Mzanzitravel Magazine Issue 10

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There cannot be many natural experiences more enthralling on our planet than the annual spectacle when the arid, dusty brown plains and rugged mountain ridges of South Africa’s Namaqualand region almost overnight transform into an endless feast of bright, colourful wild flowers – a kaleidoscopic extravaganza as far as the eye can see. Welcome to the annual Namaqualand spring wild flower spectacle, a natural phenomenon that never ceases to delight and amaze, and causes people to return year after year, from every corner of South Africa and from far beyond its borders. Before the transformation This hot and semi-desert region straddles the area where the Great Karoo meets the western coastal strip adjoining the icy Atlantic. For more than ten months of the year it appears barren, dusty and dry, a seemingly empty wasteland. Apart from the sparsely scattered livestock grazing on the large, spread-out sheep farms, it seems like nothing much can live here. Dreary small towns and isolated farmsteads are spread far apart, and the landscape appears largely featureless, except for the occasional rugged, rocky hills and distant mountains that break up the flatness. The main highway between Cape iStock-Simone Millward iStock-EcoPic iStock-Grobler du Preez iStock-EcoPic
Natural Wonders Town and Namibia slices through here, gleaming like a long straight ribbon in the heat and the silence, disturbed only occasionally by a passing car or long-haul truck. You may find the odd vulture picking the flesh of some road kill victim, or a raptor nesting on a lone telephone pole or forlornly waiting for better days perched on a farm wire fence. Off the highway, on the secondary routes and dusty farm roads, the odd tractor or a farm truck or donkey cart might amble by. Perhaps you’ll pass a lone, dustcovered traveller resting himself and his bicycle in the elusive shade of a roadside thorn tree. In the early morning or late afternoon you might also spot a rare mole snake or tortoise making their way across the road, or see the slender neck and flat head of a wild ostrich peeking out from behind some dry bushes in the veld. Nothing else seems to move and the world around is devoid of colour. If you’re not from around these parts but you’ve seen the movie No country for Old Men based on Cormac McCarthy’s novel, or you’ve been to the Australian outback, you’ll know – more or less - what I mean. The transformation But then suddenly, come August, and the empty veld magically and mesmerizingly transforms itself. Woken by the last rains of winter, the dry African veld comes alive in a blaze of colour as billions of wild flowers open their cheery faces to the warm sun of early spring. The annual Namaqualand wild flower show has arrived. It is as if the giant hand of an artist in the sky has reached down with brushes and paint, deftly transforming this wide and endless canvas into a dazzling impressionist exhibition. Even the dreary little towns and nondescript farm houses and labourers’ cottages seem to take on a fresh new life, suddenly surrounded by a kind of flower passion and zing. And soon the area starts filling with cars and people and the tour buses arrive, as if a carnival has come to town. But the region is wide and big enough with space for everyone, so you’ll never feel crowded and will find plenty of spots to be alone with nature in its most colourful glory. Rain and nature’s changing show Every year the show may change; presenting a completely different display. For this riotous annual eruption of colour depends entirely on what the weather is doing between July and October in any particular year. With some 4,000 different species of plant seeds patiently waiting in the ground to germinate, it all depends on when it rains, how much it rains and where it rains. This western stretch of South Africa receives little rain throughout the year, especially further north, so the rain that falls from late May through to August is vitally important, and the short rainy season is also the reason why the flowers all bloom for short window period at this time of the year. These rainfall patterns and the varied topography of the region cause different displays in different areas: swathes and concentrations of different plant varieties with different colour flowers. The typography ranges from Sandveld near the coast, to the semi-desert plains of the southern reaches of the Namib Desert in the north, the high-lying and almost impenetrable mountain