Namaqualand, Northern Cape, South Africa
At mention of the name Namaqualand, the image immediately conjured is of carpets of multicoloured flowers, but this area also incorporates the Richtersveld and the Diamond Coast (see below). This arid semi-desert area lies to the west of the Green Kalahari and is differentiated by unique geographical and ecological features that make it instantly recognisable in pictures – and not just for the carpet of flowers in certain months. The terrain is characterised by flat plains betweeen hillocks or koppies, dotted with bizarre looking quiver trees.
The Namaqualand extends for 966 km along the west coast of the Northern Cape up into Namibia past the border where the Orange River flows into the sea at Oranjemond, and is the ancestral home of the Nama people.
Between the months of August and October, post seasonal rainfalls, the stony, arid land bursts into flower as the seeds of millions of Namaqualand daisies are awakened. This dramatic but otherwise somewhat dull-looking landscape is transformed into a spectacular attraction that draws tens of thousands of visitors every year, but there is a lot more to the Namaqualand than this. The area includes a vast coastal area called the Diamond Coast, and an arid mountain biome called the Richtersveld that has recently been declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
The main town in Namaqualand is the copper mining town of Springbok, which is very near the main ‘flower’ attractions of the Goegap Nature Reserve and the Namaqua National Park.
The Diamond Coast
An area of the Namaqualand along the coastline is also rich in alluvial diamonds, deposited by the Orange River over millennia as it carried down parts of the diamond bearing Kimberlite pipes that are found inland in parts of South Africa. This area is called The Diamond Coast and was for many decades closed off from public access by the De Beers Diamond Mining Corporation. Though sifting for mining for alluvial diamonds still continues, De Beers has recently opened this area up for tourism(albeit with permits), and has revealed a unique coastline and coastal interiors that are all but untouched by development, rich in natural heritage and archeological discoveries and exceptionally fragile and unique biomes. There are no main towns along the Diamond Coast, but a couple of small to minute coastal settlements and the two small De Beers owned mining towns of Koingnaas and Kleinsee – accessed (after arranging a permit form de Beers no less than a week in advance). Port Nolloth and Alexander Bay on the South African side of the Orange River mouth are now accessible to the public without the need for permits, though diamond-mining certain areas are off-limits. The Diamond Coast can be discovered via guided 4×4 trails or on the 3 day Diamond Coast slackpacking trail. The northern part of the Diamond Coast is also considered part of the Richtersveld.
The Orange River flows through the Richtersveld, and multi-day canoe trails offer a prolonged meander through the Richtersveld – one of the best ways to appreciate an area that many say is where you find your soul, discover the sound of silence, and see just how many stars there are in the night sky.
Take a 3 day drive through the Namaqualand in August to see the flowers and let your soul drink in the transformation of seemingly barren desert to something Monet could have painted.
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