S1 - Ep 274 - Upington - On the Banks of the Mighty Orange River!

[@deonzar]

Yes Upington is a big place and you will need a few days to see it all, but I am so glad you saw Sakkie se Arkie...I have camped there twice...down on the lower level next to the water...what a nice place to stay. See you in the next one...

[@DustBugsTravel]

We're totally happy to only pick a few places of interest in a big town and move on to the next smaller place on our route. When we go back to Upington, it will be to relax, we think it's a great town! 🚙😁 I'm glad too that we could take you back to Sakkie se Arkie, that place has my kind of vibe too, as well as a setting one can surely not easily beat! 🏕️🌊 We'll see you in the next smaller place again tomorrow! 🤩

[@terrimeyer3815]

OMW how clean is Upington. Im blown away. I would consider living there it is that great. U2 have me spoilt for choice....SA is beautiful. Stay safe U2 dustbuggers 😍😍😋😋😋🤗🤗🤗🤗🙄🙄

[@DustBugsTravel]

Upington is a wonderful town from the section we got to see, we loved it and would definitely go back! Not only is it super green, but the folks are friendly and very welcoming and the town is clean and neat! 🤩🚙 I was happy that we could show you the Upington we saw! 🌳

[@mariusroos]

So beautiful. The Orange river provides the means to keep the town super green. I love Upington and it is indeed a town that is growing rapidly. Thank you for taking us there. The place where you stayed is stunning. Well done and thank you.

[@DustBugsTravel]

You're right about the green, it was just everywhere! 🌳💚 No complaints from us about that and the gorgeous Orange River, which we just love so much and got to see so often on this trip to the Northern Cape! 🤩🌊 Our accommodation and the grounds were wonderful! We appreciate you coming to Upington with us, a really fantastic place! 🚙

[@marindakemp2645]

So happy to see my place of birth. Enjoy all your videos. Addicted to it by now.

[@BrendonSchaferCT]

Great clip of the meerkat - I guess that is what he is? Often saw them in Kimberley, but they never allowed us so close. So cute. Been to Upington few times, mainly quick in and out and my feeling was that it is a very large town - possibly bigger than Kimberley. I also got the feeling it was quite a clean town. I remember the locals being friendly. An overall nice place. I agree, I'd go back given the opportunity. The heat though... That solar plant - very distracting and blinding too. Driving passed a few times, I didn't enjoy it. Not sure how wise it is. But, I guess it is the right area for it.

[@DustBugsTravel]

I thought it was a mongoose at the museum Either way, it was fantastic to get up close and personal with the little guy. 😍🦡 Upington is definitely a large town, much larger than the ones we normally explore, so in a big place like this we'll always only pick a few things that interest us and move on. Sonia and I haven't visited Kimberley together before and I am not sure how the size compares to Upington. I would've thought it's bigger, but I'm not sure at all! 🤷🏼‍♂️ As you're probably heard, both of us were incredibly taken with the solar plant and thought it just amazing how humankind can harness nature in a postive way. Given the current situation in our country, I definitely think it's the way forward. Different strokes for different folks, I guess! 🚙😁

[@BrendonSchaferCT]

@@DustBugsTravel happy if he is a mongoose. ;-) Would be interesting to know if Kimberley is bigger or not. I have not been back there since 1988 / 9. Whereas I have been to Upington in the last 5 years or so. Kimberley may have more people and more densely populated (from what I remember), but Upington seemed quite spread out. Enjoy your travels. I'm enjoying the armchair version :-)

[@1812nico]

Hi you two! Now this is something unexpected! I never thought that Upington is such a beautiful town (city?). Thank you for showing me! A real green Paradise in the Kalahari. Every view you gave us was stunning and reminded me of the Afrikaans Anglo-Boer War song, 'Sarie Marais' in which a boer fighter, longing to return to his beloved Sarie in the Ou Transvaal, i.a. sung: Ek was so bang dat die Kakies my sou vang En ver oor die see wegstuur, Toe vlug ek na die kant van die Upington se sand, Daar onder by die Grootrivier. (I was so scared that the Khakis would catch me And send me far across the sea. That I fled to the side of the Upington's sand Down there by the Great River. I love it when people treasure their heritage such as the camel, the donkey, the water pumps etc. Your overnight place was also great! Why? The CUPPAS! Upington clearly needs a longer visit than half a day. I'll be ready when you decide to go again! Keep safe!

