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 Postberg Flower and Nature ReserveLangebaan, West Coast, South Africa Postberg is a privately owned piece of land (about 6000 hectares) inside the national park which is normally not open to the public. Every year however, between August and September When it's spring in Cape Town and the west coast shows off its wild flowers, the area is opened to the public to visit and marvel at the wonders of nature as it puts on its spectacular wild flower show. Nowhere is it better than in the Postberg. Nature is a tantalising thing and as one enters the park it starts to show off its flowers, just a few here and a few there to begin with, while the deeper into the park the more numerous they became. On entering the Postberg one can be overwhelmed by the sight of wall to wall flowers in bright oranges and yellows as far as the eye can see.Grazing amongst the flowers are at least twenty large eland. In the old days they would have been a hunters dream but here in the park they are allowed to breed in safety. larely does one see such a large group together. T  he Postberg shelters the Langebaan lagoon from the sea. It was along this piece of land that the Dutch and the French posted their countries flags in an effort to claim the land for their respective countries way back in the 1600's. After a number of skirmishes and removing each others flags the Dutch finally took control of the area in the early 1700's. The area became an outpost of the Dutch colony at the Cape and the mountain's name stems from that, being a mountain outpost.At the time a number of old houses were built in the area and these became known as post houses as well. Some of the older buildings and their ruins can still be found in the area. The Langebaan lagoon was very important to the Dutch and the French at the time as it afforded them an area where they could repair their ships without the hassles of strong winds and tides. Over the years hundreds of ships were repaired in the lagoon. In the early 1700's whales were quite numerous along the Atlantic coastline so the Dutch decided to build a whaling station in the area on the eastern coastline of the Postberg at a place called Donkergat. The whaling station did not last too long and was eventually abandoned. It is strange however that Donkergat became a grave to many old whaling ships that were abandoned over the years by the whaling companies who operated in the area. About thirty years ago when the Postberg was still open to the public there were a number of derelict ships anchored and sunk at the various quays at Donkergat. Since then the area has been taken over by the military. Thankfully whaling is a thing of the past and people come from near and far to see the great southern right whales lying sunning themselves off our coastlines these days.  Why Postberg has been closed to the public is a mystery as the area has fantastic views over the Langebaan lagoon and the islands in it. There are some intriguing rock formations in the Postberg which are quite interesting. A finger of rock pointing skywards together with other formations nearby remind one of the the rock formations found at Stonehenge in Britain.Other than Donkergat there are a number of small bays on the western side of the lagoon which give access to the Postberg. One such bay is known as Kraal Bay and in it the authorities have anchored a number of houseboats which can be hired by those people who would like to spend some time afloat. The area around Kraal Bay is well known for its fossils and just a few years ago the footprint of Eve was discovered on the banks of the lagoon near the rock formation known as die preekstoel. (the pulpit) The area is visited during the summer months by boat owners who cross the lagoon to picnic on the lovely white beaches around Kraal bay and try their hand at fishing in the channels of the lagoon, or to waterski. Nearby is a wetland area known as Churchhaven where time appears to have stood still. The small fisherman's houses built along the coastline have not changed in 100 years. There are hundreds of birds that live and breed in the wetlands along the southern coastline of the lagoon. Many of them fly in from as far abroad as Russia. What a privilege it is to sit in a hide and observe the bird life going on around you.
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