Category Archives: Flowers

Birding South Africa, Flowers, Holiday Trips

Prince Albert – Birding and other Delights

December 2, 2024 Don Reid 8 Comments

Always on the lookout for a chance to get away for a few days, Gerda’s birthday seemed like a good excuse and Prince Albert a good option being just a couple of hours away yet much more in terms of “a change being as good as a holiday”

Wednesday 11^th September 2024

Packing was left to the morning of our departure and went smoothly albeit slowly and by midday we were heading to our first stop – no prizes for guessing – our favourite Eight Bells Inn for a light lunch in the enclosed patio (bit too windy and cool for outside) with the familiar views and friendly staff.

On the way to the R328 we stopped at the Hartenbos Vleis for a quick scan of the birdlife and came up with an African Jacana – still a Western Cape Rarity – and African Swamphen among the usual Teals and Ducks. A Ruff was an interesting sight being one of the early palearctic migrant arrivals.

African Jacana (Western Cape rarity), Hartenbos Vlei

A number of Spoonbills on the far side of the vlei took to the air, providing an opportunity for some in flight photos, one of which I used for the heading image above after tweaking it to darken the background.

Back on the road after Eight Bells, we enjoyed the rest of the classic road trip through the Robinson Pass and Meiringspoort then along the hills and dales of the beautiful stretch of road heading to Prince Albert through the Kredouw Pass and the Prince Albert Valley

We hadn’t been to Dennehof Guesthouse before, but it was easy to find on the main road just before reaching the town proper and we were met by Albert (not the Prince) who showed us the room and provided info on dining options and things to do.

We have been to Prince Albert many times but there are always new places and eateries to hear about in this quiet yet dynamic Karoo dorp. Dennehof has a nice feel to it – not too pretentious with a mix of simple whitewashed buildings in the Karoo style making up a pleasant complex.

There was time before dusk to sit on the stoep and soak up the atmosphere, watched by the resident Spotted Eagle-Owl

The passing bird life included –

White-backed Mousebird
Purple Heron flying overhead probably to its roost
Sparrows, Cape and House, flitting about energetically
Karoo Thrush singing its cheerful song at close of day

Pied Barbet calling plaintively

Dinner was chicken and salads that we brought with us.

Thursday 12th September 2024

Albert had said we could arrive for breakfast up to 9.30 am so being Gerda’s birthday we did exactly that. The setting is a delight – out in the garden in a glazed conservatory (where so many murders happen apparently) with a view of the adjoining wetland busy with Red Bishops and Masked Weavers doing their thing.

The breakfast was above average and imaginative with a fruit and muesli mix that had us licking the bowl, followed by a herby omelette as good as they get – if for nothing else, I will return for that omelette. The coffee wasn’t half bad either.

That set us up nicely for the day which we planned as we went, starting with a slow drive down the main street of Prince Albert, followed by a short trip to the Olive farm north of the town which took us through some of the greenest Karoo countryside we have ever seen.

Along the way we stopped at the sewage works (as birders are wont to do) and at the low water bridges which, for the first time in our experience, had water flowing over them. The first of the two was productive for my atlasing list, adding half a dozen species in quick time –

Chestnut-vented Titbabbler
Karoo Scrub-Robin
Pririt Batis

Fiscal Flycatcher
White-throated Canary that came to drink from the shallow stream

Even a Three-banded Plover unexpectedly dropping in for a wade

We were treated to the unusual sight (for this arid part of SA) of water flowing over the low water bridges on the outskirts of the town

Just after the second bridge we turned into the Olive farm and, as it was lunchtime, we ordered tea and a waffle which we enjoyed outside under the trees (all part of the birthday celebration of course).

On the way back we turned off at the Karoo View signpost and drove a few kms to see the remnants of the flowers still in the open veld, then made a short stop at Karoo Souk which is a small group of craft shops, before heading back to Dennehof for a welcome rest.

Later, still in celebratory mode, we ventured out for a meal at the Yellow House restaurant which was up to the occasion and provided a nice ending to a very pleasant day.

