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What else can I strike off from my travel list in South Africa? I wondered, after deciding that it shall be my “retired early trip” destination.
I considered doing a safari. After all, who goes to Africa and not do a safari? But Gavin was moving jobs at the same time, to be based in Africa. “Let’s go on a safari when I’m settled there,” he said. So I figured, I’ll save a safari for later.
But what else? When in doubt, I check the UNESCO World Heritage Site lists for a country. What’s this? A Cape Floral Region? And in the same general region as Cape Town? From somewhere deep in the junk drawer of my brain, I dug up dim memories of vaguely understood words like fynbos and veld, tagged with ‘South Africa’, tossed in and forgotten.
Wait… I’m going to the fynbos place? It occurred to me that one of my bucket list items was to see a blooming desert. I had the distant geographic memory that the north bit of South Africa might be desert. Are fynbos in the desert? Do they bloom like a carpet of flowers?
Some hours of research later, I came away understanding more, but also not really!a
It is both easy, and difficult, to visit the Cape Floral Region UNESCO Site
The good news, is that seeing the Cape Floral Region is easy from Cape Town. The region encompasses Cape Town’s Table Mountain, and the entire Cape Peninsula. Fynbos is basically all across the Western Cape, plus the Eastern Cape. If you venture out of the built areas even a little bit, you would come across them.
However, because of this broad distribution, it’s not so easy to go to all of the UNESCO Site representative areas. The eight protected areas of the UNESCO Site go all the way north in Cederberg and east nearly to Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. There are no tours that take you to all eight sites, and it takes a lot of effort to drive to all of them. This is bad news to the completionists. You really need to be into rare flora to undertake this.
That said, you can compromise by taking tours that take you to some of the protected areas.
Where to go for the blooming desert phenomenon
I was very tempted to stubbornly try to go to all the sites. But I smothered my own completionist tendencies to focus on the fact that what I actually wanted was to see a blooming desert, and I should not get distracted by too many side quests. Where was the bloomingest of blooming deserts of them all?
Namakwaland1, that’s where. For a brief few weeks in springtime, in sunny weather, but also after good winter rains, the barren fields of Namakwaland and the Northern Cape burst into colour.
But in 2024, it took some doing to find a tour that goes all the way to Namakwaland, for the flowers. I began to wonder if I was doing it wrong. Were all the tours in Afrikaans or something?
Eventually, with the help of a South African travel blogger1, I found Namaqualand Flower Tours.
I’m still not sure why I picked them over the other options Sara gave me. I’d like to think that it’s because Taryn’s website comes across as less touristy, and more flower nerd. I mean, I wanted to see flowers – I figured it would be a good idea to be guided by someone obsessed about it!
Going on a tour to Namakwaland
Namakwaland is not in the Western Cape. A tour to Namakwalandb means a journey of 450km from Cape Town into the Northern Cape – this is not a day trip. I would have to commit some days away, perhaps splitting my Cape Town agenda in two, depending on tour availability (and they do tend to book out).
Namaqualand Flower Tours has a 3-day option and a 4-day option. I figured, in for a penny in for a pound. If I were going, there’s no point quibbling over one day, since I had the time anyway this time (retired early, remember?). After all, I hate being rushed on tours, and it seemed like there were other kinds of botany to see in the Northern Cape. I also hate regret.
Fortunately, they could squeeze me into a 4-day tour that was technically booked out.
But if you are short on time, you could also consider shorter tours that stay within the Western Cape:
Endangered fynbos of the West Coast
The pickup came very early. The first day was a long journey north from Cape Town. But the tour broke it up often, so there was no need to worry about bathroom breaks, but also so that you would see more of the Western Cape than just the destination.
Our first stop in Velddrif was very unlike the field of flowers we were after. But that’s not to say it didn’t have its own charm. Velddrif was close to West Coast National Park, so in hindsight, I actually did get to see Langebaan. Or at least, the general area around it.
Along the way, we passed by flamingoes, springbok, and ostriches. The landscape of the west coast was flat and marshy, with occasional red pinpricks. Sand lilies, Taryn told us.
