A FEAST OF FLOWERS

The previous experience was so fantastic that we decided to spend a week exploring the area around Kamieskroon in the heart of Namaqualand where a wonderful surprise awaited us.

Despite being late in the flower season, the reoccurring regular rains and cool weather kept them blooming profusely for some extra weeks and we enjoyed it thoroughly, visiting all our favorite spots and even discovering new ones.

It was years since we saw the daisies creeping up the slopes of the granite outcrops, making little flower gardens among the boulders and a pure delight to lie between them along the road for a spot of macro photography.

 

POSTBERG

In early September we spent a day in the famous Postberg Flower Reserve which is part of the West Coast National Park near Langebaan. Thank goodness we arrived at the entrance early as the queue of visitors was already stretching for some distance. After months of lockdown, everyone was eager to escape in nature and what better choice than to imbibe the beauties of the season in such a perfect setting.

After all the rain we have had this winter, Spring is exploding in a riot of flowers and we have enjoyed the most spectacular displays along the West Coast and Namaqualand in particular. It is years since the wildflowers have been so profuse and varied.

 

GROOT WINTERHOEK

 This World Heritage Site is perched on top of the mountains above Porterville where rugged and imposing rock formations frame the snow caped peaks in the distance. Driving up the convoluted Dasklip Pass to reach our destination for the day, we stopped along the way to admire the patterns in fields of the Swartland below us.

This important conservation area protects diverse wildlife and a wide variety of mountain fynbos species which were looking spectacular in their varied textures and bright colours. We had no more than 6 degree Celsius but there was not a breath of wind so we happily walked in the veld to admire and photograph the various types of plants which were glowing in the back light and also discovered  little stream quietly running in the thick grass which held our attention for a while.

Driving back in the middle of the afternoon, we were delighted to see fields of white daisies among the canola and wheat fields. 

 

OVERBERG IN WINTER

Once again, we took off for a day’s escape into the countryside. It is becoming our favourite day of the week to plot a route which will not only take us to great photographic spots but also to satisfy our sense of adventure as we like to travel on roads we have not explored yet. This can lead to little 4X4 adventures through farmland and muddy streams flavoured with strong farm aromas.

Hoping for clouds, we had closely watched the weather and decided to leave early on Thursday to maximise the morning light. The wheat fields were glowing in many shades of new greens and after the 2 weeks of warm weather we have had, the canola fields were turning yellow and punctuated the landscape with early fields of gold. The clouds played hide and seek with the sun creating shadows which subtly accentuated the topography of some areas while the still visible lines of ploughing in the canola fields emphasised the contour of the terrain in other parts. ­