Friday 13th September 2024

Another nice breakfast although we didn’t go for the full monty after last night’s big meal. After breakfast I added a few species to the atlas card including Alpine Swifts and Palm Swifts flying by and a Long-billed Crombec moving through the garden. That made four Swifts in all after seeing Little and White-rumped Swifts on the first day.

We had decided to drive to the fig farm at Weltevrede but first followed Albert’s suggestion of a drive along the ‘Bush pub’ road in search of a Karoo Eremomela. The bird eluded us but we did see a few other area specials such as –

Mountain Wheatear

Lark-like Bunting
Dusky Sunbird
Rufous-eared Warbler

And no less than three species of Canary –

White-throated Canary
Black-throated Canary
Black-headed Canary

It was time to head to the fig farm, so we turned back to town and took the road past the cemetery signposted ‘Weltevrede 25 km’.

We took it slow, stopping for birds – and flowers – and there were plenty of both to attract our attention.

At around 6 kms the road passes between tall rocky cliff faces which, according to Albert and Inge, is a site where Ground Woodpecker has been seen.

We spent some time stopping to scan the rocks carefully for any sign of the Woodpecker and even more so on the way back, to no avail. The spectacular drive made up for that mild disappointment and we arrived at the farm where we found we were the only visitors – very different from our previous visit which was during the peak of fig picking and drying.

After treating ourselves to fig tart we headed slowly back – Black-headed Canaries were the most frequent sightings along with Pale Chanting Goshawk and Karoo Chat.

Pale Chanting Goshawk, near Prince Albert

We weren’t particularly keen to go out that evening but after a relaxing time at the room we had a bit more energy and ‘lus’ for Jeremy’s Restaurant which was a great choice and suited to our reduced appetite. We both had Taglietelle puttanesca not having ever had it and it was wonderfully simple and delicious, cooked by Jeremy himself. We treated ourselves to Spekboom ice cream which was different but not overly so and we left in a good frame of mind.

Saturday 14th September 2024

Up a bit earlier to fit in packing and breakfast before checkout time, we enjoyed the fruit and omelette once again, then greeted Inge and Albert like family and set off through town to Gays dairy for some of their lovely cheeses before heading out on the road back. This time we had time to stop and savour the flowers and birds – often both at the same spot.

Lunch venues are limited on this route so we looked for a place in De Rust, ending up at Herries which is the local pub and turned out to be a good choice even though we just had tea and a sandwich in a venue that almost demands you have at least a beer or two if not a klippies and coke.

The rest of the trip was uneventful with stops in George at the nurseries and a ‘koffie vir oulaas’ at Elvis Brew, a favourite coffee spot near the George Airport, before heading homewards, well satisfied yet again with our choice of Prince Albert for a short breakaway.

Flowers, Land of Beauty, The World around Us

A Fynbos Sunset

November 6, 2023 Don Reid 8 Comments

One of the joys of Mossel Bay, our new home town, is the proximity of our house to the broad band of coastal fynbos that separates the estate we live in from the rugged coastline running along this part of the southern Cape.

A short walk of a few minutes takes one into a world of tiny flowers in an expanse of heath-like bushes and although my primary aim is usually to see what birdlife is present, the setting sun this afternoon enticed me to try my hand at some more ‘arty’ photos, using my trusty iphone.

Here are some of the results

On closer inspection of the above photo I noticed that the flower was draped in spider’s web which shows up better in this cropped version

Flowers, Land of Beauty, On the Road

Karoo in Flower

October 3, 2023 Don Reid 9 Comments

Our road trip from Pretoria to Mossel Bay this past weekend followed a by now familiar routine – around 1300 kms spread more or less equally over three days with stopovers near Bloemfontein and Graaff-Reinet.

What we love about road trips is the changing landscape along the way, which varies according to the season – that is when traffic and weather conditions allow you to take it in.

The first half of the journey tends to be busy, but once we branch off from the N1 National Road traffic diminishes and despite a narrower road the driving becomes easier, allowing us to scan the surrounding landscape.

What set this trip apart for us was the appearance of flowers at the roadside and extending into the adjoining fields in places.

