On the western coast of South Africa, the landscape is arid for most of the year, and the threat of drought is ever-present. But each August and September, given the right combination of rainfall, temperature, pollination, and sunlight, parts of the landscape explode into colour as some 3,500 different species of wildflowers super bloom.
Travellers can view this natural phenomenon by following what’s known as the Wildflower Route, a 500-mile drive through the Western and Northern Cape provinces that includes national parks, reserves, and a botanical garden. The journey stretches north from Cape Town, then crosses into the inland canyons of Biedouw Valley and up to the Diamond Coast, near the Namibian border.
In August 2022, Maine-based photojournalist Greta Rybus set out to capture the fields of flora. “Every part of the world has its own palette,” she says. “I notice the way soil, plants, and sky change from place to place.”
During her weeklong drive, Rybus met naturalists and field rangers, including botanist Eugene Marinus, who has studied South Africa’s plant life for more than 20 years. “There are at least 90 flower species that are unique to this area,” Marinus says of Hantam National Botanical Garden, a route highlight. “It amazes me when the land starts to transform, turning green before the flowers bloom. That colour signals hope to me.”
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Where to go
Community spirit
“In August, volunteers from the local Wildflower Club at the Clanwilliam Wildflower Festival, named for its host town, gather local flora with the roots intact from the surrounding Olifants River Valley. They replant them inside the Harvester Reformational Church so people in town can enjoy them, too. I met Pam Engelbrecht, a member of the Wildflower Club, who was helping decorate the church.”
Fertile ground
“Amid Namaqua National Park’s meandering wildflower paths, Reginald Christian runs the education and outreach programs.”
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Flower rangers
“In West Coast National Park, just 90 minutes north of Cape Town, I saw a dazzling array of white rain daisies and met field rangers Fiona-Rose Horn (left) and Busisiwe ‘Busi’ Mbobo. They carefully monitor flora and fauna, protecting rare plants from being trampled and warding off poachers.”
Petal power
“From Namaqua National Park to the Hantam National Botanical Garden thousands of Namaqualand daisies in the Northern Cape bloom in orange, yellow, and off-white.”
Garden Variety
“At the Hantam National Botanical Gardens in Nieuwoudtville, the ‘bulb capital of the world,’ I met botanist and flower expert Eugene Marinus, who named a species of long-nosed fly that only pollinates one specific type of flower bulb.”
Where to stay
On the Rocks
“In the nearby Cederberg Mountains, I spent one night in a Cave Suite — with a private terrace — in the Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve. Travellers come for the incredible stargazing and to see 6,000-year-old rock art by the early San and Khoikhoi peoples.”
Book your stay at Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve via Booking.com
Book your stay at Kagga Kamma Nature Reserve via Agoda.com
For more info about wildflowers, visit the South African National Biodiversity Institute.
(Hero and feature image credit: Greta Rybus)
This story first appeared on travelandleisure.com
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