NIEUWOUDTVILLE

A quaint rural village shelters among trees in a rather flat landscape, almost untouched by development. In August, one wakes up to discover a dense mist often shrouding the parish. This gives a ghostly impression to the NG Church made of sturdy blocks of local sandstone and the 100 odd year old construction seems to float airily in the morning light filtering through the trees and grass. We explored the streets where the mist still lingered, slowly revealing the profusion of flowers covering the small holdings while the sound of sheep and roosters calling the sun slowly wakes up this sleepy community.

RIOT OF FLOWERS

Heading out of Nieuwoudtville, we intended to discover its many treasures. It is the “Bulb Capital of the World”, boasting to have over 309 of the Cape Floral Kingdom’s species, flowering in August and September. In our eagerness to see flowers, we were too early on the first cold morning and the warmth of the sun had not opened them yet, but while sipping a coffee, the rusty dusted landscape woke up to surround us with the most vibrant shades of orange. Although it was still too early in the season for the bulbs, a spectacular show awaited us. Very soon, the surprise was dazzling in yellows, pink and white as far as we could see and we absorbed the energy of these vast fields of flowers.