Spring brings an abundance of wild flowers to the western parts of South Africa and we have enjoyed flower watching trips in previous years.
But the Karoo is not known for its spring flowers, so it was a pleasant surprise to see massed displays in places as we drove the second half of our journey, starting in the Willowmore area and continuing through to Oudtshoorn and beyond. Some examples …..

Bright orange daisies just south of Oudtshoorn…

Karoo Violets near Graaff-Reinet…

Vygies galore along the road between Oudtshoorn and De Rust….

Just what we needed after a couple of months of arduous clearing out and packing of our Pretoria home in preparation for our permanent move to Mossel Bay

Flowers, Holiday Trips, National Parks

Spring Flowers Trip 2022 – West Coast National Park

February 17, 2023 Don Reid 4 Comments

This is the last of my series of posts on the Spring flowers trip we undertook in 2022

The Background

With wonderful memories of our Spring Flowers trip through parts of the Western Cape in September 2021 still fresh in our minds, we decided to do a similar, but different, trip in September 2022. Our planned route was to take us to Tulbagh for one night, then three nights each in Clanwilliam and Paternoster. To round off the trip we treated ourselves to a three-night stay in Cape Town’s Vineyard Hotel, in celebration of our birthdays which “book-ended” the trip,

Decision Time

Our trip had met all of our expectations and we felt more than satisfied with what we had seen and done during our trip so far. Day 7 of our trip was to take us from Paternoster to Cape Town and we debated whether or not to visit the West Coast National Park on the way there or to skip it this year, having ‘done’ it just a year ago.

Fortunately, as it turned out, we decided to head to the Langebaan gate of the Park after our last breakfast at Paternoster Dunes Guest House, and ‘play it by ear’ as to how much of the Park we would have time to explore, bearing in mind the distances involved in getting to the Postberg section of the park, which is only open during the flower season months, and the numbers of other flower viewers we were likely to encounter.

On the way to Langebaan a roadside Jackal Buzzard on a utility pole had me braking for a quick photo

Jackal Buzzard Buteo rufofuscus Rooiborsjakkalsvoël, Paternoster

Langebaan Gate to Postberg

After finding our way through the residential areas of Langebaan, we arrived at the gate into the Park where 12 cars were waiting to enter. The queue moved quickly and we were soon in the Park and making good progress to the T-junction where we turned right towards Postberg

We like to stop at every interesting bush to have a closer look at its flowers – the following two images are an example of a bush appearing fairly nondescript, but once you get up close and personal the flowers are quite striking

And so our journey went, all the way to Postberg section, stopping frequently, hopping in and out of the car to get a closer look and a photo from the right angle.

A few others seemed to be doing the same, but the majority passed by with hardly a glance, eager to get to Postberg for the massed displays of flowers – to each his own, but we prefer to take in everything we see

Now if only I knew the names of some of these beauties – it took me a few years to build up a reasonable knowledge of birds, now it seems to be taking even longer to learn more about the flowers and I still feel like a raw beginner

Once into the Postberg section of the Park, we joined the many vehicles driving the gravel roads and admiring the incredible displays of multi-coloured flowers – irresistible for more photos!

Cape Spurfowl among flowers, West Coast NP

At one point on the return journey to the gate, the sky was filled with Gulls, wheeling above the flower-bedecked flats – quite a sight to see!

Edible Flowers too!

And on a lighter note – did you know that some of the flowers in the park are edible? Well, I can confirm this is so, as you will see from the following photos of a cookieata sweetieae that we came across as we drove to Postberg – it is well known in the Biedouw Valley

And that, dear readers, is how the cookie crumbles

Flowers, The World around Us

2023! – A Beacon of Hope…..

January 1, 2023 Don Reid 7 Comments

It’s strange how things cross your path when least expected – I was out for my last late-afternoon walk of the year, enjoying the fresh, mind-clearing wind and keeping a look out for birds in the conservation area close to our home in Mossel Bay.

I was heading back up the hill along the narrow track that leads through a sea of fynbos, most of which lacks any sort of flowers at this time of year, when a flash of bright red caught my eye – I lifted my binos and saw to my delight that it was a lone flower, poking out above the sea of green like a beacon…. of hope, I decided right there

This comes with my wish to everyone for a blooming good 2023!