[@DustBugsTravel]

I'm not sure whether Upington is a city, I have tried looking up the criteria, but it confuses me! 🤷🏼‍♂️😁 We were completely crazy about the camel and donkey monuments, they were right up our alley. We always love it when they honour the role animals played in our history, it's so often overlooked and forgotten! 🐪🐴 Our accommodation and the cuppas were fantastic and we were super relaxed when we left town. We're happy to only pick a few places of interest in a big town like this and move on, it's simply impossible for us to explore in-depth, like we love to do, in a place this size. It was a fantastic visit nonetheless, thank you for coming along! 🤩🚙

[@johncross2787]

What impressed me on the way from Upington towards Kenhardt was the excellent condition of the roads. Also the frequency of the rest stops and how clean they were, none of the usual rubbish laying around. A pleasure to drive the route. Solar One is just amazing, when we passed it was still under construction and the sheer size of it was incredible considering we'd never even heard of it! I am sitting in a b&b in Gillinngham, Kent, UK watching and enjoying the memories.

[@DustBugsTravel]

I'm glad our video reminded you of some good times you had in the area! Thank you for your positive comments about the roads too, it's fantastic to hear! 🚙🛣️ Don't get us started about that solar plant. We were literally blown away by it in the best way possible and it made us proud. Impressive is not the word! 😎 We appreciate you watching our video! 😁

[@ronnykenny3965]

Hi there. Totally gobsmacked, wow it sure has changed to when we were there in the 70s, couldn't believe it until I looked in the mirror & saw yes, time changes everything 😅

[@DustBugsTravel]

😁 Time does change everything and, luckily for Upington, it seems to have happened in a good way. It was great to see a town so clean, neat and green. We'd definitely like to go back one day. 😁🚙 I hope our video reminded you of some good times!

[@KirstyKohler]

Hey guys, we really enjoy your videos and wanted to just tell you! We recently moved to Ireland but everyday when we come home from work we put on your channel to see what you're up to and where you are. We thoroughly enjoy your positive attitudes to South Africa when everything else is so negative and gloomy, you bring out the beauty of the country. We often tell our Irish friends to look up your page if they want to see a bit of South Africa. Thank you for always sharing your experiences with us, we absolutely love it! Keep it up!

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you so much, we so appreciate your kind comment all the way from Ireland! 🤩🚙 We're very lucky that we just happen to see only the beauty in everything and fortunately there is still so much around! Just so you know, our videos are always a week to five weeks behind our actual travels since we only start editing when we're back home and have to do that in the evenings after work and over weekends. Our days on the road are so long that there is no time left for editing! We so appreciate you telling other folks about our channel and our beautiful country! 😍🇿🇦

[@KirstyKohler]

@@DustBugsTravel We've often wondered about that and how you get to travel so much😊 PS. We also just love the history lessons that you add, we've learnt so much about our own country that we've always lived in and never knew anything about, it's amazing! Safe travels on your next journey!

[@margretsas5362]

Wow my place my birth place the river is awesome my heart bleeds right now missing my town 😊♥️🙏🙏🙏🙏🙏

[@viceroy___]

Me too! My maatjie!!!

[@catherinedavy1022]

WOW. How Upington has changed. I was stationed at 8 SAI about 30 years ago. I am amazed. It is wonderful to see how it looks now. Thank you. 🇺🇸

[@DustBugsTravel]

We hadn't been in Upington for many years too and were equally surprised and very pleasantly so! 🚙🤩 I hope our video reminded you of some good times!

[@SuddenStorm982]

Was there in 8SAI in 1990, but spend most of our time at Riemvasmaak doing training.

[@schalkengelbrecht6989]

Me to was stasion at 8SAI from 1975-1985 and i must say Upington looks good and clean

[@viceroy___]

@@SuddenStorm982 Riemvasmaak was built on my family farm! Hier is ons almal nou weer!