Just because fynbos could be found across the region, doesn’t mean that they aren’t endangered. Outside the eight protected areas, the land is under development pressure, and the fynbos are disappearing.
We drove past ongoing housing development along the coastline, an example of that development pressure. The housing would become holiday homes, or B&Bs.
The marshland of Velddrif
Under the overcast spring sky, the flat, marshy landscape of the Berg river kind of reminded me of the Netherlands. Further north, our next stop at Eland’s Bay brought to mind Scheveningen.
I wondered if it had always looked this way.2 I had to admit that out of all its colonies, at least Dutch culture was kind of adapted to land like this coastline. It reminded me of how the recent Chinese migrants to Malaysia often gravitated to landscapes that remind them of ones they left.
Crayfish was the popular local food here, we learned. They would bring in the catch in the morning, and by afternoon it’s already in Johannesburg.
Once, crayfish were considered a pest. It used to be cheap, basically worthless. Fishermen would throw them overboard if they accidentally caught them. If they missed any, those got mushed up and sold as fertiliser to local farms.
But that changed in the early 19th century. Global trade picked up, and there was suddenly demand for crayfish from Japan and the USA. The industry boomed, and now in Cape Town you’ll be looking to spend anywhere between 400-1200 rand for crayfish depending on where you go.
Clanwilliam and rooibos
We went onward, past Cederberg. One of the Cape Floral UNESCO protected areas is in this region. Around it were fertile farmlands, growing wine, citrus fruits, and rooibos.
We passed Clanwilliam, and I don’t know whether the name evoked the association, but the landscape did look “scotlandy”, with its sandstone outcrops and bristling shrubbery. We would return here on the final tour day, and stop for rooibos tea.3
The rich farmlands rely on a dam and irrigation system. It had not been necessary at the beginning. 100+ farmers had come to settle in the area in the early 19th century. They farmed in the alluvial deposits, and when the Olifantsrivier flooded, it would water the crops.
But the river widened over time, and the flood weakened. So a dam was built in 1911. Italian POWs dug the irrigation gravity canals that distributed the water to the farmlands.
We continued on through the incredible Matzikama range to Vanrhynsdorp. It would be our base for the duration of the tour.
Small group tour diversity
Namaqualand Flower Tours runs their tours in small groups, which suited me just fine. At least that way, there’s a halfway decent chance an introverted person might get comfortable enough to ask questions and eventually interact with fellow tourists. And despite the small group, it was still surprisingly diverse. I mean, I wasn’t even the only one with a dietary requirement.4
Of the local South Africans, there was Krishna and Jeet, with her extended family – all vegetarians. I remember her niece works in finance. Not like, in the trading markets, but to catch financial crimes like money laundering.
The other South African family was a Böer farmer with her daughter. They came from Ithaba Falls, near Kruger National Park, which makes it easy to remember Santa and Melissa’s name. It was Santa who insisted we try the pap5 at breakfast, as it was one of the only truly African things in the buffet. Africans eat it a lot, she said. They sell them in shops in batches of up to 80kg, and that doesn’t even last a month.
The mother & daughter both waxed lyrical over the landscape and wildlife where they lived. Santa additionally told us it was ‘Julius Malema’s place’. From watching Trevor Noah, I can compare it to sort of like how a Malaysian might say “I’m from Pagoh, Muhyiddin’s place…”
Of the foreigners, there was a Russian couple with the most stereotypically overachieving jobs. Igor the nuclear physicist, and Irina the medical doctor, are avid travellers and go on holidays whenever they can.
They’ve been to more than 90 countries – maybe more by now. Irina told me about an island off the coast of Russia towards Japan. Between July and August, you would be surrounded by whales, and at night you can hear them breathing.
The remainder were the retired Australians – Julie on a solo trip, and Leslie & Andrew on vacation together.6
The nursery in Vanrhynsdorp
We arrived in Vanrhynsdorp while it was still afternoon. I found out why soon enough. Before the day was done, Taryn took us to her favourite place in town.
The Kokerboom Kwekery is a local plant nursery. But because of where it is, it’s not just your regular plant nursery. The region doesn’t just have spectacular carpets of springtime daisies. The succulent Karoo biome extends into Namakwaland. Its semi-arid landscape contains some of the greatest diversity of succulent plants in the world, two-thirds of which are found nowhere else.