Flowers, Holiday Trips, Land of Beauty

Spring Flowers Trip 2022 – Tietiesbaai : Bay of Plenty….. Flowers

December 23, 2022 Don Reid 6 Comments

The Background

With wonderful memories of our Spring Flowers trip through parts of the Western Cape in September 2021 still fresh in our minds, we decided to do a similar, but different, trip in September 2022. Our planned route was to take us to Tulbagh for one night, then three nights each in Clanwilliam and Paternoster. To round off the trip we treated ourselves to a three night stay in Cape Town’s Vineyard Hotel, in celebration of our birthdays which “book-ended” the trip,

I would recommend clicking on the images where appropriate to view in larger scale and appreciate the beauty and perfection of the flowers.

Flowers in abundance

The full breakfast at Paternoster Dunes is a gourmet affair, presented with flair and with unusual flavours – just what we enjoy as a treat. Adding to the enjoyment is the view from the upper floor dining room with its panoramic windows looking over the wide expanse of beach below and across the waves to the distant headlands.

During brekkie we got chatting to a couple from Vryburg – well Gerda got chatting, I just nodded my head occasionally – and as often happens when you get chatting with strangers, we had a glimpse into each other’s lives, which is always interesting.

The sun was shining, holding the promise for a bountiful day’s flower viewing, so after breakfast we set off to visit Cape Columbine Nature Reserve, which has the well-known ‘alternate’ name of Tietiesbaai (literally ‘Boobs Bay’ for the international readers).

The reserve gate lies just a few kms from the guesthouse and once we had paid the nominal fee and entered, we travelled very slowly, with plenty of birdlife and beautiful spreads of flowers demanding our attention all the way.

The sea is almost always visible from the sandy road into the reserve and tracks leading off the main route took us closer to the rocky shoreline where we admired the rafts of flowers in shades of yellow, orange and white, with the odd contrasting colour here and there, all against the rugged backdrop of sea and rocks.

I don’t know of any other spot along the West coast that provides the same spectacular combination of scenery, flowers and birdlife – we were spoilt for choice!

Even without the flowers, Tietiesbaai is worth a visit, but in flower season the carpets of stunning flowers add another dimension to the reserve, making it a must-visit spot, in our opinion.

Strangely, not that many people have cottoned onto this as, during our visits in September last year and again this year, we have found that we have the reserve mostly to ourselves, allowing us to stop at random along the narrow tracks without the worry of blocking the road for others.

The birds we came across were many and varied, with a couple of special encounters which had us excited and fascinated – I will be featuring the birds in a follow-up post as they, and indeed the flowers, are both deserving of a separate post.

Once we reached the campsite, right on the edge of the sea, we made use of the neat ablutions and turned back towards Paternoster, taking the ‘upper’ road past the lighthouse.

To end off let me share some of the images of individual flowers that particularly caught our eye

And to absolutely end off, even the fungi look like attractive flowers (well, I think it’s fungi …..)

Oh, and please do enjoy the Christmas weekend wherever you may find yourself!

Flowers, Holiday Trips, Land of Beauty

Spring Flowers Trip 2022 – Clanwilliam to Paternoster

December 13, 2022 Don Reid 8 Comments

The Background

With wonderful memories of our Spring Flowers trip through parts of the Western Cape in September 2021 still fresh in our minds, we decided to do a similar, but different, trip in September 2022. Our planned route was to take us to Tulbagh for one night, then three nights each in Clanwilliam and Paternoster. To round off the trip we treated ourselves to a three night stay in Cape Town’s Vineyard Hotel, in celebration of our birthdays which “book-ended” the trip,

I would recommend clicking on the images where appropriate to view in larger scale and appreciate the beauty and perfection of the flowers.

Travelling to Paternoster

Today’s trip was less about flower viewing and more about getting from one place to another with the minimum of fuss, so we were not planning any specific stops – more of a ‘play it by ear’ approach was to be the order of the day. As it turned out, the day was interesting but probably doesn’t warrant a separate post, however I wanted to treat this series of posts as a daily report of the trip, so this one is just for completeness. (hey, I’m a QS – we are obsessive types)

After another full breakfast at Yellow Aloe Guest House, which took longer than usual as everyone came to breakfast at more or less the same time, we left Clanwilliam with many fond memories of our short stay.

