STORY – A FLORAL EXPLOSION IN ONE OF THE WORLD'S MOST ARID REGIONS.
As if touched by lightning, Enya and James set-off in all wind directions not knowing which flowers to check-out first. Seeing their excitement as they run through the fields, takes me back to my own childhood years in the countryside.
In August Namaqualand looks like a delightful garden filled with sunshine and extraordinary fragrances. Each year I wonder where all the flowers come from in this seemingly barren land. Driving north from Cape Town, we get a first hint of yellow and white along the road just after Piekenierskloof and cannot contain our excitement. Then, near Nieuwoudtville we discover patches of purple and orange daisies and think 'this is it', only to realise another 100 km further north that these were merely opening scenes to the floral explosion ahead. What awaits us is a feast for the eyes, but not so much for the nose! "It smells like buck," Enya comments with disgust on the pungent odour that fills the air. I tell her it's the pollen of the daisies, but secretly wonder if it isn't buck after all. Ater all, we're not the only ones being irresistibly attracted to this sweet abundance. Cattle, game, birds, beetles, caterpillars and butterflies just love them and eat themselves into digestion. I'm not quite how I will cope with this pungent odour for the nex few days, but as we follow a dirt road through the granite rock formations of the Kamiesberg range, I catch whiffs of pleasant sweet scents. It also appears to me that the loveliest fragrances become stronger the closer we get to sunset.
Day after day, we discover the most amazing floral carpets. Springbok, Kamieskroon and Naries are great locations from which to explore the area, but to me, driving through the Namaqualand National Park remains an unparalleled visual celebration of colour and design. Someone once told me that, in order to get the best views, you should drive with the sun at your back. Why? Because the flowers turn their heads towards the sun, not to you... Enya and James can barely contain themselves and make us stop every half an hour to get out of the car and explore yet another floral carpet. They also love hiking on narrow trails that take them deeper and deeper into the veld. To their utter delight, there are two absolutely exhilarating walking trails in the Skilpad section of the park that invite them to a close encounter with nature's most delicate works of art. "Wow," we hear James shout to Enya. "There are orange flowers all over the place. Let's follow the trail through the daisies," he squeals with delight and off we go. "James, look at the pink ones over there," screams Enya as she runs to the next patch of flowers.
We all learn a lot about 'floristic behaviour' and how the plants of Namaqualand are truly skilled at surviving cold, moist winters and get through hot and dry summer months. "The Gazania purposefully shrivels so that all that is left visible is a bundle of dry curly leaves," I explain to Enya. I explain to them that looking dead, it minimises exposure to the hot sun and prevents loss of moisture through its leaves. "The woolly underside of the leaves often points upwards to cool the plant down. And with the first rains, the whole Gazania swells almost instantly, its leaves erect; even flowerbuds emerge!" "Awesome!" I hear Enya and James say to each other. They nod and stay silent.
We thought the 4x4 track north of the Skilpad circular drive would be some sort of shortcut to Kamieskroon via Soebatsfontein. It is anything but shorter, but worth our while. When we reach Soebatsfontein I notice a signpost 'honey' on the left side of the road. I can't resist the temptation to check it out and we are soon greeted by Oom Carel and Tannie Poppie. They laugh when James asks about the bees. "Oh no, sweetie, the bees are all dead!" James pulls a face and Enya is utterly shocked. Carel decides to show them the beehives and tells them to jump on the back of his bakkie. No effort is too big for this genuine Namakwa farmer and he proudly shows us the millions of flowers on his farm. "You're welcome to picnic, there's a lovely spot near the windmill," he smiles. We happily accept his invitation and set-up camp for the afternoon. On our way out Tannie Poppie calls us in for tea and freshly baked rusks. This is pure Namakwa magic! The 'little detour' enabled us to experiencing Namakwa hospitality, and we still have a long way to go, to experience the land of the Nama under a full moon. This dirt road takes us through some intensely beautiful mountain scenery where one hardly meets another vehicle. As we stop near a stream I notice a lone springbok in the distance. He's seen me too, but probably doesn't care as much as I do.
This area, called the Succulent Karoo of South Africa, has the richest succulent flora on earth with as much as 69 percent endemic plants. Many species however are threatened and have turned the area into a bio-diversity hotspot, one of only two entirely arid ecosystems earning this status. We all feel very fortunate to have the opportunity to experience this floral explosion from nearby. I'm glad we went through the trouble of driving all the way up to Namaqualand and see how Enya and James still draw pictures of their favourite daisies.
DID YOU KNOW...
- Some areas store more than 40 000 seeds per square metre
- Annuals will germinate quickly, grow and flower during winter and spring, to avoid summer when they will survive in the form of seed.
Text by Petra Vandecasteele
Photography by Paul Godard
Date: 21 Nov 2007
