THE NORTHERN CAPE is South Africa's biggest and least densely populated province. Consisting mostly of Karoo semi-desert and Kalahari thirstland, it's all about wide open spaces, big skies and immense distances. But it's not all drab and dusty by any means. The Orange River , which flows through the province, is a long, luscious, linear oasis where the combination of generous irrigation and year-round sunshine produces succulently sweet grapes for the fashionable tables of the world as well as a significant crop for wine production.