[@arnoldtvisagie]

The potholes as you exit the town has since been fixed. I live here, you still had a lot to explore. Hope you come back soon.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you for letting us know, although potholes don't bother us, who prefer gravel roads anyway, too much! 🚙🛣️ When we visit a big place like Upington, we don't explore like we do the small towns since it's simply impossible to do so. We'll most certainly be back, but only to relax and enjoy the beautiful surroundings. You certainly live in a gorgeous town! 🌳🌊

[@thyscarstens5050]

Upington is stunning. Thank You for showing us that paradise

[@DustBugsTravel]

Stunning is an excellent word, that's exactly what Upington is! Thank you for watching! 😁🚙

[@charlietreston4035]

Hi guys what a gem as Sonia said an oasis. Clean well maintained full of facilities and even public swimming pool. The camel statue with police man shows the progress made top notch main street also shopping mall all modern places..the hidden camping area behind the main street was so tranquil river cruise and fishing amazing. The museum grounds were beautiful with donkey statue all the old farm equipment plus its own access to the river. I know I keep saying it but the meerkat in the pipe only in South Africa. Your accommodation the lovely gardens hidden gems. The cherry on top the big solar farm .Great video cheerio till the next one .I noticed that big bike flew past you and I remembered (wind gat ) my old mates would have said lol

[@DustBugsTravel]

Upington is indeed an oasis, that word is very apt to describe the part of town we stayed in. It's such a big place that we only got to see a small section of it and of course the river is absolutely stunning! 🌳🌊 I'm glad you also enjoyed the donkey and camel statues, we just loved those too! 🐪🐴 The solar farm was indeed the cherry on top, it literally blew us away in the best way possible! 😳 I don't mind the odd windgat biker passing us by, it reminds me of my own biking days, which I still very often miss! 🏍️👌🏻

[@sandragrobler2957]

So happy to see that the donkey also received recognition for its service and contribution over the years. Beautiful monument of the camel and policemen!

[@DustBugsTravel]

Indeed, I fully agree! 😍🚙 We just loved the camel and donkey monuments and thought they were some of the coolest things in town! 🐴🐪

[@munesumangava9751]

Was looking at real estate…. Beautiful dwellings. Indeed a paradise👍

[@livemusicbandssa]

If you ever go back or just want to have a great place to stay do visit the Tarentaal Rand Guesthouse its stunning and is close to everything loved it and will return again Upington is a stunning place !

[@DustBugsTravel]

We had a fantastic stay at Roodt Huiz Guesthouse too and found all the facilities and especially the grounds very relaxing. 🌳 And they fit into our budget too, which is always great! Thank you for the suggestion though. We loved Upington too. 😁🚙

[@hannesvanniekerk499]

What a lovely hot place. Thank you for clarifying the solar power plant which confused us on our last visit to SA.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Sure thing! It was fantastic to see that solar plant, we were absolutely gobsmacked in a fantastic way! 😳 Upington is indeed a great place to visit. Fortunately for us, not too hot at the time of our visit! 😁🚙

[@premierhoner614]

Hi you two. Thank you for posting this video. I'm amazed how clean it is. Upington is also now home base of Col Wynand Du Toit, ex army Recce and Angola P.O.W. Thank you once again for your posting of this video. We enjoyed it very much. Have a safe journey back home......

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you very much, I'm so glad to hear that you enjoyed our video of Upington! 😁🚙 The town is indeed very clean and neat and we loved every minute we spent in town. It was great to have you along. This trip was a few weeks ago already, our videos are always uploaded between one and five weeks after our trips to give us time to edit in-between work and other commitments.

[@flodillon991]

Well l am pleasantly surprised by Upington, a beautiful place. Loved the quest house where you stayed absolutely stunning. The camel amazing and the donkey both given tbere rightful place in history. The boat on the water was amazing. I experienced to go on a similar one many years ago it fantastic. Thank you for this amazing episode..

[@DustBugsTravel]

I can only imagine what a great experience it must've been for you on the riverboat years ago, it looks like a fantastic thing to do! 🌊⛵ Upington was a big and pleasant surprise to us too and we really enjoyed our time in the town. Of course the donkey and camel monuments were the cherries on top of a wonderful cake! 🐴🐪

[@annawitter5161]

I was just waiting for Upington. Never been there but heard a lot about it. Looks like a lot of wealthy people stay in Upington. What a lovely garden! Your pasta looks delicious, but I would need a salad with it. The camel monument is so cool. Why arent they still patrolling on camels? It makes absolute sense out there. They do it in arid parts of Australia. That church looks like a contented pussy cat sitting here, surveying all that goes on. I would love to go camping at Sakkie se Arkie, just to sit there and paint. The donkey monument is epic!!There is a wry irony in visiting a donkey powered machine during load shedding! Hullo? What are we missing here? I think the little ground squirrel was expecting food, he has been fed before. The solar power plant blew me away. Look out Eskom! Hier kom dingus!!! WE need to inspire more people to fund more like this. I am very impressed

[@DustBugsTravel]

