LONG WEEKEND NAMAQUALAND FLOWER ROUTES

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ust look at this flower over here,” Leana van Wyk says, bending over a burgundy flower in a

little earth-hugging plant at the Matjiesfontein Padstal south of Nieuwoudtville. “It’s called Koppie en piering (Red cup-and-saucer) or Man in die boot (Man-in-the-boat). It is fertilised by mice that carry the pollen on their noses.

“We have so many plants here in our town ... that’s why it’s called the bulb capital of the world,” she declares proudly. “And our flowers on our farm are looking really beautiful this year after the good rains.” She catches

herself midthought before adding, “But it’s actually the Lord’s flowers.”

It’s early August and only the start of the flower sea-son. We have also just begun our long-weekend explora-tion of three 4x4 trails and four gravel roads in the Hantam Karoo and Bie-douw Valley, and already our heads are spinning with the list of names she is rattling off just in the area around the farm stall: blue sambreel­astertjie that looks like a stripped umbrella, yellow daisy-like gloss-eyed para-chute-daisy, the small yellow buttons of the kleinganskos

(buttons) and, of course, white Namaqualand daisy.

And these are just a few that represents the staggering 1 350 plant species botanists have ticked off in the area.

As the Springboks are laying into the Wallabies at Newlands this Saturday afternoon, time is precious for Leana’s son Kobus and a buddy, who have pulled up with a Cruiser to lead us on the Swartklip 4x4 Trail − they want to be back at five to watch the game on TV.

Leana invites us for a bite of (gulp!) offal, skuinskoek (diagonally cut cakes) and potjiekos, or even a tractor

ride to view the 400 ha of flower veld around the farm stall. But we have to get going on the trail through 7 000 ha of flowers on the farm Boere-plaas just up the road.

Our four-day itinerary is chock-full − before it ends at the Biedouw 4x4 Trail in the Cederberg’s Biedouw Valley, we also want to do the Vergenoeg 4x4 Trail near the farm Hantamsdrif − and four gravel roads in three areas around Nieuwoudtville: those on Papkuilsfontein in the south, where the Swart-klip 4x4 Trail is located; in the northwest, the Grasberg

After good winter rains in the Bokkeveld and Hantam Karoo, Johan de Smidt headed for Nieuwoudtville for some off-road flower viewing. He found so many 4x4 trails and gravel

routes that an extended long weekend was too short to explore half of them.

Bokkeveld

and Kloof roads near the Bokkeveld Mountains; and in the northeast − the Ronde-kop Route east of the R357 past the Quiver Tree Forest, and a linking easterly loop off the R355 that passes another quiver tree forest before rejoining the R355, 9 km south of Loeriesfontein.

Furthermore, if you’re tired of sitting in the cabin, you could slot in a hike in the Hantam National Botani-cal Garden, a short walk at the Nieuwoudtville Waterfall (try to time it when there are no tourist busses ...) and a sundowner pitstop at a quiver tree forest.

South of Nieuwoudt-ville: Papkuilsfontein, Swartklip 4x4 TrailOn the first day we’re tackling the area south of Nieuwoudtville.

Eager to check out the terrain at Papkuilsfontein, some 23 km south of Nieu-woudtville, we headed out on a drenched farm track before sunrise. After a close encounter with the “kuil” bit on Papkuilsfontein, we understood why it’s recom-mended that you drive the farm’s trail in the dry sum-mer months.

It was a sobering reminder of how a capable vehicle like

our 3-litre Toyota Hilux D-4D 4x4 can save your day, or even weekend. For the rest of the morning we settled on follow-ing the tame farm tracks to a bush camp.

The camp services a 15 km long 4x4 trail with a difficulty rating of 4-5.

Extending over rocky mountainous terrain, you climb to the rim of a 180 m high canyon with a grand view. The trail then traces the edge of the canyon with a view of the Oorlogskloof Nature Reserve.

You need a day or two just to explore the 4x4 trail, hiking trails and swimming

pools at Papkuilsfontein, but as we lacked that luxury we headed for the next crowd-puller − Matjiesfontein Pad-stal some 10 km to the north.

From here you can set out for the softroader- and family-friendly Swartklip 4x4 Trail.

The 22 km trail runs into the red dolerite hills and among some of the 80 flower species found only here, such as the rooi katstert (broad-leaved bulbinella).

Flower guide in hand, Kobus also points out the brilliant and scarce purple perskussing, Bokkeveld crocus and yellow bulbinella. Before making tracks to watch the

‘JDaisy Drive. Sheets of Namaqualand daisies line the Swartklip 4x4 Trail near Nieuwoudtville in spring.

fl wer power

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Matjiesfontein Padstal

R27

R357

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LONG WEEKEND NAMAQUALAND FLOWER ROUTES

rugby, he lures us back for another visit by pointing out we could see the rare candelabra flower as well as the gifbol in full bloom if we returned in February.

