Upington (Nama: //Khara hais) is a town founded in 1873 and located in the Northern Cape province of South Africa, on the banks of the Orange River.The town was originally called Olijvenhoutsdrift (‘Olive wood drift’), due to the abundance of olive wood trees [clarification needed] in the area, but later renamed after Sir Thomas Upington, Attorney-General and then Prime Minister of the Cape.