Namaqualand daisy season

What it is

Namaqualand is dry, stony country that looks empty for most of the year. If good rain falls in winter, the ground flowers in August and September. Orange and yellow daisies cover old fields and roadsides, and between them grow a great variety of small succulents and bulbs. The Skilpad section of Namaqua National Park, near Kamieskroon, is the most dependable place for sheets of orange. Goegap Nature Reserve outside Springbok has rockier scenery and quiver trees. The flowers open only in sunshine and turn to face the sun, so both the weather and the direction you look matter.

Before you go

• Flowers open from about mid-morning to mid-afternoon on sunny days. Cloud keeps them shut.
• Travel with the sun behind you, so the flowers face you.
• The show depends on rain. Ask the local flower hotline or tourism office before you set out.
• Book lodging months ahead. Towns are small.

The flowers you will see

Glandular Cape marigoldA spring-blooming daisy from southern Africa with orange or yellow flowersArctotisA group of daisy-like flowers from southern Africa grown for their bright bloomsMesembryanthemumA southern African succulent with sparkling, long-lasting flowers

Also part of it, and being written: Gazania.

Read more

NamaqualandAn arid coastal region famed for its spring wildflowers

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