Namaqualand Wild Flower Tours

Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Namaqualand flowers

Experience the miracle of the Namaqualand flowers – it is an experience of a
lifetime! Namaqualand is almost like a desert for most of the year, but
during spring time from August to September a wonder of nature occurs. After
the winter rains the landscape becomes a richly colored carpet of wild
flowers consisting of Namaqua Daisies, "Bottergousblom", "sambreeltjies",
"varkiesknol" and many more. This phenomenal explosion of colour transforms
the vast desert-like landscape of Namaqualand into a wonderland of flowers.
Freeman Patterson calls it the "Garden of the Gods" It is no surprise that
the Namaqualand spring flowers are world famous. After good rains winter
this botanical masterpiece puts on a show that is unrivaled anywhere on
Earth. Book a tour with us and come and enjoy the springtime flower
splendour of the Namaqualand.

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Namaqualand flowers

Saturday, May 02, 2015

Namaqua gives you with spellbinding floral displays

The Namaqua region will entice you with spellbinding floral displays erupting from the dry lands of the desert; outdoor adventure activities, a variety of nature reserves, trails through landscapes resembling the face of the moon, rare plants, and unique watersports and fishing opportunities will keep you coming back for more.

The Namaqua region's big skies, endless desert and carpets of flowers are all the reason you need to visit. Every year from July to September, the Namaqualand desert explodes into life. No fewer than 4 000 species of flowers, 1 000 unique to the region, paint the desert in colours that defy the skill of the greatest painter.

In spring, head to Namaqualand to find the flowers on the N7. The action starts five hours from Cape Town around the towns of Garies, Springbok Kamieskroon and Port Nolloth. Get out and walk in the fields of gold.

Enrich your experience of Namaqualand tourism by staying in a nature reserve. The 1 000-ha Skilpad Wild Flower Reserve (part of the Namaqua National Park) west of Kamieskroon is a prime location, close to the coast, it's less dry than neighbouring areas. The Kamiesberg mountains offer superb mountain biking.

Birdlovers relish Goegap Nature Reserve, with 92 bird species, including majestic black eagles. A guided tour in an open truck lets you share their view.

The audacious are rewarded by the Richtersveld National Park, a stark lunar wilderness of gold, yellow, pink, white and purple. This World Heritage Site also hosts numerous animal, bird and plant species, including the uncanny halfmens succulent, named after its resemblance to a human silhouette. Warning: a 4x4 is mandatory in this terrain.

But Namaqua activities go beyond daisies. Why not go rafting down the Orange river? You needn't be fit or experienced: qualified river guides make sure you can just enjoy the scenery, swim, and fish.

And a truly primal experience: desert fly-fishing. Fly-fishing camps are held from May to September on the Orange River in the Richtersveld National Park. Fishing in pleasant temperatures for yellow fish, mudfish and barbel as fish eagles wheel overhead. You can't get much closer to nature than that.

In Namaqualand you will find acres of daisies

The area stretching north and west from Cape Town is an austere landscape
with its own, rather minimalist, aesthetic - and it's not much appreciated
outside of flower season. But desert and semi-desert areas do have their own
appeal.

The sky is open and beautiful. The distant hills and the many-coloured rocks
are an awesome sight even though their colour ranges are a palette of browns
and greys and dusky purples.

Of course, this all changes in spring, when there is absolutely no lack of
colour whatsoever. Any colour you can think of, you'll find. During the
flowering season, for a few weeks over August and September, it's a case of
trying to fit as much colour and shape in as possible into the area.

Superlatives don't do justice to this spectacle. You will find yourself
constantly changing your focus from gazing out across a few acres of
multi-coloured daisies, which almost seem to have been cultivated, or
focusing close to your feet and revelling in the myriad of different flowers
co-existing in the space of a few metres.

No exaggeration, you will find acres of daisies, or brightly coloured bulbs.
Tiny little pockets of delicate flowering plants create a private garden
every few metres down the road and everywhere, flowers flourish for their
brief but sublime moment in the sun.

Obviously, the exact timing of the flowering and the very best viewing
positions change from year to year and even within the season, so it is best
to get the latest up-to-date flower reports before heading off. Truly, the
blooming of the desert is almost biblical in its proportions.

And when the sun goes down and the daisies, vygies, orchids and the other
flowers curl up their petals against the chill - the stars are almost as
impressive. Like anywhere, the desert sky is a stupendous starlit expanse -
with the Southern Cross hanging over it all.

my motto is "Keep it simple" and "don't leave anything for tomorrow that can
be done today."

Regards Gerald Crawford

Stellenbosch South Africa
E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws

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Namaqualand

my motto is "Keep it simple" and "don't leave anything for tomorrow that can
be done today."

Regards Gerald Crawford

Stellenbosch South Africa
E-mail: gerald@webcraft.ws

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Namaqualand

Namaqualand is a kaleidoscope of colour waiting for you

Namaqualand, an area that for the majority of the year can be described as semi-arid and desert like, with little colour, and few tourist attractions, is transformed into a kaleidoscope of colour and tourist hype when spring arrives.

In the months of August and September (predominantly, but also sometimes into October), the usual wilderness of dirt and grass is hardly recognisable: flowers in their thousands, and in their varying colours and sizes, fill fields and mountainsides, often for as far as the eye can see. My grandfather described this phenomenon as the “best thing” he has ever seen in his life- from someone who has travelled the world over, I thought it was wise to heed his words and find out for myself what all the hype was about. My first mission into the area took place last year on the 25th of August 20000. The day is forever etched in my mind for it surpassed my wildest expectations.