Sneak peek of Namakwaland succulent plants
We would see some of these strange desert plants in the coming days. But the Kokerboom Kwekery nursery gave us a preview.
Some of these succulents resemble cactuses that I’m used to seeing. But many were truly alien-looking. Some had leaves flat on the ground, and others look like green stones that kept splitting in two. But in this part of the world, the Cape Floral Region, even these strange plants flowered.
Endangered lithops and living stones
It was the ones that looked like stones that are rarest. Unsurprisingly, they’re called ‘lithops’ or ‘living stones’. And it wasn’t just that they look like stones on the ground, nor that the ‘stones’ are colourful, but they also had weird adaptations like a ‘leaf window’, a transparent top surface that lets in light into the leaf interior.
But rare plants attract collectors, and inevitably, poachers. And the buyers are willing to pay a lot. The poaching of lithops and conophytums from South Africa is even more lucrative than poaching rhino horn.
Perversely, the rarer the species, the more it is in demand. And it’s not like there aren’t nurseries you can legally buy them from either. But lithops take years to grow, and the poached ones are just bigger, and people want things now.
Like most places with a poaching problem, an underlying driver is the local poverty. A single order could be worth more than 100,000 euros, a sum that is tempting even for those with money and a job, let alone the unemployed. And a single overseas order asks for thousands of plants. Just in the last three years alone, an estimated 2 million plants have already been poached.
Worse, some plants only grow in very specific places. It is conceivable that a single order could wipe out a whole species. If the poaching continues, there may be no lithops and conophytums within two generations.
PSA: Do not buy lithops or conophytums from social media. They are frequently poached. Always buy from a legal nursery. (So what if they’re small? Houses are getting smaller anyway.) When in doubt, assume it isn’t legal. If you encounter them in the wild, never reveal the location in social media posts, and remove the GPS tag before posting.
A morning of Namakwaland daisies
Even on hot days, mornings in the desert are still cold in August. I should know this, from my experience in the Atacama. And I did have some warm clothing, since I came to the Western Cape in the spring. But the morning cold still felt biting at breakfast time.
On the flipside, the sky was clear. So we had hope that the day would be sunny, and the daisies would be out. We had only seen fleeting glimpses of patchy wildflowers along the way – pretty, but not quite what you mean when you think of a ‘blooming desert’. We talked ourselves into not expecting too much.
The daisies were out, though. On our way north to Namaqua National Park, we began to see more daisy strips and patches – orange, but sometimes also yellow.
The daisy lays seed in two ways, Taryn explained. The petals are seeds, as well as the middle part of the flower. The first are blown away by wind while the second fall close to the plant. So you never know which of the three colours will be dominant next year – orange, yellow or white.
The first field of daisies
We reached a place called Skilpad. All of a sudden, someone spotted a field of daisies – like, a proper one. The fields grew increasingly vibrant and thick with daisy, and before long, we clamoured to get out. Taryn relented, even though we hadn’t yet reached the real good part.
But though it seemed the entire field comprised of daisies, there were other flowers too. Just by the roadside, we found flowering aloes, irises, and sorrels.
After a few minutes, Taryn shepherded us back into the van. We would not want to lose time in the National Park.
More orange daisies in Namaqua National Park
And she was right.
As we went past the park signage, we came upon what seemed like a dozen fields of daisies all together. They seemed everywhere, always there whenever you look down on the ground. Up close, the petals had a slight satin look that reflected the sunlight with an almost wax-like gloss.
Unlike the first field which we only admired from the roadside, you could enter the daisy fields in Namaqua National Park. But only along the designated paths. No matter how strong it is, any urge for Bollywood-style rolling around in the daisies cannot be indulged. The park rangers are strict and watch you with binoculars no matter how far into the fields you go. The whole tour group would be evicted if any member tramples the flowers or so much as steps off the path.
Other fynbos of Namakwaland
I also now have more photos of miscellaneous flowers & fynbos than I know what to do with that I’m still feeding into iNaturalist.