Rather than heading down the N7 National Road, we took the coastal route, which would take us along quieter regional roads past a number of small towns – including Lamberts Bay, Leipoldtville, Elands Bay and Velddrif.

Along the way there were small patches of flowers here and there and I slowed down as we passed, but did not stop as we had seen many glorious flowers the previous day in the Biedouw Valley

On the way to Elands Bay we noticed patches of red in the gravelly margin bordering the tar road and stopped to have a closer look as it did not look like anything we knew. Closer inspection didn’t enlighten us, but I took a few photos of this rather strange ‘growth’ in an environment which hardly looked as if it could support anything but weeds.

We took a quick detour to Elands Bay just to see what it looks like – the town centre left us less than impressed but the beach provided a sweeping view of the wide sands, wind-whipped sea and distant headland which demanded a photo. Easier said than done, as the wind was so strong, I had to brace myself, legs spread wide and shielding my eyes from the sand, in order to get a couple of moody shots with my iphone.

Feeling peckish we popped into Rooidak padstal just outside town and got a pie for lunch – which I couldn’t finish as it was rather stodgy, then carried on along mostly straight, very flat roads to Velddrif.

Just after we turned off towards Paternoster, the road passed some of the salt pans that Velddrif is known for and I slowed, then stopped at the roadside to do a quick scan – several interesting birds were making the most of this very specific habitat and I spent about twenty minutes getting a few shots from a distance.

Pied Avocet *Recurvirostra avosetta* Bontelsie, Velddrif

Kittlitz’s Plover and Little Stint, Velddrif

Lesser Flamingo *Phoeniconaias minor* Kleinflamink, Velddrif

Lesser Flamingo and Pied Avocet, Velddrif

Lesser Flamingoes taking off, watched by Caspian Terns, Velddrif

Paternoster

The last stretch to Paternoster was in light rain and we reached our booked accommodation – Paternoster Dunes Guest House – around 3 pm where we were welcomed and soon settled in. They serve coffee/tea and cake every afternoon at 4 pm so we climbed the single flight of stairs up to the dining area and lounge which has magnificent views across the beach and beyond.

During our previous stay we had not managed to fit the afternoon tea session into our busy days so it was a particular pleasure to do so this time around, while the rain came pelting down and the strong wind tested the beach-facing windows to the extreme.

Neither of us felt like going out for dinner so we cancelled the booking that we had and ‘ate in’ on what could best be described as ‘dehydrated steak and chips’ – actually beef biltong and crisps with provita and cheese on the side – surprisingly satisfying when washed down with a glass of decent wine.

The rain subsided a bit later, so I took a walk along the beach with a light drizzle in the air and the wind still gusting quite strongly – that helped to blow all the day’s driving-induced cobwebs clear away.

The combination of a low sun, cloudy skies and wheeling gulls made the scene especially photogenic, and I snapped happily away with my iphone before heading back to our cosy room to relax and plan the next day’s activities. Tietiesbaai, here we come, ready or not!

Flowers, Holiday Trips, Land of Beauty

Spring Flowers Trip 2022 – Biedouw Valley

December 3, 2022 Don Reid 6 Comments

The Background

With wonderful memories of our Spring Flowers trip through parts of the Western Cape in September 2021 still fresh in our minds, we decided to do a similar, but different, trip in September 2022. Our planned route was to take us to Tulbagh for one night, then three nights each in Clanwilliam and Paternoster. To round off the trip we treated ourselves to a three night stay in Cape Town’s Vineyard Hotel, in celebration of our birthdays which “book-ended” the trip,

I would recommend clicking on the images where appropriate to view in larger scale and appreciate the beauty and perfection of the flowers.

Biedouw Valley

After another substantial breakfast served on the stoep of the Yellow Aloe Guest House (fruit and yoghurt, full English breakfast), we set off to ‘find’ the Biedouw Valley which we had often read about since becoming interested in the annual Spring Flowers of Namaqualand and the West Coast. It seemed to be one of THE places to see the spring flowers in the area and we wanted to see for ourselves if that was indeed the case. (Spoiler alert – it was!)

