Once a year, the Northern Cape’s Namaqualand offers one of South Africa’s finest floral displays – a dazzling dream come true.

During the springtime months mainly in August and September, this gentle desert erupts into a myriad of wildflowers in dazzling array. It is said of this spectacle ‘you weep twice when visiting Namaqualand - first when you arrive, and then once when you leave….’

Unique in Every Way:

• The spectacular sweeps of colour over the landscape are spectacular and also act as Nature's highlighters, indicating old fields or where ground has been overgrazed or ploughed up. In fact, the fields of orange and yellow that are so sought after at Skilpad Nature Reserve, now part of the promising Namaqua National Park, are managed by a careful dint of disturbance and ploughing after spring.
• Ditch your binoculars in favour of a magnifying glass. It will give you a startling insight into the ‘landing lights’ designed by the flowers to attract their favoured pollinators.
• The first thing you learn as a flower tourist is that the flowers are incredibly sensitive to temperature, generally closing when the temperature is below 17 degrees Celsius (or even 20 degrees Celsius on the coast).
• There are about 1 000 species of succulents, and they are among Namaqualand's most charismatic plants. They make up at least one third of the desert's flora, and one tenth of the world's succulents. Some are minute, the smallest in the world. The Mesembryanthemaceae (mesembs or vygies) are the foremost family among these succulents.
• The Namaqualand is full of edible and medicinal plants - if you know where to look. The slimy roots of Grielum humifusum, better known by the more descriptive name ‘Pietsnot’, can make a meal, if you're really hungry. In fact, they and the underground organs of many other plants formed the staple carbohydrate diet for Khoi and Nama people.
• The Kokerboom or Quiver Tree (Aloe dichotoma) is one of the few large plants in Namaqualand. It acquired its name from the Khoi's use of the hollowed out stems or branches to hold arrows. These trees are concentrated in the eastern and northern parts of Namaqualand, and can live to be 100 years old.
• Conservation International has recognised this desert as the earth's only arid hotspot of biodiversity, placing it among the 25 most ecologically valuable places in the world.
• Colla Swart, a photographer who lives in Kamieskroon (in the middle of the Namaqualand) has opened many people's eyes to the beauty of Namaqualand, but she always says the flowers are just the lipstick on the face of a beautiful woman whose face is already exquisite, but different, all year round.

Breathtaking Views

Neil McGregor, who owns the farm Glenlyon just outside Nieuwoudtville found a way of farming his sheep in such a way that it guarantees maximum biodiversity, echoing to some extent the effects of the ‘trekbokke’ (springboks) decades ago.

On Glenlyon, you will be able to explore 4 totally different habitats on the 6 500 hectare property, ranging from the northern extremity of the Cape fynbos; through the last remnants of the incredibly productive renosterveld; the spectacular dolerite plains and finally to the east, the succulent Karoo. Daily wild flower tours start from the Glenlyon homestead.

Links:

• Visit the Northern Cape Tourism Authority website at: www.northerncape.org.za
• For more information on Namaqualand, visit: www.namakwa.com
• For Glenlyon bookings call Neil or Neva at +27 (27) 218 1200