African Namaqualand: A desert that blooms right in front of your eyes!
Life in the area
The name itself comes from the name of the indigenous population of Nama’s khoikhoi ethnic group which is located in Namibia. Namaqualand lies right on the Tropic of Capricorn and it is a semi-desert region consisting of wide desert plains in the Northwest Province and bleak rugged beaches on the west coast.
This area is only sparsely populated. The local population has to cope with the lack of water and with the desert conditions. Survival requires both considerable courage and an indomitable nature. The only source of livelihood is sheep breeding. For almost the whole year round there is nothing to look for, but from August to September, luxurious wonders occur.
Direction Africa
You should set-out for an adventurous and luxurious trip in September, when the intensity of the sun is getting weaker. The park itself, which is divided into Sandveld Sandylands, Hardeveld Hills and Little Bush Plain, is a 5-hour drive from Cape Town.
A luxurious spectacle: –A flowering desert
The otherwise dry mountainous landscape is changing and during the rainy season it becomes lush and green. At the end of August and the beginning of September, like a miracle, the desert turns into a blooming “garden”. That is why it is called the “Flowering Desert”. The sun-drenched ground is watered by copious rain that revives it and thereby gives rise to lush greenery. There are a vast number of endemic plants of different shapes and colours. Before your eyes, meadows that look like colourful carpets of flowers blossom.
The yellow, sandy and rocky subsoil is enlivened with shades of green, purple, red and pink. You will see a plethora of such juicy plants, as vygies, which have attractive flowers that are most often open between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. when the sunshine is the most intense. Other plants cope with lack of moisture by their specific sparkling leaves that hold moisture, grow down into the ground and have a stony look. A luxurious aloe tree holds the necessary water in its thick trunk. Each one simply tries to survive.
During the August to September period this arid region is not a reminder of a monotonous desert, but landscape that awaits the right moment for rain and then exhibits its hidden secrets.
