The West Coast Flower Show
Nature can be spectacular.
Very often you have to get the timing right, but if you do, you are well rewarded.
The West Coast National Park on the west coast of the southern tip of Africa is a case in point. Bordering the Atlantic ocean, this park is an easy 90 minute drive north of Cape Town.
Every year, between July and October, if the stars are aligned (good winter rainfall, then sunny skies), nature puts on the most spectacular flower show.
Fields of wildflowers give rise to a spectacular and colourful landscape that appears quickly and can fade just as quickly. In fact, while there is a flower “season”, many species will only flower for a few weeks, so the landscape is constantly changing.
Wild Card
The West Coast National Park falls under the jurisdiction of SANParks, the organization that runs a range of wild parks/game reserves throughout South Africa.
So if you are a nature enthusiast and are likely to visit several parks, or a park several times, over the course of a year, then it is well worth considering buying a wild card. A wild card is a card that you buy annually that allows you “free” entry to over 80 parks and reserves across Southern Africa.
It is also well worth considering if you are a visitor from overseas and are going to spend more than a week or so in various parks around South Africa. It could save you a fair chunk of money!
Flower Diversity
You don’t have to be a botanist, or even a keen gardener, to appreciate the flower display. Just the sheer magnitude of the fields of flowers is awe inspiring.
The park is part of the Cape Floristic Region, which occupies the South Western area of South Africa. The statistics for this region are mind boggling:
- The highest concentration of non tropical plant species in the world
- 9000 different plant species occur here of which
- 6200 species are not found anywhere else in the world.
It is truly a plant and flower paradise!
Not Only Plants
The West Coast National Park is also home to a host of animal and bird species.
If you are a birder then there are over 250 bird species to be spotted in this park. That’s about 25% of all bird species that can be seen in South Africa!
Although animals are not always that easy to spot in the park, there is an array of antelope that roam in the park. These include Eland, Kudu, Bontebok, Gemsbok and Duiker to name some of the more frequently spotted ones.
You can also see Cape Mountain Zebras, Ostriches, the Cape Gray Mongoose and if you are lucky you might come across Bat Eared Foxes, Caracal and even a Cape Cobra or two.
Given that there are none of the Big Five in the park, self guided walks can be booked. However you are still aren’t allowed to get out of your car and walk just anywhere.
This is more about preserving the delicate flora than saving you from a fatal encounter with the wildlife!
It’s a fascinating and unique world that we were privileged to visit during year three of our Adult Gap Year
