest 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.
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. Dig a little deeper and you'll find privately owned cellars, producing quality red and white wines as well. BezalelDyasonsklip offers a variety of local treasures, such as low tanin red wines, 5 year old Pot-stilled brandy, a mampoer range and liquers. The Upington region accounts for more or less 40% of South Africa's grape exports.