The Namakwaland daisies certainly take centre stage here, but if you like to pay attention to the small things, there are many more things to discover. By the end of the tour, I was often down on the ground trying to find the best angles for the weird and the charming of the South African fynbos, and Taryn is always happy to explain just how strange some of them truly are.
The kokerboom of Gannabos
The next morning we headed out to see completely different botany. The nearly full moon hung over the South African veld, floating above the line of mesa on the horizon. Not as brightly shining like the silver coin over Atacama, but lovely nonetheless against the clear baby blue sky.
Although the Namakwaland daisies were the tour headliners, you really shouldn’t settle for just that in the Northern Cape. Because you could also see the kokerboom, the rarest plant in the world.
It was also Taryn’s favourite. Soon enough, we came to a private estate in Gannabos, which was host to the largest kokerboom forest in the world. And it was amazing indeed. I had never seen such a strange landscape before, with such strange, interesting trees.
The strange beauty of the quiver tree
I could see why it was Taryn’s favourite. The kokerboom, or quiver tree, looks unearthly, but beautiful in an alien strangeness. Its canopy was like a head of curly hair, with short, thick wayward locks. It grew straight trunks of silver bark that peeled apart, turning gold.
But the kokerboom was not truly a tree. It is actually an aloe, and though it seemed to have trunks like a tree, it had no tree rings. Within, there was no wood, only a fibrous stem. The fibres are an adaptation for the arid climate, soaking and storing water for survival for long dry periods.
We were lucky to have such a sunny day, for the trunks of the kokerboom gleamed in the morning sun, and its unusual silhouette showed sharply against the empty blue sky.
To be honest, the tour deserves to be billed as a kokerboom tour with Namakwa daisies, just as well as the other way around. But I guess, not as many people would understand what a quiver tree is, and why they should see it.
Climate change & kokerboom survival
The quiver trees in the estate were all naturally present, and old – on average, more than 100 years old, though they can live to between 300-350 years old.
You could plant them from seed, said Taryn. But you would be growing them for your grandchildren. In fact, the Gannabos estate gift shop sells them, though if you’re not local, it is very unlikely you came from a climate where they would grow.
The slow-growing quiver tree is vulnerable to disturbance. Its shallow root system makes it prone to falling over if there are high winds, a risk exacerbated by porcupines that like to gnaw at the base of the trees.
You’d think that if there’s a forest of them, the location must not experience frequent strong winds. But climate change alters water and weather cycles, and it has affected survival.
Other strange succulents
As in the Cape Floral Region, it is worthwhile to pay close attention to the ground here as well. Of course, there are fynbos to be found, and the succulents this biome is famous for. And they look quite different from the tiny plants in the flower fields.
During the car ride, Taryn would likely have explained the different adaptations that these plants have against the climate, and against being eaten by animals in this biome. If you’re lucky, you might find examples of the spiral ribbony leaves and the leaves flush to the ground, and more weird and wonderful variety.
But we were in indigenous land. Before we left Gannabos, we had to partake in a little bit of local custom. I won’t give away what it was. Only that Jeet was the only one of us who participated to the fullest, for he actually put some thought into the physics for the best distance!
More plants near Nieuwoudtville
We left Gannabos and headed to Nieuwoudtville, where we would stop for lunch. (Nieuwoudtville, for the benefit of flower fans, is the ‘Bulb Capital of the World’, with more than 1350 plant species and hundreds of flowering bulbs.)c
But first, we stopped to see the Nieuwoudtville waterfall’s spectacular 90m drop.
Yellow daisies at Matjiesfontein
But we were not yet done with daisies. There was another daisy field near Nieuwoudtville. And you’d think one could only see so many daisies, but you see, the ones in Matjiesfontein that year were yellow.
I remarked to my gardener friend afterwards, that if you were to ask me what my favourite flower was, I’d probably say something cool and interesting, like a lily. A daisy is just far too simple to be a favourite flower, isn’t it?
Yet I can’t help but smile at a daisy, never mind a million daisies. And I do like gerberas specifically. And don’t we all instinctively draw the daisy, when asked to draw a standard flower?
The daisies of Biedouw Valley
We had one final daisy dazzle on our final day. On our journey back to Cape Town, we made a stop at Beidouw Valley, for yet another field of daisies.
