News

The whole Namaqua area had good follow up rains over the past week. The park itself has good flowers, but it seems as if the Skilpad section will not be as good as last year. The daisies started with a bang, but has since not increased much in numbers.

This can be ascribed to the 2 good rainy seasons in a row, resulting in lush growth of non-flowering vegetation. The park is still worth a visit though, with the access road to the park having some nice blocks/carpets of flowers along the way.

If you have a 4×4 the park road from Skilpad to Soebatsfontein is definitely worth the effort. The “˜vygies’ are the best they have been in a number of years. Some of the more spectacular species are also emerging, particularly cat-tails and “˜kalkoentjies’. The upside of the good rains at Skilpad is that the two walking trails offer a better variety of flowers.

Visitors from the Cape Town side can start planning their flower viewing from Citrusdal already. The whole 350km from Citrusdal to Kamieskroon has an unbelievable amount of flowers, with regular carpets and patches of white and yellow daisies along the way.

Recommended areas for flower viewing in the park and general vicinity for the coming week (10-17 August 2007):

Arakoop, along the N7 (just north of Kamieskroon)

Haasrivier (on the access road to the park)

All areas around Soebatsfontein

Garies-Groen river road- HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

If you have a 4×4:

The coastal areas (especially Groen-Spoeg area)

The park road from Skilpad to Soebatsfontein

The best is to ask around and drive around- there are many more roads not mentioned here which have flowers on them!

Regards

BERNARD VAN LENTE: PARK MANAGER: