Spring Wild Flower Tour

We leave Cape Town at 8.00am and head through the wheat fields of the Swartland and over the Piekienerskloof Pass. We descend into a different world. You are only two hours drive from Cape Town and yet the country has changed; wilder, warmer with a raw, dramatic beauty. Towering mountains, brilliant purple in the late afternoon light, preside over a fruit-filled valley laden with the scent of orange blossom in the late spring. Hopefully we will start seeing the wild flowers alongside the road as we continue to Clanwilliam.

We break our long driving day with a visit to the Ramskop Wild Flower Garden, which probably has one of the best displays of wild flowers in the country and looks especially fine during the flower season and beyond.

After visiting the Flower Garden we head off to Springbok through the wide swaths of wild flowers in the semi-desert area of Namaqualand, which comes alive each Spring. Namaqualand, the coastal strip between the Atlantic Ocean and the Great Karoo to the east, is a sun-scorched semi-desert for most of the year. But following the winter rains, the vast Sandveld plains are cloaked in the brilliant oranges, purples and yellows of spring flowers such as daisies, mesembryanthemums, lilies and many others.

We will stop en route for a picnic lunch. Time permitting we might visit Goegab Nature Reserve this afternoon or tomorrow morning. The Goegap is a wild flower paradise and is particularly known for its succulents in the Hester Malan Wildflower Garden. It features 581 indigenous plant species, including one rare succulent found nowhere else in the world, the bizarrely formed Halfmens or ‘half men’, which look like an armless person - hence the name.

We overnight at Daisy Country Lodge situated 4km outside Springbok. With magnificent views overlooking the Koppies and valleys, Daisy Country Lodge is truly an oasis in this semi desert area. Relax in this farm style environment, where you can take walks in the surrounding Koppies. After a tiring day, you can enjoy a nightcap at the Boma or just enjoy the brilliant stars and fresh unpolluted air.
Full Board – breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner

After breakfast we visit the Goegab Nature Reserve, if we haven’t visited it on the previous day. Then we head south so that we can stop and enjoy the flowers on the way. The flowers always face the sun and so are more spectacular when you are driving south than when you are driving north. The flowers are also generally open between 10-11am and 4pm and so we drive to cover the kilometres early and late in the day so that we have time to enjoy the flowers during the peak flower-viewing time.

En route we will visit the Skilpad Nature Reserve near Kamieskroon. Our exact route will depend on where the flowers are particularly fine. We continue to Agama Tented Camp for our overnight stay.

Agama Tented Camp is a bush camp situated on 8000ha of prime Namaqualand soil  skilfully hidden in a secluded kloof.  Seven tents are raised 1.5m above the ground on wooden stilts each with its own spacious deck. Agama boasts a traditional boma made out of local bushes, where visitors can enjoy local dishes and experience the tranquility which the Namaqualand nights offer.
Full Board – breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner

We depart Agama and travel south to Nieuwoudtville on the Bokkeveld Escarpment, which looks west over Namaqualand’s arid Knersvlakte. The spring flowers here are particularly colourful with a varied range of species not encountered in Namaqualand. We visit the Nieuwoudtville Wild Flower Reserve with its bulbs and orchid species not found anywhere else in South Africa. Time permitting we may also visit the Nieuwoudtville waterfall if the river is in flood. Your overnight stay is at Swiss Villa Guesthouse situated in Nieuwoudtville.  You will have Dinner at the Guest House tonight.

Swiss Villa Guest House is a graceful  sandstone home built in 1913 and situated in the hamlet of Nieuwoudtville. The guesthouse is set in a beautiful garden, amongst large established trees, on a wide expanse of lawn. Guests will be welcomed by hosts Margie and Chris and they will find clean, spacious rooms with comfortable beds. There is a fireplace in the dining room to warm the diners on those chilly winter nights, or fresh Karoo mornings.
Full Board - Dinner, breakfast and picnic lunch 

This morning we leave the Nieuwoudtville area to continue down the dramatic Botterkloof Pass to visit the Biedouw valley with its splendid flower displays with a picnic lunch in the valley. We leave the valley in the early afternoon to head to Clanwilliam for your overnight at Karukareb Wilderness Reserve. Time permitting we can enjoy a walk in the spring flowers of the reserve.

Karukareb Wilderness Reserve is located in a secluded kloof, surrounded by the Krakadouw mountains at the foot of the Cederberg Wilderness Area. Here you will find the untouched beauty of the Cederberg, with its dramatically beautiful scenery and spring flowers. Explore this haven of natural tranquility on a guided horseback tour (optional extra), on foot or with mountain bikes.

Elegantly decorated in an African Colonial style, Karukareb Lodge exudes tranquil charm. The comfortable living areas include a large open-plan air-conditioned lounge and dining room and a fireplace takes the edge off those chilly winter evenings. The thatch-roofed restaurant and bar next to the sparkling salt-water swimming pool is a favourite place to relax and enjoy delicious meals prepared with fresh organic ingredients. Four twin-bedded rooms and one single room all have en-suite bathrooms and are fitted with either ceiling fans or air-conditioning.
Full Board – breakfast, picnic lunch and dinner

We leave Karukareb after breakfast and head to Lamberts Bay and stop briefly to visit Bird Island. We depart Lamberts Bay and take the coastal route via Langebaan and end with the picture postcard view of Table Mountain from Bloubergstrand.

Your guide will drop you at your Guesthouse or Hotel in the late afternoon / early evening (approx 6pm).