The weather report was encouraging – 20 degrees C and sunny – almost perfect conditions for the flowers to be open during the core flower-viewing hours of 11 am to about 4 pm (just the opposite of ideal birding hours).

Heading out of Clanwilliam on the northern side, we crossed the Jan Dissels River and joined the R364 regional road which took us into the mountains. A signboard indicated “Pakhuiskloof Pass for next 21 kms”, heralding the start of a drive through fascinating mountain scenery unlike any we have seen before – so this is the Cedarberg that people rave about!

The mountains have the look of being ‘built’ rather than formed, with rows of gigantic, squarish blocks topped by rocks weathered into a myriad of shapes, many of them strange, some vaguely reminiscent of known forms – Gerda pointed one out that looked a bit like an old man sitting in a chair.

Cedarberg Mountains in Pakhuiskloof Pass

The road was exceptionally quiet, so we stopped regularly to take in the views and photograph some of the interesting roadside flowers.

Soon we reached a turn-off signposted “Biedouw Valley / Wupperthal” which immediately became a gravel road that twisted through hills, then started its descent into the valley which we caught glimpses of far below.

Halfway down we came across several vehicles that had stopped and we did likewise, joining the knots of fellow flower-spotters who were meandering about, admiring the multi-coloured rafts of flowers, pointing and photographing at every turn.

Further down, a track branched off to the left and took us past even more extensive patches of flowers in full bloom, stretching into the distance.

We were pleased that we could recognise some of the flowers, the names of which we had learnt over the last couple of days. Highly satisfied, we continued into the valley proper and found ourselves at a small Padstal (Roadside shop) which we discovered had opened that day!

The owner Joubert even came to greet us excitedly at the car as we parked outside the converted garage – both he and his wife worked in Clanwilliam and were trying their luck with this venture on the side – real ‘salt of the earth’ people who deserve to succeed, although the flower season is for a very limited time. Naturally, we left with a few packets of home-made goodies after greeting our new-found ‘friends’

That was also our turnaround point and, on the way back, while still enjoying the abundant flowers, we looked out for birds and other interesting creatures, a few of which posed nicely for me.

Grasshopper doing its best to look like the surrounding soil – and succeeding!

Hamerkop *Scopus umbretta* Hamerkop, Biedouw Valley

Boland Brown butterfly, *Melampias huebneri*, Biedouw Valley

Familiar Chat *Cercomela familiaris* Gewone spekvreter (race familiaris), Biedouw Valley

Heading back through the pass I stopped a few times to listen and look out for the Cape Rockjumper which favours this habitat, but without success.

The grave of C Louis Leipoldt – considered to be one of the great Afrikaner poets and writers – lies not far from the road through the Pakhuis Pass and we stopped to pay our respects briefly, then continued to Clanwilliam where we enjoyed a late lunch / early supper at Bella Louise restaurant to round off a perfect day of exploring.

And to end with ….. this flower looks almost as good from the back as it does from the front

Flowers, Holiday Trips, Land of Beauty

Spring Flowers Trip 2022 – Clanwilliam, Lamberts Bay

November 24, 2022 Don Reid 8 Comments

The Background

With wonderful memories of our Spring Flowers trip through parts of the Western Cape in September 2021 still fresh in our minds, we decided to do a similar, but different, trip in September 2022. Our planned route was to take us to Tulbagh for one night, then three nights each in Clanwilliam and Paternoster. To round off the trip we treated ourselves to a three night stay in Cape Town’s Vineyard Hotel, in celebration of our birthdays which “book-ended” the trip,

I would recommend clicking on the images where appropriate to view in larger scale and appreciate the beauty and perfection of the flowers.

Clanwilliam Wild Flower Show

After a solid breakfast served on the stoep of the Yellow Aloe Guest House with a view over the lush garden, we set off to find the “Blommekerk / Flower Church” where the annual Wildflower show is held and which the reports suggested was well worth a visit.

Well, we didn’t have far to go as we found it was right across the road from our guest house!

