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ON THE ROAD DIARY - NAMAQUALAND AND THE WEST COAST
3 June 2002 - Article by Win and Bernadette

My memory of entering Garies is of red stained hills stretching kilometers. When looking at flowers it is no use to rush off early in the morning– this is one case where the early bird does not get the worm. The daisies only open at about 11 a.m. (and only on days when some sun is shining) and close at about 3.30 p.m. You must drive with the sun behind you always as the flowers always face the sun. We were sometimes amazed to see on our return from a trip the flowers we hadn't seen on the way there!

Then on to Vanrhynsdorp where we took a truly breathtaking drive up Ouberg to “Die Waterval”. We saw masses of yellow and orange Urshinas, bush vygies , gazanias, felicias and many other flowers. In the true Namaqualand fashion , where nothing is what you expect at all -we had a really memorable meal served by the owner of the caravan park in Vanrhynsdorp! We could not have found finer cuisine in any of the fancy hotels in Gauteng.

From there we went via Klaver to Clanwilliam. On the Olifants river at Clanwilliam is the Clanwilliam dam with the Ramskop municipal Nature reserve , a 54 ha area devoted to springtime wild flowers. In the years where the flowering is poor, due to the weather, the watering of this area from the dam assures a wonderful display every year. The main industry around Clanwilliam is Rooibos tea growing. A visit to the Rooibos tea factory is very interesting and apart from tea, there are many uses for Rooibos for instance soaps, baby shampoos etc. The other interesting thing in Clanwilliam is the Veldskoen factory which is well worth a visit. From Clanwilliam, it’s an easy drive to Lambert’s Bay which has a thriving fishing and seafood industry.

If all you have heard about Namaqualand concerns Dimorphotheca daisies you are in for a real surprise. Yes it is true that from August to October the dry inhospitable windy sandveld bursts into life in an astonishing way with an amazing array of different flowers. This transformation however is not always guaranteed and varies a lot from year to year.
This is a magic place and the magic starts when you leave Johannesburg behind. Our first stop was Kuruman. The eye of Kuruman is a dolomite spring which delivers approx 20 million litres of crystal clear water daily. Upington is an ideal stopover on the way to Namaqualand or Namibia. There are some great B&Bs and the town has good eating out places. From Upington we travelled to Augrabies Falls where we spent some time exploring the falls watched by Dassies sunning themselves on the rocks and followed by a tame (I hoped) lynx. Next stop Springbok- and even the map is exciting , with names such as Nababeep and Okiep. When we arrived expecting the sort of flower displays we had seen in postcards we were disappointed and all the locals told us that it was too early and there was only 10% at present. We saw The Goegap Nature reserve which had a lot of kokerboom trees and mauve vygies. The locals suggested that we see the Skilpad Wildflower reserve near Kamieskroon and then proceed to Garies in search of the flowers which were reported to be 40% in those areas. Before leaving Springbok we decided to drive to Port Nolloth where diamond dredging takes place in the sea. The boats looked strange with pipes hanging in the water like tentacles. These pipes we were told suck up the surface of the sea bed which is then sifted to find the diamonds. It is strictly controlled and there is no chance of bagging a diamond! We saw some very pretty patches of flowers on the way to and from port Nolloth.
	Skilpad reserve belongs to the W.W.F. The organisation bought old wheat fields from farmers to make the reserve.

A short walk along the jetty takes you to an island where sea birds pack together on the rocky surface, masses of Gannets, Cormorants, Jackass Penguins, Seagulls and “Sterretjies”, each keeping to their own area of the rocky outcrops.
Near Lambert’s Bay, set on the coast is the famous Muisbosskerm so called because of the windbreaks of Muisbos set up to keep the wind of the patrons. Simple cement benches are provided with blankets laid over them to keep the cold off. The food is out of this world and includes fresh bread baked on the beach in a clay oven. The array of seafood and fish is amazing and it is all cooked in the open without any conventional kitchen. My advice to anybody going to the Muisbosskerm is don’t eat all day and dress warmly.
We took a trip down the coast to Eland’s Bay where we had an amazing sighting of a whale frolicking and blowing water in the sea, not far offshore. We sat there transfixed for an hour for more at this unexpected sight.
We traveled down the coast to Velddrift, Paternoster, Saldanha and Langebaan, ending up at Yserfontein. The beautiful lagoon of Langebaan is one of the richest wildlife and marine areas and has been declared a National Park. Very often one will find flowers in the West Coast National Park when the showing in Namaqualand is poor. In this area there is always a compromise as the farmers need to work the land and of course in cultivated lands there are none or few flowers However the locals are proud of their floral wealth and farmers set aside certain fields and leave them for flowers.. We took a trip to Darling which is a quaint little town and saw Peter Dirk Uys’ “Evita se Peron.” and watched a show. We also saw the Tienie Versveld Wilflower Reserve which was full of bulbs and flowering dasies. Darling is not far from Cape Town so one can either take another route home or return to Springbok which we did one year and found the change in the landscape on the way back quite fascinating. There are many places that this short account does not even consider, such as Pella which is a mission where they grow dates, the citrus estates at Citrusdal, the Richtersveld National Park which deserves an article all on it's own, Hondeklip Bay, the Cederberg Mountains and so on.
All we can say in closure is - do this trip. You won’t be able to cover everything there is to see in one trip and like us you will return again and again I’m sure. Win & Bernadette Accommodation in the Namaqualand Boesmanland Gastehuis Rita's Sophia Guest House