---
title: "Colours of the Kalahari — answering the desert’s call"
description: "Ticking the Northern Cape, South Africa’s largest and least populous province, off my bucket list enticed me to travel 2,300km in five days with friends."
type: "NewsArticle"
publisher: "Daily Maverick"
site: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za"
section: "PHOTO ESSAY"
author: "Kassie Naidoo"
author_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/author/kassie-naidoo/"
canonical_url: "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2024-07-23-colours-of-the-kalahari-answering-the-deserts-call/"
published: "2024-07-23T09:00:54"
updated: "2024-07-22T08:42:09"
lang: "en-ZA"
word_count: 145
---

# Colours of the Kalahari — answering the desert’s call

> Ticking the Northern Cape, South Africa’s largest and least populous province, off my bucket list enticed me to travel 2,300km in five days with friends.

By Kassie Naidoo · Published 23 July 2024, 11:00 SAST · Updated 22 July 2024, 10:42 SAST

## Key points
- Call of the Kalahari: Ticking the Northern Cape, South Africa’s largest and least populous province, off my bucket list enticed me to travel 2,300km in five days with friends.
- Designer's dream in the Kalahari: Textures of sand, twig, and stone in ochre, white, grey, and blue palettes.
- Embrace Mother Earth: A place for stillness, moving with seasons, and experiencing nature's beauty and power.
- Fulfilling discovery: Witnessing incredible natural sculptures and textures.
- Harmony with nature: Appreciating both nurturing and destructive aspects of Mother Earth.

## Content

What I found will forever fulfil my designer’s heart: smooth, pocked and rough textures; ochre, white, grey and blue palettes; and nature’s incredible sculptures in sand, twig and stone. This is a place to be still, to move with the seasons and fully embrace Mother Earth, both in her nurturing and destructive aspects.

![Art on walls, Andriesvale. Photo: Kassie Naidoo](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/hfb8JOG6hWa0Z2VO2mx_MLPwvfg=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/39-Esc-10-Art-on-walls-Andriesvale.jpg)

*Art on walls, Andriesvale. (Photo: Kassie Naidoo)*

![Planetarium in Sutherland. Photo: Kassie Naidoo](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/ZGTAVSf-Tu4eha_htvNwBiHcyeA=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/39-Esc-8-Planetarium-in-Sutherland.jpg)

*Planetarium in Sutherland. (Photo: Kassie Naidoo)*

![Meeting my first quiver tree, Augrabies. Photo: Kassie Naidoo](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/lzmqwRkxIhDLsQ8K4oA8kkpCpzQ=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/39-Esc-16-Meeting-my-first-quiver-tree-Augrabies.jpg)

*Meeting my first quiver tree, Augrabies. (Photo: Kassie Naidoo)*

![Tree, rain, sand. Photo: Kassie Naidoo](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/krKrv2fbqcnqfj-ceaZAEw2Ea7o=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/39-Escape-2-Tree-rain-sand.jpg)

*Tree, rain, sand. (Photo: Kassie Naidoo)*

![Social Weaver community on the road to Upington. Photo: Kassie Naidoo](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/AtZMTThBaeis5l9HESMdbh50W4o=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/39-Escape-6-Social-Weaver-community-on-the-road-to-Upington.jpg)

*Social weaver community on the road to Upington. (Photo: Kassie Naidoo)*

![Shongololo out to meet the rain. Photo: Kassie Naidoo](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/tBtRIrg3ZqNFlbxyI_kAM2_xMm4=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Esc-9-Out-to-meet-the-rain.jpg)

*Shongololo out to meet the rain. (Photo: Kassie Naidoo)*

![Augrabies Falls, low rain season. Photo: Kassie Naidoo](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/KSOtVFFDsRZvQLQCg6TxDXXHJpo=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Esc-12-Augrabies-Falls-low-rain-season.jpg)

*Augrabies Falls, low rain season. (Photo: Kassie Naidoo)*

![Boorgat, Sutherland otherworldly. Photo: Kassie Naidoo](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/F5aycp7FTljRBRrLPdOJVohPNx0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Esc-14-Boorgat-Sutherland-otherworldly.jpg)

*Boorgat, Sutherland otherworldly. (Photo: Kassie Naidoo)*

![NG kerk in Sutherland. Photo: Kassie Naidoo](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/KaBVGvDWbXRSb6qWKbRDjsoiNp0=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Esc-16-NG-kerk-in-Sutherland.jpg)

*NG Kerk in Sutherland. (Photo: Kassie Naidoo)*

![Sunset, Andriesvale. Photo: Kassie Naidoo](https://cdn.dailymaverick.co.za/i/h4Idletv2gwNelkh0uicMe_bsF4=/200x100/smart/filters:strip_exif\(\)/file/dailymaverick/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/esc-18-Sunset-Andriesvale.jpg)

*Sunset, Andriesvale. (Photo: Kassie Naidoo) DM*

*This story first appeared in our weekly*Daily Maverick 168*newspaper, which is available countrywide for R35.*

![Image](https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/DM-20072024-001-scaled.jpg)