There’s no doubt about it: Spring is the best season to visit the Northern Cape in South Africa. After the winter rains have fallen and soaked the scorched landscape, a breathtaking carpet of yellow, orange, purple and white Namaqua Daisies emerge on the Sandveld, bringing tourists and photographers to the area in droves.
One of the best places to visit in this time is the Namaqua National Park, located on Open Africa’s Kamiesberg Route and is simply bursting with flowers at this time of year.
Why not pack your bags and head up for the weekend and make the most of the spring sunshine and beautiful scenery.
Visitors can also take a ‘Daisies and Donkeys’ joyride on the back of a donkey cart to view the flowers in a more “leisurely” fashion.
And while you’re in the area, it’s worth taking a look at more than just the beautiful wildflowers.
The Kamiesberg region, named after the Kamiesberg mountain range on the eastern border of the Kamiesberg route, offers magnificent fauna, breathtaking landscapes, interesting local customs, history and delicious local cuisine.
This is one of the rare places in South Africa where one can camp in matjieshutte (huts traditionally built by the Nama people) alone in the silence of wide open spaces, surrounded by nothing but spectacular rock formations and quiver trees.
This region is home to wonderful rock formations, fascinating plant life, amazing gorges, exciting mountain passes and some truly remarkable people who are close to the earth and will help visitors to discover the wonders of Namaqualand.
Open Africa is an NGO that uses tourism to help create and sustain jobs in rural Africa. For more information on great self-drive routes, visit www.openafrica.org
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