You don’t have to drive very far north from Cape Town on the N7 before natural wonders start tugging at your steering wheel. First to the left for West Coast National Park and the turquoise sliver of Langebaan Lagoon; then to the right for the rust-red Cederberg Mountains. But put the blinkers on and push northwards, and after four or five hours you will reach Namaqualand — setting for one of the world’s most stunning floral spectacles.
Following good winter rainfall this 50,000sq km tract of desert bursts into bloom, a mass flowering that transforms a remote corner of South Africa into a petal paradise each August and September. For the rest of the year, the land feels drained of life — cracked and brittle like a piece of old leather. Vast plains of stunted shrubs and brittle grasses sweep around kopjes; quiver trees cling to the rocky outcrops, while lonely wind pumps spin their metal sails as they suck on groundwater. Not surprisingly, the seasonal transformation of Namaqualand is seen by locals and visitors as nothing short of miraculous.