The displays of living flowers take up the whole internal area of the small, historic church and are wonderfully done and arranged so that they represent different regions

A side room of ‘special’ flowers was really interesting with every imaginable, and some unimaginable, shapes colours and sizes represented. A plaque nearby had the words of the well-known Afrikaans poet DJ Opperman inscribed on it – his description of the wonder of the Namaqualand flowers is stirring (if you understand Afrikaans)

Equally fascinating was a display of unusual succulents with the cutest names that had us smiling, even chuckling, along with others around us

The common name for this one in Afrikaans translates as “baby’s bum”

*Argyroderma testiculare* – Bababoudjies – Wildflower show, Clanwilliam

And this one is – you guessed it – Thumb and finger!

*Dactyloptis doigitata* – Duim-en-Vinger – Wildflower show, Clanwilliam

Ramskop Wild Flower Reserve

After a short spell of shopping for some necessities we headed to the Ramskop Wild Flower Reserve just outside town, overlooking the Clanwilliam Dam.

Ramskop Wild Flower Garden near Clanwilliam

The gardens were superb and we spent a good hour or two wandering along the pathways, seeing new species at every turn and taking lots of photos

I haven’t tried to describe the flowers – in this case the photos do the talking. Oh, and I haven’t named all of the flowers as I am no expert in botanical matters and in any case I don’t have all my reference books with me in Mossel Bay (a hazard of living in two places)

Quiver Trees – Kokerbooms – atop a rise in the flower bedecked Ramskop Wild Flower Garden near Clanwilliam

Erica (Heath family), Ramskop Wild Flower Garden near Clanwilliam

*Wachendorfia multiflora* – Common Butterfly Lily – Kleinrooikanol – Ramskop Wild Flower Garden near Clanwilliam

*Lampranthus* – Vygie, Ramskop Wild Flower Garden near Clanwilliam

While I was photographing the vygies a butterfly flew past literally under my nose and momentarily fed on the flowers – I took a few images of which one came out showing a nice side view of the butterfly as it landed on the flower – what a stroke of luck!

Citrus Swallowtail butterfly on *Lampranthus* species – Vygie, Ramskop Wild Flower Garden near Clanwilliam

Protea compacta (?), Ramskop Wild Flower Garden near Clanwilliam

Lamberts Bay

With much of the afternoon left and feeling like a late afternoon lunch, we drove through town and headed to Lambert’s Bay about 60 kms west of Clanwilliam. Gerda had read about Isabella’s Restaurant at the harbour being the place for fresh fish (makes sense) so we went straight there and enjoyed an excellent meal – I had Kabeljou, Gerda had Yellowtail and we finished it off with a small but decadent waffle.

I was keen to see and experience the bird hide on the “island” where Cape Gannets breed and roost – the island is in fact joined to the mainland at the harbour by a walkway. Unfortunately, the walkway was closed for maintenance until December and the last boat trip was already back in the harbour so there was no way to view the Gannet breeding colony except from afar – oh well, maybe another time….

To end the day I went for a walk through the streets of Clanwilliam as dusk fell

Flowers, Holiday Trips, Land of Beauty

Spring Flowers Trip 2022 – Tulbagh to Clanwilliam

November 14, 2022 Don Reid 2 Comments

The Background (Repeated from the first post)

With wonderful memories of our Spring Flowers trip through parts of the Western Cape in September 2021 still fresh in our minds, I said to Gerda some time during July – “Let’s go see the flowers again”. She responded positively and the game was on!

First step was to decide on our route and where to base ourselves along the way – the main drivers in those decisions were to avoid travelling too far from our Mossel Bay home and to spend three nights in a couple of strategic places which would allow two full days of exploration in each without feeling rushed in any way. This is how you do it when you reach that age where the second special tax rebate kicks in ….. in fact the trip was our birthday present to ourselves, falling nicely between our two birthdays just 13 days apart.

Day 2

Google Maps suggested the 151 kms from Saronsberg near Tulbagh to Clanwilliam would take 1 hour 42 minutes – we managed to stretch it to almost 6 hours through some serious meandering and plenty of stops!

After checking out, we first visited the Saronsberg cellar and came away with half a dozen wines – two for us, the rest presents for family – and a bottle of olive oil

At the gate, on a whim, instead of heading left we turned right and travelled a few kms to Twee Jongegezellen winery where we had a walk around the historic wine farm.