The field at Beidouw Valley is part of cattle pasture. So it was different from the previous fields.
For starters, it wasn’t as flat. There were ridges and gullies, and slopes that gave a good panoramic view. We also noticed midges in the air, probably because there were cow pats somewhere.
The daisies here did not quite have the same intensity of colour as the previous fields. Nor did it completely dominate the valley landscape, such that you don’t think ‘blooming desert’ (in fact, the valley is not a desert), and the daisy landscape feels a bit ‘messier’.
So if I were to compare the photos from Beidouw Valley, the daisies seem less spectacular than at Namaqua or even Matjiesfontein.
But here’s the thing. Despite all of that, it was at Beidouw that I felt the same inexplicable feeling I had in the Atacama high lagoons. In that, I found one location that wasn’t the most otherworldly beautiful, somehow my favourite.
It was just a feeling you have in your heart, and not at all objective. There was something comforting and likeable about the daisies in the valley.
Not the most spectacular, but the most beautiful
In the altiplano, Aguas Calientes was my favourite because it was the salt lagoon that smelled of organic life. But here, Beidouw was my favourite, because the daisies were not one colour. They were orange, yellow, and white. Not even that, for individual daisies were also not a uniform colour either; many were mixed variants.
After all, don’t horticulturalists mix and breed different strains of flowers, to make ever more new ones? And isn’t it wonderful that the succulents and fynbos of South Africa have such different adaptations, to suit their different constraints, or sometimes even the same constraint? You couldn’t avoid its diversity, even in fields that seemed the most uniform at first glance.
I think, I feel a reassuring comfort when there is diversity. Perhaps it makes me feel as if, no matter what happens, surely somebody would know an adaptation that works. And I feel that comfort as beauty.
Notes:
- Alternatively, also spelled Namaqualand. There isn’t a particular reason I opted to spell it Namakwaland in this article. Only that, at the time I was looking for such a tour, I couldn’t find any even after extensive googling for three hours. Eventually, I reached out to fellow travel blogger @inafricaandbeyond on Instagram because I knew she’s South African. She gave me a few recommendations, one of which I ended up selecting.
Turns out, the tours tend to use the other spelling, which is apparently the Afrikaans way! So I guess, it’s my way of commemorating my ordeal! (Fast forward to present day, and – like ALWAYS happens – by the time I’m writing about it, it is now easy to search for these tours online. Even the websites look much, much better now.) ↩︎ - You can find out if the landscape had always looked this way, and how the native San culture adapted to it, at the !Khwa ttu San Culture & Education Centre. ↩︎
- This is surprisingly worth the stop. My past experience of rooibos was limited to Twinings tea bag versions you might find in some hotels. I discovered that it has no resemblance whatsoever to authentic rooibos, which is far more pleasant. I am still hoarding my last tin. ↩︎
- At the time I booked, there wasn’t a halal meal option, although they did manage to organise an option anyway by the time the tour took place. This isn’t such a big problem because the meal portions are large. The lunch sandwiches often sufficed me for dinner as well, which gave the benefit of extra time resting in my room rather than going out to dinner. That said, now Namaqualand Flower Tours is apparently halal-friendly. ↩︎
- I did try the mieliepap, since it was the first instance I encountered it in South Africa. It isn’t common in restaurant menus in Cape Town, or at least, I never saw it. The version at the Red Ox has a texture somewhat like Vanuatu laplap. From the bland taste, I assume you’re meant to eat it with other things. ↩︎
- It was a remarkable coincidence, but Julie’s granddaughter was also in finance, but quit the investment sector to work in finance for an ethical business. By the end of the tour, advice from these elders including Santa gave me the confidence that my instinct was right to turn down a job offer from an old friend. Fast forward to present day, and I think it was the right decision. ↩︎
- The Khoikhoi suffix -kwa means ‘place of’. I wonder if this makes ‘Namaqualand’ a bit redundant, i.e. ‘Nama people’s land land’. ↩︎
a What are fynbos?
Fynbos literally means “fine bush”. The term refers to the small shrubland plants which constitute the vast majority of the botany of the Cape Floral Region. That they’re mostly endemic is why the floral region is a UNESCO Heritage Site.
