Namaqualand Daisies

Early Spring...

This annual creates sheets of brilliant orange when it flowers in Namaqualand in early spring, drawing visitors from near and far.

Namaqualand! 100% big sky country. Extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the west to the small town of Pofadder in the east, north from the great Orange River and south beyond Garies. Namaqualand is indeed a vast and varied region.

Home to the Nama tribe who are directly descended from the Khoikhoi Nguni group. Their customs and culture were abandoned when the apartheid regime prohibited their language being taught in schools and re-located them to other areas. Their heritage is now returning and traditional dancing and old customs are being reinstated. Their multi-clicked language,
which is classified by UNESCO as endangered, is being taught again and they hope to add it to the school curriculum.

During the arid summer months it is difficult for the tourist to imagine the phenomenon of the yearly wild flower appearance. After the winter rainfall, Namaqualand dons her coat of many colours and for a brief moment, the wildflowers invade the countryside. Countless poems, novels, paintings and prose have been dedicated to this annual emerging of color that both delights the eye and calms the soul.
Spektakelberg was so named by Simon van der Stel when he expressed his amazement at this miracle of nature and exclaimed: What a spectacle!