But our idea of sports for this weekend is to find what is said to be the largest quiver tree forest in South Africa – 27 km north of Nieuwoudt-ville, at the Gannabos turn-off right on the R357 to Loeriesfontein.

Northeast of Nieu-woudtville: Rondekop Route, Theronje LoopThe quiver tree forest is 3 km from the turnoff.

Best time: august-September Stay at least: Two nightsExperience: hectares of flowers along softroader-friendly gravel roadsDistance from: Cape Town: ±360 km; Johannesburg: ±1 300 kmKnow-all: Named after the Bushmen’s practice of fashioning quivers out of its branches, the quiver tree has been hard hit by global warming towards the equator, while more trees are surviving in cooler, southerly areas such as Nieuwoudtville.

Quick facts E a s yNorthwest of Nieu-woudtville: Grasberg Road, Kloof Road, Vergenoeg 4x4 TrailThe guest farms Brandkop and Hantamsdrif are great bases from which to explore the gravel roads west of the R357 such as the Grasberg Road and Kloof Road.

Kloof Road is a good gravel road running north-west from its turnoff off the R357 near Brandkop farm to the northern foothills of the Bokkeveld Mountains. Soon you find yourself in a scenic kloof, where we out-span at sunrise.

We retrace our tracks

to the R357 to beat the tourist busses to the Nieu-woudtville Waterfall, 7 km northeast of the village where the Doring River plunges 30 m into a ravine.

After a stroll at the waterfall, we head for the turnoff, some 2 km north of the village, to the Grasberg Road atop the Bokkeveld Mountains.

On a good day, you can see hundreds of kilometres from here.

Although you drive past farmsteads, you are in a truly wild country where, apart from flowers, you could come across a steenbok or two.

The first turnoff right after the Grasberg farmstead takes you down the mountain on a rough jeep track of some 18 km to Kloof Road.

On some washaways on this track even a GGG (Government Garage Golf) won’t make it without bust-ing the sump − you need decent ground clearance.

The jeep track rejoins the Kloof road just up the road from the guest and working farm Hantamsdrif, owned by Pip Nieuwoudt of Kromrivier in the Cederberg fame.

Pip will direct you to his two short 4x4 trails on the slopes of the Bokkeveld

If you carry on along this road, you could do the whole Rondekop Route that loops from the R357 to the R27 between Nieuwoudtville and Calvinia.

But the day is on its last legs and we settle for watch-ing the sun set over the quiver trees before retreat-ing to the nearby Brandkop Cottage.

Scores of huge quiver trees dot the slopes of a ridge along the route.

These trees can grow up to 9 m tall by the time they’ve completed their lifespan of some 250 years.

If you continue driving

past the forest, you’ll end up on the R27 between Nieu-woudtville and Calvinia, near the Hantam National Botanical Garden where you could hike for a whole day among photogenic red dole-rite koppies.

A great idea for a daylong scenic drive is to combine the Rondekop Route with the Theronje Loop off the R355 to Loeriesfontein.

At the farm Rondekop, about halfway along the Rondekop Route, a gravel road turns off east to Naresie and the R355.

Turn left on the R355 and continue for some 5 km to a

gravel turnoff on the right. Now you’re set for a

fascinating drive through the desolate semi-desert, through dry riverbeds, past some quiver trees and, if your timing is right, flower-viewing spots.

Continue for 29 km from the R355 and turn left at the intersection if the crew is nagging you to get moving to Loeriesfontein.

If you’re lucky, like we were, you’ll see neither another soul nor vehicle for 48 km before you hit the R355 again, 9 km south of Loeriesfontein.

Bliss.

Early bird. Find yourself a sunny spot early in the morning at the Nieuwoudtville Waterfall to beat the tourist bus crowds.

Meet for sundowners. apparently the largest in South africa, the quiver tree forest north of Nieuwoudtville is a scenic sunset spot.

Drawcards (from left). The perskussing that only occurs near Nieu-woudtville, mice-pollenated red cup-and-saucer and an ixia-type flower.

Move in. The bush camp at Papkuilsfontein accommodates 12 people. Base yourself here in summer, when it’s dry, to do the 4x4 trail.

Softroader’s nemesis. The Biedouw 4x4 Trail separates the legends from the wannabes – many a softroader has come a cropper here.

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LONG WEEKEND NAMAQUALAND FLOWER ROUTES

mountains − the there-and-back Vergenoeg 4x4 Trail of 10km and the circular Astuinskloof 4x4 Trail of 8 km. The former is a great drive to some quiver trees from where you can watch the sunrise over the Hantam Karoo plains to the east.