We thought both the camel and donkey monuments were fantastic and just had to stop at both! 🐪🐴 My thought would be that camels aren't indigenous to our part of Africa, but I really have no accurate info as to why they don't use them anymore to patrol. 🤷🏼‍♂️ Our pasta was delicious, but we prefer ours without the green stuff! 😁 It was so appropriate to honour the camel and donkey and a few kilometers out of the same town we found this incredible solar plant which just literally blew our minds too! I'm glad we could show you Upington! 🤩🚙

[@FrancesGibb-re3wu]

We visited Uppington about 10 years ago (the museum was open). Like you I thought it a lovely town, clean and neat. The airfield is worth a visit, longest runway in the Southern Hemisphere, it was a diversion airfield for the space shuttle.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you for the info about the airfield, that's very interesting! 👌🏻🛩️ I'm glad you caught the museum open, it appears as if they're closed over weekends since we were there on a Saturday. The monument and artefacts outside were very cool to see though! 🤩🚙

[@munesumangava9751]

The big river again and the notion of the green Kalahari on display…..beautiful 👌

[@JennyBasson]

Upington is my vacation place nd there is a lot to see with very friendly people Uptize a place to be❤

[@munesumangava9751]

Loved the Camping site even though I’m not much of a camper……amazing!!

[@honeydate]

Love the accommodation, so comfortable. Upington is beautiful...so clean😯compared to my hometown Durban.

[@munesumangava9751]

Stunning church👌

[@andrewwilson3054]

If you ever go back to Upington area, check out the small town of Kakamas nearby, great video, loved Upington.

[@catherinedavy1022]

I was stationed at 8 SAI years ago. Upington was a great place back then. Thank you for the great memories. 🇺🇸

[@DustBugsTravel]

@Andrew Wilson Thank you, I'm glad you enjoyed Upington! 😁🚙 Thank you for the suggestion. We're long back from the Northern Cape already and had a fantastic time in the province. 👌🏻

[@lulamantshephe5595]

How far is Hotazhell??

[@steven-kh3qc]

Such an incredible place. Thank you for your in depth presentation of this great place which seems to be great shape

[@DustBugsTravel]

What we saw of Upington, indeed seemed in great shape and the town was clean and tidy! Thank you for coming along to a few places we handpicked for our overnight stay in town! 😁🚙

[@lulamantshephe5595]

Red soiled upington ❤️❤️❤️❤️👌

[@munesumangava9751]

Where you stayed is soo beautiful! Wasn’t sure what I’d call it, garden or plot or farm……..so stunning and big! Just like a resort yeah!👌👌👌👌

[@kosherchessandphotography4139]

Very nice to see what Upington looks like! Although my grandparents lived in Kakamas, I hardly spent any time in Upington! I never knew that policemen of old rode camels!

[@johangouws8855]

I just came across your feed today and it is super great to see the country again. I have a lot of catching up to do in the next few weeks. Thank you.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Welcome to our channel! 😁🚙 I'm glad you enjoy our videos, there are certainly enough of them to keep you busy for a while! Happy watching! 🇿🇦😍

[@munesumangava9751]

Lovely and clean hey!!!

[@DustBugsTravel]

Upington was a huge and pleasant surprise to us. A really beautiful town. 🚙😍

[@simphiwetom9509]

Wow! I was a Mechanical/Quality Supervisor of the Khi Solar One plant construction phase. Its beautiful.

[@marianaroseler5310]

You drove past my guesthouse Green Gables, bult street. I was excited. 😊

[@frederikbrits9559]

Lovely town, great video

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you for watching! 😁🚙

[@patshes1951]

There is a pub in Upington where you can order a nice steak. They give you the raw steak and a small salad, switch the gas griddle on and you cook it yourself.

[@DustBugsTravel]

I would love that, Sonia not so much! 😁🥩 Thanks for letting us know!

[@lulamantshephe5595]

Nice❤️👌

[@annamariebecker510]

Lovely town. Rondom street, quickly onto the N10 going to Namibia

[@billybeukes6704]

Hi you two. Thank you for all your blog's so beautifully presented. I have watched many other blogs and all you see us the road for kilos and kilos. Your blog's are informative and interesting. Keep on going. Arlette Beukes

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you, I'm so happy to hear that you enjoy our videos! 😁🚙 We do like sharing the odd tidbit of info that we come across in a town or place or online and I'm glad you enjoy them too. We do love the long road very much too and will always include some road footage in our videos as well. 🛣️

[@milesbrown8016]

Altyd goeie footage. 🤙🏻

[@leonehlers7241]

My Home Town!!!

