Re: RFI - Wildflowers in South Africa in September
- To: "medit-plants"
- Subject: Re: RFI - Wildflowers in South Africa in September
- From: G* B*
- Date: Sat, 22 Jul 2000 09:47:05 +0200
-----Original Message-----
From: Bracey and Richard Tiede <tiede@pacbell.net>
To: 'medit-plants' <medit-plants@ucdavis.edu>
Date: 18 July 2000 05:12
Subject: RFI - Wildflowers in South Africa in September
>A friend sent me the following note and I hope someone on this group may be
>able to help. Please respond to the group or directly to me. Thanks for
>the assistance.
>
>Bracey
>San Jose CA USA
>
>
>> I'm going to South Africa in September (their spring) to, among other
>things,
>> see wildflowers. Do you have any tips or contacts there? We'll be in the
>> Capetown area as well as the Drakensburg mountains and Kruger National
>Park.
>> Elaine Levine
Hi
Sorry about the delay in reply here. The Cape has just had its heaviest
snowfalls in over 40 years & I've been up in the mountains playing. It'll be
interesting to see what happens to the vegetation in the areas which don't
normally get snowed over. The last time I saw Protea flowers full of snow
they had died back by the following summer.
Septembers probably about the best time to be here. Balmy days without being
too hot & its right in the spring flowering in the Western Cape. I don't
know how long your friends have got here or how far they're prepared to
travel. During September all the surrounding villages have their local
flower shows & can be very interesting to do the rounds of. The biggest
floral treat of all though is the Namaqualand flowering up the Northwestern
Cape. This is one of the greatest natural floral spectaculars in the world &
would be a lifetime memory if they take the trouble of seeing it. It
normally starts around the Clanwilliam area, about 4 hours drive north of
Capetown & extends up to Springbok which is just this side of the Namaqua
border. Lots of B&Bs & farm stays so accomadation is usually not a problem.
Its a very arid winter rainfall area & relies on mass carpetings of
ephemeral annuals. Really beautiful.
The Drakensburg should be starting to kick into flower, though the rains
don't normally arrive until October/ November, but its a beautiful area at
any time. Kruger is Kruger & pre rains also, so don't expect too much
flowering. Don't forget your malarial pills.
This all changes from season to season depending on local rainfall, where
things have been burned out, etc. The local tourist office is normally right
up with whats happening & displays. Don't forget Kirstenbosch. Its getting
unbelievably commercialised but is still a good introduction to the whole
Cape Floral Kingdom.
If your friend is interested in the lot of a SA nurseryman, don't hesitate
to contact me. I should also be able to point her in the direction of the
best local areas ( not much at the moment I'm afraid as there's been some
really devastating fires this last summer ). We also have a budget
travellers room ( share bathroom & kitchen ) for R60 & day. Thats about $US
9 - 10. We've got an unconfirmed reservation there for September which could
well fall through. We're about 10minutes drive from Kirstenbosch & 20
minutes from the centre of Capetown. Expect rustic.
Regards
Glenn Breayley. Ragnarok & Valhalla Research.
POBox 26158, Hout Bay, 7872, Capetown, South Africa
Ph/Fax SA 021 7904253 E-mail valhalla@iafrica.com
Wholesale nurseryman & Tillandsia specialist wholesale & retail grower.