Cederberg, Biedouw Valley: MertenhofAfter crisscrossing the Hantam Karoo, we head south to the Cederberg to drive the Biedouw 4x4 Trail on the farm Mertenhof in another prime flower-viewing spot − the Biedouw Valley.

The competence of the Hilux that saved the day at Papkuilsfontein impresses Barry Lubbe, owner of a 4x4 mountain trail that separates the wheat from the chaff.

With low-range engaged, the Hilux simply walks up a sandy obstacle and takes

boulders in its stride on the winding 30 km course.

Barry takes us to rock pools, a waterfall and a view-point over the eastern Ceder-berg, with the Biedouw River crashing through the sand-stone chasm far below.

On the winding way through dense fynbos to the northernmost turnaround point, he stops at a Stone Age rock-art site to show us some Bushman paintings.

The fynbos reminds us of “the Lord’s flowers” that greeted us en masse one last time as we cruised down the Botterkloof Pass on the R364 en route to Mertenhof, and the riddles we fabricated that could keep the kids busy on the long haul: It’s a cup-and-saucer that’s useless for drink-ing tea; this cat’s tail is dyed bright yellow or orange; and high ground clearance is what this kickass bakkie has ...

What do I have to pack? more photographic memory cards than you think you need, a map that shows the dirt road loops in the area, flower guides and padkos4x2 or 4x4? You can do all the gravel routes in a 4x2 with diff lock and decent ground clear-ance, but you’ll need a 4x4 with low-range for the trying Biedouw 4x4 Trail.Fuel? You can refill at all towns in the region.Where can we stay?• Papkuilsfontein: Self-catering

or catered accommodation in two fully equipped, thatched sandstone cottages, which sleep 4 and 6 respectively. each has an inside hearth, down duvets, gas lamps and gas geysers. R300 per person per night (pppn); dinners R140-185, breakfast R90. 4x4 trail R150 per vehicle (unguided; R400 guided). Bush camp (with hot showers, flush toilet) accommodates 12 people at R70 pppn. half-price for children under 12. Contact mariëtte or alrie van Wyk

027 218 1246; info@papkuilsfontein.com,

www.papkuilsfontein.com• Matjiesfontein: Two self-

catering cottages, two of which sleep four and one sleeps seven. R160 pppn. Caravan site with four stands (R80 per stand) with elec-tricity and several tent stands (R70 per stand). ablution facilities with hot showers and flush toilets. Lunch R70; supper R80 on request. Guided 4x4 trail: R250 per vehicle. Contact Leana van Wyk 027 218 1217 or Kobus van Wyk 083 643 3188; kobusboereplaas@hantam.co.za

• Brandkop Guestfarm: Brand-kop Cottage sleeps 4 at R180 pppn. Self-catering, or breakfast and dinner avail-able, depending on season. Linen, towels, braai wood and braai grid provided. Brandkop

Farmhouse sleeps 8 at R200 pppn. Breakfast and farmstyle dinner available during high season. Linen and towels supplied. Contact Pieter or elizna Louw 027 218 1254, 083 635 3147; brandkop@hantam.co.za

• Hantamsdrif: Two fully equipped self catering cot-tages (sleep 4 each) on a working farm. R480 per couple per night, thereafter R60 per person. Bedding included. outside and indoor braais. Breakfast on request. There is no charge for the two 4x4 trails. Contact Rinda Nieuwoudt 027 482 2807 (Kromrivier) or Pip Nieuwoudt

027 218 1253 (after 8pm); namapip@netactive.co.za,

www.cederbergtourist.co.za• Mertenhof: Two self-catering

cottages sleep 8 each (R150 pppn). Breakfast and dinner on request. Bedding, towels provided. Grassed campsite with power points and 15 stands (R50 pppn). ablution block with hot showers, flush toilets. Trail R150 per vehicle. Contact mariette and Barry Lubbe 027 482 2845.

Do I need to book? definitely in flower season (august-September)More info?• a good map of Nieuwoudtville

and the Bokkeveld Plateau is sold at the Nieuwoudtville Publicity association 027 218 1336; info@nieuwoudtville.com, www.nieuwoudtville.com. They can also advise about the hot flower-viewing spots.

• Loeriesfontein Publicity asso-ciation, melanie Woudberg

027 662 1001; info@Loeriesfontein.co.za, www.loe-riesfontein.co.za

• For contact details in the whole Namaqualand and the latest on flower hotspots: south-north.co.za/flowers/

* drive out paid its own way on this trip.

I want to go too!

Cederberg welcome. ‘The Lord’s flowers’, such as these yellow daisies, line the Botterkloof Pass near the Cederberg.