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Tours and Holidays for the 50+ age group
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Home About Us Tours ::Drakensberg ::Pondoland to Pongola ::Baobab Route ::Plains of Camdeboo ::Cape Town 14 Day ::Cape Town 5 Day ::Namaqualand ::Schedules The Price Includes Traveller's Information Booking form Contact us Gallery Links |
Western Cape Wild flowers, Birds, Game animals and scenery Cape Town and Return 14 days Early September We explore one of the great treasure houses of the botanical world. This exciting trip takes us to the scenic wonders of 3 000 different floral species many of which burst into riotous bloom, filling their world with colour for a few weeks in springtime. The countryside is cloaked in mantles of orange, purple, yellow and white flowers. On the remote mountain passes and plains we visit "wild flower gardens" of annuals, highly adapted desert plants which germinate quickly, growing and flowering after good winter rains. Bird ‘specials’ are Cinnamon-breasted Warbler, Karoo Eremomela, Karoo Lark, Dusky Sunbird, Damara and Black-headed Canaries, also Grey Tit & Mountain Wheatear.
Interspersed in this kaleidoscope is the wide variety of perennials: geophytes (bulb-like plants), dwarf shrubs and a large number of succulents or 'vygies' of Mesembryanthemaceae family. The Namaqualand region has no distinct boundaries and covers roughly a 100 km strip of land running along South Africa's west coast. It is sparsely populated being bone-dry, bleak and with the great silent spaces dotted with rugged mountains. The whole area is seemingly empty of all but the toughest of living forms. We travel the scenic flower 'routes' some of which are 'off the beaten track', with the wild flower reserves a bonus. For the 'all round' naturalist who enjoys birdwatching, insects and game animals as well as flowers, we include top birding spots and two National Parks, at the West Coast National Park, Namaqua National Park and Lambert's Bay. We visit and stay a few nights in Langebaan, Clanwilliam, Springbok and Vanrhynsdorp.
It must be said that precisely where, when and for how long these flowers put on their show varies from season to season. The displays are precarious, with a hot, untimely 'berg or mountain winds blowing in from the interior and wilting a massive carpet of blooms in just one day. However countless numbers of people have enjoyed this botanical phenomenon and bearing this in mind we embark on a journey of natural wonder not to be easily equalled anywhere in the world. The birdlife is good and there are numerous ‘Western’ endemics with many IBA’s (Important Birding Areas) being visited. So if the flowers are precarious the birdlife is constant despite it being Spring. For more information on the itinerary please contact us
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