Flower viewing tips

From just outside Cape Town all the way to the Namibian border, the exuberance of spring flowers of the West Coast, Cedarberg and north to Namaqualand have a worldwide reputation.

This area, which receives little rain throughout the year, after the winter rains of May to July, the normally dry landscape explodes into a carpet of wild flowers. Vibrant fields of gousblomme vygies, nemesias, lachenalias, babiana and ixias appear in great profusion.

The entire region is rich in species found nowhere else in the world such as the yellow Leucospermum reflexum, the Snow Protea (protea cryophylla), blue Lachanaea filamentosa, yellow sparaxis, pink Cyanella alba and the Clanwilliam Cedar (widdringtonia cedarbergensis). The wide variety of wild flowers in this area is largely due to the varied topography - fertile valleys contrast with high mountains, the semi-desert plains of the north contrast with the unique sandveld region near the coast with its wetter vlei areas.

Best visiting time
The flower season peaks between early August and late September and its delights depend on the winter rains. Some years are better than others. If there has been a steady flow of cold fronts during the winter, then it is likely to be a good flower season. However spring temperatures are also important. If it heats up too quickly then the early visitors have glorious sunshine but the flowers do not last very long.

The Catch 22 is that lots of rain means good flower displays. But if it continues to rain during the spring, then it’s not so much fun to view the flowers! Flowers only show their faces to the sun, so no sun means the flowers remain closed.

As a general rule the wild flowers begin in Namqualand in late July/early August and then advance southwards towards the West Coast north of Cape Town as September approaches. Thus if you are planning a trip for early to mid September, you will be too late for Namaqualand but fine for the West Coast...

How to enjoy the area

Fundamentally there are five main options:

1. Hire a car and set aside several days to roam the flower area. It is preferable to book overnight accommodation in various different areas, so that you can see as much as possible. Having your own vehicle and being free agents, so to speak, you will be able to visit and enjoy various aspects of each area other than those designated by a guided tour.
2. Use a reputable tour operator who will be able to advise you where and when to go and where to stay. This gives you the flexibility to plan a tour of your exact choosing. You are free to explore some back roads and get out of the car to walk in the flowers as much as you want.
3. Take an escorted specialist flower tour such as a five day Wild Flower Tour with a small group of like-minded enthusiasts. The benefits are that your guide is both knowledgeable about the flowers and also knows which routes are likely to prove most rewarding in terms of flower-viewing.
4. If you don’t have so much time, you can also do a day tour from Cape Town. This works well later in the spring when the wild flowers of the southern West Coast are in bloom ie within easy driving distance of Cape Town. However it is too far to get north to Namaqualand in one day. You can arrange a full day tour to the Cedarberg and Sandveld areas but this is a long driving day.
5. If you have just a couple of nights, arrange a transfer from Cape Town to one of the lodges in the heart of the Cedarberg which usually has excellent flower displays. Good examples would be Bushmanskloof Wilderness Reserve, which also has excellent examples of San rock art and lots of indigenous game, or the well-priced Oudrif Lodge.

Tips for viewing the flowers

As the flowers all turn to face the sun, a good general principle is to travel to the northernmost part relatively quickly and then do most of your flower-viewing in a southerly direction so that the flowers are always facing you.

The flowers are at their best between 11:00am and 16:00pm in the afternoon so there is no need to rush out straight after breakfast, (unless you have some travelling to do before you get to the flower region). This is a good time to explore other activities offered by whatever area you happen to be in at the time.

The flowers will not come out in heavily overcast or rainy weather so you should plan to visit other sights on such days. Keep this fact in mind when planning your trip.
The displays are noticeably better if you travel with the sun behind you so that the flowers are facing you. So when planning your daily route, try to travel in a westerly direction in the morning, southerly during the day and turn east in the afternoon.
• Get out of your car and walk amongst the flowers - you will smell them and appreciate them so much more!

The Main Flower Areas
Namaqualand
We suggest that you head north to Springbok at a fairly fast pace and then meander southwards at a more leisurely place so that the spring flowers are always facing you. There are various side roads which are often rewarding for flowers. Visit the Goegap Nature Reserve and Skilpad Wildflower Reserve at Kamieskroon.

Niewoudtville
Try to include Niewoudtville on any flower tour as many flowers, bulbs and orchid species that are not found anywhere else in South Africa can be seen here. The other charming aspect of Nieuwoudtville is the number of local farms which open their gates to visitors (usually for a small fee) and allow you to drive all over the farms viewing the flowers – perfect for picnics. Some even also have little curio shops and impromptu coffee shops during the flower season. A very charming way to spend a day…

The Cedarberg
From Nieuwoudtville you travel down the dramatic, if slightly challenging Botterkloof pass and into the Cedarberg. At the foothills of the Cedarberg lies the picturesque town of Clanwilliam and a number of rewarding flower routes such as the splendid Biedouw valley - which can be the highlight of any flower tour in a good year - the Boskloof valley or Nardouwsberg.

A visit to the Ramskop Wild Flower Garden is an absolute must! Ramskop probably has one of the best displays of wild flowers in the country and looks especially fine during the flower season and beyond. There’s a new medical plant section in the garden.

If you pick your dates right, you can also visit the Clanwilliam Flower Show held at the end of August. Every year about 400 species from 32 families are exhibited in their typical setting at the fascinating Clanwilliam Wild Flower show with their botanical names, as well as their very descriptive tongue-twisting local names.

Higher up in the Cedarberg, the protea flowers and other fynbos species are seen later on in the spring with their spectacular large bulbous flowers.

The Sandveld and the West Coast
From the Cedarberg you can head west to the ocean through an area known as the Sandveld.Then you can continue south along the West Coast via the picturesque fishing villages such as Paternoster to the holiday town of Langebaan and the West Coast National Park. Along this coastal strip, you find the strandveld of salvias and showy daisies.

Within the West Coast National Park lies the Postberg Nature Reserve, which boasts the greatest variety of birds, game and Sandveld flowers in the Western Cape. This special section of the park is only open during August to October. We recommend visiting during the Darling Flower show held in mid September. The Duckitt Orchid Show runs concurrently with the flower show on a local orchid farm. You can also visit the Tienie Versveld Reserve near Darling which hosts babianas, lachenalias, chincherinchees and sundews.

Happy viewing!!