The wild flowers of Namaqualand are without a doubt one of the greatest and most spectacular natural phenomena that one will ever witness.

Although the official Namaqualand Flower Route lies approximately five hours’ drive north of Cape Town, those in search of a ‘kaleidoscope flower adventure’ closer to the city can head off to Postberg – a small section of the West Coast National Park found close to Langebaan (Read a blog about spring flower spotting in the West Coast National Park). A day trip here gives a small taste of the extreme beauty and rarity of these Namaqualand Wild Flowers – it is certainly a good start.

For those who have the time and desire to adventure further north, the real flowers can be found far up the N7 on a series of drives around the towns of Garies, Kamieskroon, Springbok, and Port Nolloth in the Northern Cape. However, the following towns themselves, and areas surrounding them also promise to offer good flower-viewing opportunities: Citrusdal, Clanwilliam, Lamberts Bay, Niewoudtville and Vredendal.

The Cape West Coast stretches from Cape Town as far as the border with the Northern Cape at Touws River, including within its parameters the indescribably beautiful Cederberg Mountains, famous for centuries-old rock art. All along this stretch of coastline is a series of quaint historic towns and fishing villages with names like Lambert’s Bay, Paternoster, Saldanha and Langebaan that today roll with ease off the tongue, but until fairly recently were left to languor in relative obscurity.

Salt of the earth residents make the area from Ganzekraal to Strandfontein their home, where snoek, mussels and crayfish are a way of life and ‘bokkoms’ (salted mullet strung up in bunches and left to dry) is the local delicacy. Route 27 on the Cape West Coast is a seafood mecca and a number of open-air beach restaurants offer unsurpassed seafood fresh from the sea, cooked on open fires whilst you watch the sun sink slowly over the sea.

Just outside of Cape Town, the little town of Darling deserves a stop, especially in September for its Wild Flower and Orchid show and for its locally produced wines. A little further up the coast, the West Coast National Park is the closest spot outside of Cape Town where one can sample the spring flower season. The Fossil Park, which lies just next door to the park, has uncovered 200 different kinds of animals, many of them new to science.

Parallel to the R27, the N7 passes through the Swartland to the equally beautiful towns of Citrusdal and Clanwilliam. Take a detour to Ceres and travel from here to Citrusdal along the Gydo Pass. Just after you pass over the Koue Bokkeveld Mountains you reach the Koue Bokkeveld, a valley famous for its red apples, pears, peaches, plums, apricots and unpretentious hospitality.

The Cederberg Wilderness, 71 000 hectares of mountainous terrain that runs almost north to south from Clanwilliam to Citrusdal, is renowned for its stark, rugged beauty, whilst gentle walks in the Cederberg when spring transforms the landscape into a carpet of yellow, orange and purple, will not fail to bring you closer to the natural rhythms of a world where fynbos, succulents and wide open skies couldn’t be more remote from city living.

Namaqualand Flower Route is normaly a arid semi-desert place but in Aug and Sept is all changes

What at first glance appears to be a wilderness of semi-desert - arid, dusty plains that stretch before one, dramatic mountains in the background, with little by way of colour or animation - is suddenly transformed, as if by a painter with a manic palette, into a pageant of flowers.

The Namaqualand Flower Route lies roughly 5 hours north of Cape Town. You can already see evidence of flowers even in Cape Town, and Postberg, a small section of the West Coast National Park close to Langebaan, gets the juices flowing, but the real flower show belongs to a series of drives that centre on the towns of Garies, Springbok, Kamieskroon and Port Nolloth, way up the N7.

Included in the wild flower route are the Richtersveld National Park, Goegap Nature Reserve, and Skilpad Wild Flower Reserve.

Try and include Alexander Bay and the Orange River mouth and estuary in your itinerary. (You can arguably see wild flowers all over the Namaqualand, West Coast and Olifants River Valley, and towns such as Citrusdal, Clanwilliam, Lamberts Bay, Nieuwoudtville and Vredendal will not disappoint either).

The riot of flowers is a highly volatile exhibition. Almost 4,000 different species of plant seeds lie awaiting germination that depends entirely on what the weather is doing. Thus every year between July and October brings a different formula, and a different selection of flowers. A requisite stop is at the local tourist information bureau to find out where that year's best flower displays are.

It is hardly surprising that the spectacle is such a draw card to the Namaqualand, where you will need at least two to three days to take in the torrent of colour and the extent of the floral display, if the desert is experiencing a good year.

And the flowers do not have to be approached by car alone. There are hiking and cycling routes that allow close scrutiny of the flower route's indigenous flora, such as those in the Goegap Nature Reserve that also provide picnic spots and overnight facilities.

Namaqualand

Namakwa is truly a land of contrasts. For the major part of each year this seemingly arid expanse of sun-baked, sandy plains and granite mountains hides a wondrous secret. With the first rains in early winter, these dry lands are transformed into a kaleidoscope of brilliant colour in spring. Daisies, perennial herbs, aloes, lilies and a host of other species create a tapestry of indigenous spring flowers which are unparalleled anywhere. Adapting to a climate defying all life, they survive and thrive in a beautiful land of blistering extremes.