Its high diversity within a relatively small region makes it like our Coral Triangle, but for land. In fact, land vs land, the density of plant diversity in the Cape Floral Region beats that of Malaysian rainforests.
And they’re very diverse indeed. A great place to get a summary overview is Kirstenbosch Gardens. There are eco-regions inside the Cape Floral Region, and the plants obviously reflect it. And that’s not to mention the plants of the succulent Karoo to the north of the region, itself one of the world’s 34 biodiversity hotspots.
But that’s not all. It’s called the Cape Floral Region, not Cape Plants Region. Its biodiversity is a flowering diversity. I learned that some of the best flowers we associate with an ‘English’ garden are actually native to South Africa. The calla lily, agapanthus, amaryllis, gerbera and a plethora of other daisies, gladiolus – all South African!
b Namakwaland history
Namakwaland7 in South Africa is located within the Northern Cape region. As implied by the name, it is the territory of the Nama people.
The Nama pastoralists had moved south into San territory some two thousand years ago from the Namibia-Botswana region. Conflict over the territory pushed the hunter-gatherer San further inland. Centuries later, the Dutch and then British pastoralists arrived. They established permanent farms, pushing both the Nama and San north or inland, or into farm labour.
Today, the descendants of the Nama people work in the fishing industry along the coast, or in the mining areas to the east.
c Explore more of the Northern Cape
A 4-day flower tour is not enough to properly appreciate the Northern Cape. Nieuwoudtville itself is a tourist destination, especially during the flower seasons. See its website to learn more.
For everything else you can do in the Northern Cape, see its tourism website, or this article for a shortlist of suggestions. The region is pretty underrated. I used to have a British colleague who was working on a project in the Karoo, and she would always mention how amazing the region was during team meetings. I see why now.
Plan for souvenirs in the Northern Cape
The Namakwaland Flower Tour will make many stops across the northern region. They will choose locations suitable for bathroom breaks as well as some kind of local shop, because they try to disperse tourism value across the communities.
However, unless you know this beforehand, you won’t know how much room to reserve in your luggage, and for what. And it’s tricky to decide whether to buy something at the first stop or wait until later. So here’s an overview of the kinds of things you might want to consider as souvenirs from this region.
(Note that they may or may not always stop at these places, but the list gives some indication for what kinds of wares you can expect.)
Velddrif: Quick stop at Die Skooltjie Padstal. This is a farm shop with snacks, and an impressive selection of jams and preserves.
Garies: Daisyland Tourism is a kind of general store + souvenirs. They have a range of local souvenirs, but also tourist supplies, from fashion accessories and shoes to braai supplies.
Gannabos: There is a little shop at the Gannabos quiver tree forest. They sell snacks like fruit leather, succulents, photo prints of kokerboom, and kokerboom seeds.
Nieuwoudtville: We had pancakes and tea at the church hall, where there were also local souvenirs and farm products. These range from souvenir housewares, postcards, etc. to leather goods and elephant dung fire starters. For edible souvenirs, you can find farm products such as jams and preserves, dried fruit, seeds, and nuts.
Clanwilliam: We stopped at House of Rooibos. Here, you can get rooibos tea of all kinds, as well as other rooibos products, from cordials and chocolates to skincare and toiletries. This is where you should stock up on rooibos.
Carbon offset information to Cape Town, South Africa
A return flight between Kuala Lumpur and Cape Town via Dubai produces carbon emissions of approximately 5,987 lbs CO2e. It costs about $48 to offset this.
Have you experienced the daisy bloom in Namakwaland? What was it like?
What an incredible journey! Namakwaland’s flowers and unusual plants must make for such a fascinating experience, especially when the landscape transforms with seasonal blooms. I really enjoyed the idea of exploring a destination through its unique plant life rather than just the usual tourist attractions. This sounds like a memorable adventure!
Yes, it was. The whole region is one of the Floral Kingdoms, so it would be a missed opportunity if I didn’t see the flora on my trip.
I’ve just arrived in Nieuwoudtville for the daisies. Thanks for a great article
OMG so jealous! I hope the daisies are out for you !