The spring wild flowers are a phenomenon that never ceases to amaze and delight, even for those who live in what is considered
South Africa's "outback" – Namaqualand. What at first glance appears to be a wilderness of semi-desert - arid, dusty plains that stretch before one, dramatic mountains in the background, with little by way of colour or animation - is suddenly transformed, as if by a painter with a manic palette, into a pageant of flowers.
The Namaqualand Flower Route lies roughly 5 hours north of Cape Town. You can already see evidence of flowers even in
Cape Town, and
Postberg, a small section of the
West Coast National Park close to
Langebaan, gets the juices flowing, but the real flower show belongs to a series of drives that centre on the towns of Garies,
Springbok, Kamieskroon and Port Nolloth, way up the N7.
