Flower Route Namaqualand

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Are you wondering how best to go about seeing the flowers? Are you confused by all you've read so far? We've launched our Flower Guide, and you can get you hands on it here... Carpets of Colour: how to avoid missing out as you drive the Flower Route

Heading for the spring flower route up the west coast of South Africa?

Planning to go and see the flowers is like deli-shopping for your own gourmet picnic - you take a smorgasbord of roads, towns and flower species and select just what you want :-).

How far you drive, where you go and the flowers you see all depend entirely on your appetite...

How flower mad are you?!

This beautiful video on the flowers in Namaqualand is narrated by Sir David Attenborough...

Where does the Flower Route go?

The West Coast and Namaqualand spring flowers are all found north of Cape Town.

So the main roads on the Flower Route are the R27 from Capetown to Langebaan (120km), and then the N7 north via Clanwilliam (around 200km further on) to Springbok (a further 330km).

You can also take the R364, a gravel back road, for the section between Clanwilliam and Nieuwoudtville, and this I highly recommend.

What's the best way to 'do' the Flower Route?

The best idea is to rent a car in Cape Town and drive yourselves quickly as far north as your time and budget allows!

That could be as far as Springbok, or to Nieuwoudtville, or Clanwilliam, or just an hour north to the West Coast National Park near Langebaan.

Then make your way back to Cape town at a leisurely place, flower-spotting at all your chosen destinations as you go.

Drive the Flower Route backwards? Why?

Because these flowers turn their 'faces' towards the sun. And at this time of the year (August and September) it shines from the north because it's still winter / early spring.

So if you do your flower-spotting while driving from North to South at a gentle pace, you will have the flowers all smiling and showing you their pretty faces as they soak up the sun's warmth

Springbok. Should you go that far north?

The impression of kilometres of daisy-carpeted earth is a strong one, but in fact the flowers do vary a great deal from area to area.

Orange, white, yellow and blue are the dominant, first-impression colours, but there are loads of others when you kneel down close (and that's also the way to get the best blooming photos - down and dirty!)

Close to Cape Town it's mostly annuals, the daisy-types. As you go north you get to the Knersvlakte around Vanrhynsdorp and Niewoudtville and begin to see more and more succulents as well as bulb species (geophytes). Vanrhynsdorp is home to the largest succulent nursery in the world and Nieuwoudtville is known as the bulb capital of the world as so many rare and special species are found there.

The landscape changes too and becomes semi-arid, so there is a surreality to the scene of incredible carpets of flowers in rocky desert-like conditions.

What flowers will you see?

If you are into actual species names, here is a small sample of the families you will find represented on the Flower Route, in no particular order: wahlenbergia, arctotis, gazanias, felicia, watsonia, tiny galdioli, moraeas, babiana, geissorhiza, sparaxis, ixia, lachenalia, humeria.

You want to go the whole hog.
Here's a suggested minimum itinerary

Take the N7 north to Springbok and spend a night there, to visit the nearby Goegap nature reserve.

Drive back along the N7 and stop at Kamieskroon (to visit the Skilpad Flower Reserve - named for its tortoises) and at Garies. Continue via Bitterfontein to Vanrhynsdorp and checkout the succulent nursery, then drive on to Nieuwoudtville via the Quiver tree forest (it's spectacular at sunset). You may want to spend a night in Vanrhynsdorp or drive on to Nieuwoudtville and spend at least two nights there.

Two nights at least in Nieuwoudtville please as there is plenty to fit in!

Visit the Hantam Botanical Garden (formerly Glen Lyon Farm), and the Nieuwoudtville Flower Reserve. Other flower areas on private farms are also accessible for a small fee, and this is the land of hospitality in delightful coffee shops and farmstalls, so indulge! The Oorlogskloof Nature Reserve nearby is good for hiking, the Nieuwoudtville waterfall is certainly worth a visit and the Loeriesfontein Windmill Museum too, for those who are mechanically-minded!

From Nieuwoudtville take the R364 (a gravel road) back to Clanwilliam. It will take up to 2 hours and you don't need a special vehicle, a normal sedan will cope fine. This is a stunning, dramatic route that brings you across flattish plains to the looming Cederberg mountains and up through the Biedouw Valley to reach Clanwilliam via the Pakhuis pass. It is worth every second of time you would save by using the N7, I guarantee you!

In Clanwilliam plan to stay at least one night.
If you are interested in Bushman Rock Art, make it two. Definitely visit the Ramskop Wild Flower garden, it is not to be missed. To top it off, if you can time your arrival during the last week of August the Clanwilliam Wild Flower Show is another essential port of call.

From Clanwilliam you make for the West Coast National Park near Langebaan. Set off soon after breakfast and you can be back in Cape Town in the late afternoon, even after a leisurely day with numerous stops.

Take the N7 to Piketberg,and just after the town turn right onto the R399 to Velddrif. From Velddrif take the R27 to Langebaan. You can lunch in Langebaan before you enter the Park, or else Uitkyk is a good picnic spot within Postberg, so pack some goodies to enjoy on the way.

Go into the Park via the Langebaan gate, and drive south through the Postberg section which is only open for the months of August and September each year, specifically for flower viewing.

Now, do you fancy a spot of seafood? Beyond Postberg lies Yzerfontein, home to the Strandkombuis - a beach kitchen serving succulent dishes that you want to sample! A fitting end to a great trip, you can overnight in Yzerfontein or (if you don't mind an hour-or-so drive in the dark) drive back to Cape town afterwards.

That's the Flower Route, folks! Now book it and drive :-).

Carpets of Colour - how to avoid missing out as your drive the Flower Route

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