Namaqualand - More than just Flowers

North of the South African Riviera of Cape Town, hot, volcanic deserts march down to a cold Atlantic ocean. The barren hills and lava plains erupt with wildflowers for a few frivolous weeks in spring and the muddy largesse of the Orange River provides water year round. Namaqualand is the outback, a wilderness strewn with mines and mission stations, diamonds and lobster and flowers and dust. Special interest routes throughout the region feature all of the above, in mixed measure.

South Africa Monument Koppie, Springbok, Namaqualand

550 km north of Cape Town and over a hundred kilometres from the west coast, Springbok is the centre of the mining heartland of Namaqualand. These succulent-strewn drylands were the site of hostilities in the Anglo-Boer war (1899-1902) and the rocky remnants of an English fort can be seen on a hillock in the centre of town.

It owes its crumbling condition as much to a man as to nature. General Jan Smuts, later to become the President of the Union of South Africa, attacked the English garrison here and finished it off by blowing up the fort with dynamite.

Namaqualand Museum, Springbok, Namaqualand

Despite such vigorous antagonism between the English and the Boers, the churches of Springbok tell a different tale. Every small town in the country has a distinctive spire atop its skyline. Springbok is no exception. However the inevitable Dutch Reformed Church is to be found in the unexpected location of Synagogue Street.

Indeed, the church was used as a synagogue for many years and is now the site of the Namaqualand Museum. The English however, got there first. The Anglican church, next to the post office, is the second oldest church in Namaqualand, dating from 1861.

4x4, Springbok, Namaqualand

For an off-road adventure of a lifetime, the Namakwa 4x4 Route follows the Orange River for 642 kilometres to the sea. The route starts off demurely enough at the picturesque Pella Mission Station before thrusting the willing adventurer deep into the lonely heatlands of northern Namaqualand.

Booking is essential for the 2-8 day journey through the diverse geology and vegetation of the Karoo, Sandveld and Namaqualand veld. The hardy ancestors of some of the earliest indigenous inhabitants of this region continue to live much as their forefathers before them. Their reed huts daub the arid terrain.