7 September 2014

Flower season on the West Coast of South Africa is at a peak. The flower season is normally from beginning of August to end of September. We decided to take Jonas, Robin, Christoff and his mother to the West Coast National Park on the R27. This national park is just over an hours drive from the mother city which makes it an easy day trip. The national park was established in 1985 and comprises 32,000ha. It was a beautiful morning in Cape Town when we left, not too hot but sunny so we would be sure to see the flowers open.

A guide to viewing the flowers.

On the way we stopped for coffee at the West Coast Farm stall. Although the service is friendly and one can buy the usual stuff from “biltong” (South African cured meat) to “biskuit”, the food menu is not that inspiring.

After a coffee break we moved on to the West Coast National Park entrance off the R27. We were not the only people who decided to make use of the great weather and for the first time since I’ve been visiting the park, we sat in a queue that started on the R27. Entrance to the park is R65 p/p for South African citizens and between R85 – R120 for international visitors. Christoff and I made use of our Wildcards which gave us free access to the park. During the flower season from 01 August to 30 September each year, the Postberg area in the park is open to the public. We immediately headed in that direction and saw our first leopard tortoise on the way with the usual ostriches dotting the landscape.

The lagoon lay blue in the sun and it always reminds me of somewhere in Greece. As we headed into Postberg it was a well maintained gravel road all the way through the reserve. This road is accessible by any vehicle and you don’t need a 4×4. However be prepared that your car will be very dusty and if it rained, covered in mud. Although we drove with the car this time, motorbikes are allowed into the National Park and it makes for a great day trip.

The best is to start at Postberg and do the drive through that area of the park before doing the other areas. We saw enough flowers and Christoff took the time to photograph some of these. Our German friends saw their first wild Bontebok, Eland, Flamingo’s, Gemsbok, Kudu and Zebra. And to top it all the small Dung Beetle as well. There are many beaches and areas to explore in the park and in off-season chances are one would have some of these to yourself.

We packed a picnic lunch and decided to stop off at Kraalbaai for a picnic on the beach next to the lagoon. The azure blue lagoon stretched in front of us and looked very inviting for a swim, although the temperatures were not summer yet. However we did brave the water and found crabs and even a lone jellyfish in the shallow water.

After a great afternoon we headed back to Cape Town with the ever-present Table Mountain looming on the horizon.