West Coast Way is South Africa’s road trip with the most twists, which invites those looking to discover their picture-perfect spaces by exploring a unique collection of 101 road trip stops along themed routes. Explore the West Coast, where an abundance of spectacular floral spaces await.
Complementing the eclectic mix of things to see, do, eat and drink in this region, is the natural abundance of its magnificent floral kingdoms of varied sizes, many of which are ranked in the country’s top ten.
So let’s put ‘petal’ to the metal and get started exploring…
West Coast National Park and Postberg Wildflower Reserve
Only open during springtime, Postberg is an almost completely undisturbed floral landscape in the West Coast National Park, open during August and September (peak flower months). Expect to see daisies, sporries and magriets. It’s also one of the most visited flower hotspots on the Cape West Coast.
The Renosterveld Reserve in Darling
Just above Darling Primary School lies this charming 20 ha flower reserve, where travellers can enjoy a plethora of spring flowers from July to October, such as a variety of renosterbos, bellendini, kapokbos and vygies. It’s also a popular bird-watching site and keep a keen eye out for the red-bellied tortoises.
Tienie Versfeld Wildflower Reserve in Darling
Another stop along the R315, this tiny gem of a reserve hosts a wide variety of flowers, such as butterfly lilies, lachenalia, chincherinchee and bulbs, due to its varying topography. On this small patch of land, around 10% of the Cape Floral Kingdom can be found. It’s also a unique remnant of grassland, fynbos and a seasonal wetland within the Swartland.
Waylands Wildflower Reserve in Darling
Waylands Farm, 6km from Darling, has been in the Duckitt family for six generations. The reserve is open to the public during the flower season and is home to some 300 species with fields of blue flaks (heliophila), ixia and arums making them visible from the roof.
The Waylands Wildflower Reserve is part of the critically endangered Lowland Fynbos Biome, of which less than 1% remains.
Columbine Nature Reserve at Paternoster
One of the oldest villages on the West Coast, Paternoster is well known for its warm, generous and hospitable people, wonderfully complemented by an array of flowers in spring. A relatively short way out of Paternoster, the Columbine Nature Reserve offers candidly beautiful views of the spring flowers, which include an array of fynbos and Karoo succulents, as well as whale- and dolphin-spotting opportunities.
Citrusdal
Found on the N7, it is known as the Flower Valley of the West Coast and offer visitors plenty of hiking, camping, zip-lining and rock-climbing opportunities, with fields of maartblom, bloedblom, daises and fynbos to greet you!
Ramskop Nature Reserve
This reserve is well worth a visit, with the Cederberg mountains and orange groves as its backdrop. Expect to see daisies, sporries, sugarbush and proteas.
Why go the West Coast Way?
Road trips are becoming increasingly popular across the country as summer arrives. The West Coast Way invites road trippers to plan a self-drive trip or a guided tour for a nature and adventure-filled Cape West Coast vacation. (Read about a previous road trip HERE)
Our new “basket” of free routes on offer include a Tractor Route, the Berg Route, the Foodie Route, the Cultural Route, the Wild Route – as well as the newly launched Cape Way Route – all of which are designed to showcase the many attractions and activities that are already on offer on the Cape West Coast and inland areas – but may be unknown to many.
Sustainability during Covid-19
“We had to quickly refocus our efforts, especially internally, to ensure the health and safety of our staff. Our offices are in Cape Town and the majority of our staff come from Mamre. We kept our biodiversity/conservation and tourism awareness campaigns as part of our daily efforts, such as posting regularly on social media. We learned to get by with a lot less. A shrinking economy meant zero print marketing and a 300% increase in online exposure.
Our culture became focussed on catering to the need for tourists to search and find authentic tourism experiences, involving the communities, traditions and natural heritage, all in wide open spaces.
We ensured that the community directly benefitted from our presence and our operations meant that via daily social media posts (even during the harshest lockdowns) our direct and indirect clients and the total region were given exposure through our marketing efforts.
We promoted conservation as our clients can only invest in the environment they are dependent upon to get an income. This is why marketing the West Coast Way of the West coast is so crucial. It’s all about giving back into the environment they are so dependent upon.” By Carmen Lerm, founder West Coast Way
For more information on the other routes on offer, and the list of 101 Things to Do on the West Coast visit westcoastway.co.za or on 0861 321 777. Connect on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter at @WestCoastWaySA
Read the article in Responsible Traveller Digital Mag HERE
