Description
The riot of colour in Goegap Nature Reserve is a magnet for artists, photographers and anyone seeking some nature therapy. Kaleidoscopic fields of vivid purple mesembryanthemum, yellow Namaqua daisies and orange gazanias all turn their happy faces towards the sun.
Lying about 70 km north of Kamieskroon and 15 km southeast of Springbok, Goegap Nature Reserve is a fantastic place to kick off your flower trip. Bearing in mind that the best route to travel for a flower trip is north to south so that you see the flowers facing the sun.
“Goegap” derives its name from the Nama word for waterhole and there are plenty supporting the bird and animal residents. The Hester Malan Wild Flower Garden has a wide and interesting selection of Namaqualand succulents. There’s a 17 km drive that sedans can negotiate and an 80km 4x4 route. The landscape of granite boulders and sandy plains makes for stunning scenic driving on the narrow untarred roads. You could also hop onto the three hour guided truck tours during the flower season.
Funky feathers? Look out for the Namaqualand Sandgrouse which has an amazing ability – it can store water in its breast feathers and fly as far as 40 km to quench the thirst of its nestlings. Twitchers will be kept busy with spotting all 94 recorded bird species! Home to 45 mammalian species, you will have a chance of spotting gemsbok, springbok, Hartman's Zebra, bat eared foxes and aardwolf amongst the incredible number of floral species.
Saddle up and ride on the wild side in this magnificent landscape. Contact Namaqua Horse Trails Tel: +27 27 718 3583. On the milder side of keeping your carbon footprint down why not get on your bike and cycle the 17 km sedan route?
Goegap Nature Reserve Map
* We rely on Google's mapping service, and the location information supplied to
us to show street view images. Please use street view as a guide only as we cannot
guarantee its accuracy.
*Distances are shown as the crow flies and not necessarily the actual travelling
distance.