It was disappointing to hear that Nicky Krone, a classmate of mine from the 60’s and one of a long line of Krones who ran the farm for generations, no longer owns the farm after losing a costly legal battle with a supplier of bottles some years ago. It seemed to us that the farm had lost its spirit when the Krones departed, retaining only the physical beauty.

Haeding back down the road towards Tulbagh, we stopped in the town at MIT (Made in Tulbagh) and bought more local wine after chatting to the owner and a friendly local gent who had popped in and knew the ins and outs of the Tulbagh wine route.

The owner also advised us against the ‘back road’ route I had in mind to get to Citrusdal, so instead we took the shorter route via Gouda and Porterville along roads we have never travelled before. Prominent along this route were the Canola fields in full bloom and when we passed some fields with a wind farm in the background it was a photo opportunity not to be missed. I stopped and clambered up an embankment to get to the high fence so that I could poke my lens (well, the camera’s actually) through the mesh.

Once we intersected with the N7 National road we headed north and soon found ourselves at the start of the Piekernierskloof Pass where, again on a whim, we pulled off at Kardoesie Padstal where we had a pleasant light lunch and bought some padstal ‘stuff’ – dried figs and peaches, home made cookies.

While having lunch I googled the name of the pass – Piekernierskloof – and came up with some fascinating information about the pass; the first known route through the mountains was a bridle path in the 1660’s; much later in 1858 Thomas Charles John Bain, the famous builder of many a pass in SA, built the first road, a gravel route named Grey’s Pass after the then Governor of the Cape. In 1957 the current route was completed and renamed the Piekernierskloof Pass.

If, like me, you are wondering about the name, let me put you out of your misery – Piekernier came from the Dutch word for pikemen, who were lancers equipped with pikes (a long thrusting spear used in European warfare) posted to the area in the 1660’s to protect farmers from Khoikhoi raids

While Gerda was exploring the padstal shop, I was exploring the surroundings for birds and spotted a Rock Kestrel perched on a pole – it took off just as I was taking some shots and I was fortunate to catch it nicely in flight with wings spread. We were to come across this species several times over the ensuing days

Rock Kestrel *Falco rupicolus* Kransvalk, Piekernierskloof Pass

Back on the N7 we stopped a couple of times to view and photograph some of the interesting roadside flowers, especially the yellow flowered bushes that we had seen along the road where it cut through the mountains

At last, we reached Clanwilliam and found our ‘home’ for the next 3 days – Yellow Aloe Guest House just off the main road through the town. Once settled in we enjoyed a rest with the sliding door opened wide to take advantage of the cool fresh air – the weather had turned surprisingly warm and just in time as it was 1 September – “Spring Day” in SA.

The abundant bird life in the garden kept us entertained for the next while, including all 3 species of Mousebird – Speckled, Red-faced and White-backed.

The garden at Yellow Aloe Guest house, Clanwilliam

We were looking forward to exploring the town of Clanwilliam and the surrounding area the next day, in the hope of finding those massed flower displays that the facebook pages were raving about

Mostly Birding

Category Archives: Flowers

Prince Albert – Birding and other Delights

A Fynbos Sunset

Karoo in Flower

Spring Flowers Trip 2022 – West Coast National Park

The Background

Decision Time

Langebaan Gate to Postberg

Edible Flowers too!

2023! – A Beacon of Hope…..

Spring Flowers Trip 2022 – Tietiesbaai : Bay of Plenty….. Flowers

The Background

Flowers in abundance

Spring Flowers Trip 2022 – Clanwilliam to Paternoster

The Background

Travelling to Paternoster

Paternoster

Spring Flowers Trip 2022 – Biedouw Valley

The Background

Biedouw Valley

Spring Flowers Trip 2022 – Clanwilliam, Lamberts Bay

The Background

Clanwilliam Wild Flower Show

Ramskop Wild Flower Reserve

Lamberts Bay

Spring Flowers Trip 2022 – Tulbagh to Clanwilliam

The Background (Repeated from the first post)

Day 2

Adventurous Birding, Atlasing and Travel