Cape Town - I am not a gardener, and whatever other attributes I possess, green fingers are definitely not part of the mix; that, however, doesn’t imply that I don’t appreciate plants, and I have a soft spot for colourful floral displays. You cannot live and walk in the most diverse floral kingdom in the world and fail to develop some affinity for the flora that surrounds us.
However, having lived in the Cape for well over 20 years, I have never made a concerted effort to visit the West Coast during the spring flower season. It’s undoubtedly a popular tourist drawcard for both locals and visitors, but I had never really seen the point – what could be so spectacular about a few fields of daisies?
However, having hiked in the West Coast National Park, I was intrigued that the “Postberg” section of the park was open only during the flower season, apparently to reduce the impact on this delicate environment, so I decided I would take advantage of the opportunity when the gates opened, not so much to see the flowers but to see the place from which I had previously been barred.
Postberg is open for just two months, from the beginning of August to the end of September each year. Inquiries to the park revealed that to be able to walk among the flowers I would need to book either a one or two-day hike within the reserve; you are not allowed to walk freely or exit your vehicle if not booked on a hike. So I booked and paid for the 13.5km Steenbok Trail and set off in the early morning ready for a dawn start.
Since I’d been advised to start the five-hour jaunt by 9am, I arrived at the main gate a little after seven, and after completing some paperwork I drove through the West Coast National Park, camera at the ready. You can see all manner of animals on a slow drive here and, sure enough, there were baby ostriches on the road and a brief glimpse of a harrier on the wing as I motored slowly along the edge of the lagoon on my way to Tsaarsbank and the gate to the Postberg.
Instructions were clear: “Start before nine and report at the gate.” But there was nobody to be seen. Eventually I phoned the emergency number on the map provided to be told “number not in use”. Now confused and not a little upset after the long trip, I sat and had a think, then recognised that the emergency number on the map was incorrect. So I rang the alternative one, only to be told that “The gate only opens at nine o’clock”. Why stipulate that you must start walking before 9am if the gate only opens then? This put me in a poor frame of mind before I even set off. I have a low tolerance for inefficiency and having the incorrect information at hand and worse still, and potentially dangerously, the wrong emergency telephone number is all a tad too slapdash for my liking.
Eventually the staff arrived and I was able to set out and, despite the frustrations and the long drive, virtually from the first footstep I was in awe. The swathes of colourful blooms were simply too much to take in. It is the plant kingdom’s answer to the massive migrations of wildebeest across the Serengeti, the floral equivalent of all the stars in the sky but in glorious Technicolor. The hillsides were simply covered in purples and oranges, yellows and blues as far as the eye could see, and walking among the flowers was a surreal experience.
It is quite a long trail and as the terrain changed so did the floral types, depending on, I imagine, the way the slopes face and the variety of the soil. I passed eland, bontebok, ostrich, wildebeest, lots of tortoises and a Cape cobra, which thankfully was more focused on getting away from me than I was on getting away from it.
There were simply too many flowers to recognise, but among them were vygies and daisies by the trillion, the mass of flowers simply beyond recognition, outside human description, growing out of every type of soil and even clinging to tenuous existence within the cracks of the beachside rocks.
I finally understood what the attraction was, what all the fuss was about. This really is a wonder of the natural world and something that, if you are any kind of nature lover, you need to experience. If you can’t make it this season, be sure to put it in your diary for next year because the display is simply phenomenal.
For all the hassles of dealing with the lack of professionalism, the timing, the gates and the map – which, incidentally, really wasn’t worth the price of the paper on which it was printed – the floral display was out of this world.
If you can venture out to see the flowers please do, you will not be disappointed. And if you can’t, please add it to your bucket list – you absolutely must experience it. - Sunday Argus