[@DustBugsTravel]

You're very fortunate to call Upington your home, it's a fantastic place! 🤩🚙

[@ingeborgvanderveer789]

Prachtige episode! You can never have too many Dutch Reformed churches, zo lijkt het 😊. En jij weet altijd de hoeksteen te vinden, bravo, als in dit geval ook een alternatieve kerk’uil’, wat een snoezig diertje. In Nederland in oude dorpen vaak ook meerdere oude kerken, met goede afstand ertussen opdat de Gereformeerden en Hervormden elkaar niet zouden ‘kruisen’. Hetgeen overigens met mijn overgrootouders mislukte 😅. De christenen in mijn land moeten politiek gesproken nu even ‘pas op de plaats maken’; gisteren bij verkiezingen het CDA nogal verpletterd door de nieuwe partij van …. Boeren Burger Beweging. Dit behoeft geen vertaling in het Afrikaans 🚜😉, al klinkt het in die taal veel mooier, zoals dat woord ‘bakoventjes’!

[@DustBugsTravel]

Thank you so much, I'm glad you enjoyed our visit to Upington! 😁🚙 The cornerstone for us is the Birth Certificate of the church and it usually gives us all the info we need, if I can find it! 💒 Religion and politics are conversation topics I steer way clear from in life and on our channel, so I'll just continue admiring the architecture of the churches since that is what we really find incredible about them on our travels. Glad you could come along again!

[@lulamantshephe5595]

I speak a little bit of Afrikaans, so I could follow you here and tgere❤️🇿🇦

[@ingeborgvanderveer789]

@@lulamantshephe5595 dank voor uw reactie! Het Afrikaans lijkt nog steeds veel op het originele Nederlands 🇳🇱🇿🇦 Leuk dat wij elkaar op die manier een beetje kunnen verstaan 👍

[@bredsj]

My birthplace! Thanks for the video. But you need a better GPS, you took the long way to the Kalahari Mall.

[@EstelleBoy-sc2jm]

The man on the horse was real. His daughter was a Mrs.Joey Badenhorst. It was once lovely until 1994...😢

[@belloblackstone9439]

Hello there! Thoroughly enjoyed the video❤ What’s the name of the accommodation you stayed at overnight? How does one book with them? Thanks in advance 😊

[@DustBugsTravel]

I'm happy to hear you enjoyed visiting Upington with the two of us. 🚙😁 Our guesthouse was called Roodt Huiz Guesthouse and it was a lovely place. We booked through lekkeslaap at the time, but the establishment sadly appears to have closed down subsequently, if the info online is accurate. Upington is a big place, so I'm sure you'll be spoilt for choice with other accommodation options. Happy travels! 🏡

[@belloblackstone9439]

@@DustBugsTravel Thank you so much! Will search for other options. 😎

[@sbudaveyton]

Beautiful video, but why not go into the other areas like Lemoendraai, Rosedale, Kameelmond, Pabalello, etc. There is so much you have not shown. The Orange River Cellars and Dried Fruits Manufacturing, also what about the vineyards, the farms, the islands, Spitskop. You should have made a longer video or more parts. Nevertheless, not to sound ungrateful, thanks for uploading.

[@DustBugsTravel]

Our goal is not to include every possible place of interest in any particular town, especially not a big place like Upington. It's simply impossible to do so. We include in our videos places we wanted to see and choose to share our videos with those who may also enjoy travelling and may find the places we visit interesting. You may be new to our channel, so you may not know that we prefer exploring the smaller towns and places where we can see much more in the limited time available to us. You're welcome to check out the other 300+ videos on our channel. We're not worried in the slightest about what we supposedly missed in any place, instead we focus on what we were fortunate enough to see. Thank you for watching our video of Upington. 🚙🙂

[@davidwilliamson2115]

WHO Pays for the fuel and servicing on these continuous jaunts ?

[@DustBugsTravel]

Our trips cover very long distances, so are hardly jaunts. We finance them ourselves, but we have recently begun to receive accommodation and fuel sponsorships to help cover the costs. Because we rent a vehicle each time, we aren't responsible for any servicing. 🚙

[@EricZhu-ov2kp]

没有字幕，不利于我学习英语

[@DustBugsTravel]

You can try this: on any particular video of ours, go to Settings, then to Subtitles, then Auto-translate, then pick your preferred language. If that doesn't work, I unfortunately can't help you. 🤷🏻