Favorite places to visit (part 2)

Today I will be continuing my journey through South Africa to the Namaqualand.

Namaqualand
(Afrikaans: Namakwaland) is an arid region of Namibia and South Africa, extending along the west coast over 1,000 kilometres (600 mi) and covering a total area of 440,000 square kilometres (170,000 sq mi). It is divided by the lower course of the Orange River into two portions – Little Namaqualand to the south and Great Namaqualand to the north.Little Namaqualand is within the Namakwa District Municipality, forming part of Northern Cape Province, South Africa. It is geographically the largest district in the country, spanning over 26,836 km².[1] A typical municipality is Kamiesberg Local Municipality. The semi-desert Succulent Karoo region experiences hot summers, sparse rainfall and cold winters.[1]Great Namaqualand is in the ǁKaras Region of Namibia. Great Namaqualand is sparsely populated by the Nraditionally inhabited the Namaqualand region.
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The best time of year to visit the Namaqualand is in the Spring season - this is when all its flowers bloom and the dry brown landscape transforms into  sea of colors.  This area of South Africa receives little rain throughout the year but after the winter rains from May to the end of July, this normally dry area becomes a carpet of wildflowers suck as Gousblomme and Vygies and aslo plants such as Nemesias, Lachenalias, Babiana and Ixias.  The big variety of flowers are thanks to the contrast of the landscape which flows from deep valleys to high mountains and on to the unique sandveld region near the coast with its wetter vlei areas.

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The usual flower peak is between early August and late August. Time and time again tourists make the mistake of booking for late September and then miss the whole show, this is because this is a hotter area than the rest of the Cape and thus Spring arrives earlier, so if you are to visit Namaqualand be sure to have your timing correct.

This can be sometime a case of Catch 22 when there is lots of rain in a season, the upside is having lots of rain means more flowers and a better display, but when the rain continues during August (Spring) it is not much fun to view the flowers as mist and rain will be cold-ish and covers up the best views.

There is also a big element of luck as there is lots of variables that influences the blooming of flowers, to much or to little will have an effect, excessive heat or heavy thunder storms may also play a big role in the amount of flowers blooming or when they might bloom.

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 The bottom line is that ideally you need to come with an attitude of acceptance and ideally be prepared to explore other aspects of the area if the flowers are not so amazing. For example the Cederberg has some stunning mountain passes to enjoy. View rock art, do a walking trail or visit Rooibos tea farms. The towns have attractive coffee shops to enjoy and arts & craft shops to explore.
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