Stretching from just north of Cape Town, up the West Coast to the Namibian border, this arid area in the north western corner of South Africa has a subtle, harsh, dry, old world type charm with wide open spaces & desolate vistas.
In one little village my family lived in for a few years, the 'rush hour' was just before church on a Sunday. The eagles circled close on Sunday mornings at 9 to see what all the 'commotion' was about!
Then suddenly its all a-buzz in the spring when everyone zooms up to see the wild flowers.
Namaqualand daisies in Nababeep.
To make up for the short season and unreliable rains, the daisies have a seed bank of 40 000 per square metre!
Namaqualand sports fascinating bulbs - many iris, orchids, Hyacinth, etc.
The Quiver Tree - related to the Aloe
Daisies in Namaqualand have to take full advantage of the short growing spring - their full life cycle takes place in a few months - mainly August and September. Then it gets hot and dry and one day a strong wind comes along and its all over.
Kamieskroon's fields of daisies....
.... and the Kamieskroon beetle daisy - found only here and enticing real beetles to pollinate them by tricking them into thinking they have found a flower full of mates! Each petal has a dark bump which looks very much like the back of a beetle.
Bok horinkies - or 'bucks horns'
Iris. These plants don't waste time or resources on tall stems - but are the origins of many horticultural species around the world today.
pic by Sean Brown
Another botanical survival technique in Namaqualand is to store water in fleshy leaves and have special adaptions to close the stomata during dry periods in order to reduce transpiration.
pic by Sean Brown
pic by Sean Brown
The beautiful beach at Posberg - part of the West Coast National Park that is only open in August & September each year. Also great for flower viewing and they have several species of mammal including the giant eland.
mud!
pic by Sean Brown
washing off the mud.
pic by Sean Brown
A quirky and favourite place to stay up the West Coast - Kersefontein...
a working farm - with guest accommodation and an interetsing and entertaining host - farmer, pilot, pianist, etc - Julian Melck.
Julian is a 9th generation Melck on the farm and he found the antiques that adorn the lovely rooms in their attic!
Everyone has enjoyed Kersefontein & Julian tremendously - infact they have said things like this:
In one little village my family lived in for a few years, the 'rush hour' was just before church on a Sunday. The eagles circled close on Sunday mornings at 9 to see what all the 'commotion' was about!
Then suddenly its all a-buzz in the spring when everyone zooms up to see the wild flowers.
Namaqualand daisies in Nababeep.To make up for the short season and unreliable rains, the daisies have a seed bank of 40 000 per square metre!
Namaqualand sports fascinating bulbs - many iris, orchids, Hyacinth, etc.
The Quiver Tree - related to the Aloe
Daisies in Namaqualand have to take full advantage of the short growing spring - their full life cycle takes place in a few months - mainly August and September. Then it gets hot and dry and one day a strong wind comes along and its all over.
Kamieskroon's fields of daisies....
.... and the Kamieskroon beetle daisy - found only here and enticing real beetles to pollinate them by tricking them into thinking they have found a flower full of mates! Each petal has a dark bump which looks very much like the back of a beetle.
Bok horinkies - or 'bucks horns'
Iris. These plants don't waste time or resources on tall stems - but are the origins of many horticultural species around the world today.
pic by Sean BrownAnother botanical survival technique in Namaqualand is to store water in fleshy leaves and have special adaptions to close the stomata during dry periods in order to reduce transpiration.
pic by Sean Brown
pic by Sean BrownThe beautiful beach at Posberg - part of the West Coast National Park that is only open in August & September each year. Also great for flower viewing and they have several species of mammal including the giant eland.
mud!
pic by Sean Brown
washing off the mud.pic by Sean Brown
A quirky and favourite place to stay up the West Coast - Kersefontein...
a working farm - with guest accommodation and an interetsing and entertaining host - farmer, pilot, pianist, etc - Julian Melck.
Julian is a 9th generation Melck on the farm and he found the antiques that adorn the lovely rooms in their attic!
Everyone has enjoyed Kersefontein & Julian tremendously - infact they have said things like this:Our stay at Julian's was exceptional. The dinner is a must and Julian is
a remarkable host. Do keep advising people to go there.
~Christina
last 3 pics courtesy of Kersefontein website
No comments:
Post a Comment