desert of the Richtersveld in the far north, and all of it interspersed by fertile valleys and mountain areas, each giving forth a different flower life. In one area bright orange flowers may cover the entire veld; in another part it may be yellow and white flowers. In some areas there may be a mixture of small patches in different colours. Thus you will find some areas dominated by vygies (succulent Mesembryanthemum) and gousblomme (African daisies), others by the yellow Leucospermum reflexum, blue Lachanaea filamentosa, the beautiful white Snow Protea (protea cryophylla), yellow sparaxis, pink Cyanella Alba and the Clanwilliam Cedar (widdringtonia cedarbergensis). Many of these species are found nowhere else in the world. The regions Naming this flower spectacle after Namaqualand may also be slightly misleading, as you will find flowers at that time of the year all the way from Cape Town right up to Namibia. But these will appear in varying density and concentrations, and arguably not as spectacular and concentrated as in the central Namaqualand region, and of course again also dependent on the rainfall conditions. Nonetheless, when you drive out of Cape Town in a good flower year, as soon as you hit the West Coast Road (R27) or the N7 to Namibia, from Table View to Melkbosstrand and Atlantis, you will already start noticing the flowers beside the road, around the vlei and river areas, on the coastal sand dunes and across the farms on the inland side. From Yzerfontein to the Langebaan Lagoon their density will start increasing. At the Postberg section of the West Coast National Park, on the seaside of the Langebaan Lagoon, you’ll come across the first truly spectacular flower display. From here one can follow the flower trail towards the Tankwa Karoo National Park, or going north passing towns such as Citrusdal, Wupperthal, Clanwilliam, Vanrhynsdorp, Nieuwoudtville and across to Calvina. If the rains have been generous, and the mix of rain and springtime sun is just right, you will now find yourself immersed in a sea of flowers, with exquisite discoveries around every bend of the road. At Nieuwoudville you can see many unique flowers, bulbs and orchid species that are not found anywhere else. Between Citrusdal and Clanwilliam you can turn off and travel up into the mountainous Cederberg wilderness area which offers its own unique display of flowers. But there’s even more to come. From Van Rhynsdorp you can follow the N7 up to Garies, the Skilpad and Namaqua National Park and the ‘capital’ of Namaqualand, Springbok. Or take the R355 from Calvinia to Loeriesfontein, Kliprand, Vaalput, Gamoep and on to Springbok. You are now in the heart of Namaqualand and the flower country. Dotted throughout the area are nature reserves that offer superb flower viewing, such as the Gannabos Protected Area, the Hantam National Botancial Gardens, Oorlogskloof, Nieuwoudville Wild Flower Reserve, Skilpad Wild Flower Reserve, Lutzville Conservation Area, Moedverloren Nature Reserve and the Goegap Nature Reserve at Springbok. But still it does not end there. Follow the N7 from Springbok to the Richtersveld World Heritage Site and the |Ai-|Ais/Richtersveld Transfrontier Park, or reach the Richtersveld along the R382 via Port Nolloth. All along the way and in the National Park you will still find extraordinary displays of flowers. Plants in the Richtersveld have developed the most unique adaptation strategies to the harsh climate. The Richtersveld is also home to the world’s richest desert flora, mostly tiny succulents that cling to the rock faces and suck the moisture out of the air when mist rolls in from the Atlantic coast. Here you will also find the legendary ‘halfmens boom’ (half-person tree) as well as quiver trees and aloes. Such is the richness and individuality of flora found here that on a single square MZANZITRAVEL| www.mzanzitravel.co.za|ISSUE <strong>10</strong> | 31
Page 1: JULY 2018 - Issue 10 Free Copy Sout
Page 5: C O NTENTS 07 EDITOR’S NOTE 08 TR
Page 9 and 10: Winter/Spring 2018 So here we are,
Page 11 and 12: L LT TICKET TICKET ADULT 1 BUY T GE
Page 14 and 15: Visit Rwanda reports 21% surge in v
Page 16 and 17: Departmental Budget speech 2018/19
Page 18 and 19: LESOTHO Discover Mzanzi LIMPOPO NOR
Page 20 and 21: Discover Mzanzi journalist, campaig
Page 22 and 23: Water world & gambling resort Two o
Page 24 and 25: Discover Mzanzi Enjoy Your Holiday
Page 26 and 27: Leisure Discover & Entertainment Mz
Page 28 and 29: Leisure & Entertainment Prior to th
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