Tulbagh Horse and Wild Flower Show 2011

Come to the Breede River Valley for a wild spring break!

The charming historical town of Tulbagh is in the winelands of the Boland in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Part of the Witzenberg municipal region, immediate neighbouring towns are Gouda, Wolseley, Ceres and Prince Alfred's Hamlet. Towns such as Wellington, Malmesbury, Paarl, Franschhoek, Riebeek Kasteel, Piketberg, Porterville, Rawsonville, Worcester and Stellenbosch are within three quarters of an hour's drive from the valley and Cape Town is only 120km distant.

The valley was first discovered by European settlers in 1658 and land grants were made to 14 farming families in 1700. The town itself was developed in 1743 when the museum church was built. Post the 1969 earthquake every historic home in Church Street was painstakingly restoredto its original glory. These 32 buildings now constitute the largest concentration of National Monuments in a single street in South Africa.

The town is situated at the northern end of the beautiful Tulbagh valley, which is almost completely surrounded by majestic mountain ranges - the Obiqua mountains to the west, the towering Winterhoek on the northern end and the Witzenberg on the eastern side. The Great Winterhoek mountains tower 2077m above sea level and are picturesquely snowcapped in winter.

Diverse flora is abundant throughout the valley and in the mountains. Proteas grow wild, as do herbs such as Buchu. Spring brings on a multitude of wild flowers which, coupled with the blossoms of the fruit trees, makes for a glorious show. This fertile valley produces some of the country's best red and white wines, olive oil, peaches, grain, pears - and 70% of the country's plums!

Tulbagh is a wonderful country holiday destination - tourists are actively welcomed by the warm and friendly local people. The valley is a wedding and conference location, with all the facilities available to make for a most memorable occasion.

Every year the town hosts an annual Wild Flower Exhibition showcasing their rich endemic flora as well as the National Horse Championships.

Mosey around various exhibitions, art and craft stalls, food stands groaning with local fare and slake your thirst at the wine and beer garden. There’s entertainment for the whole family so pack them in the car and jol together in Tulbagh this spring.

Woman to woman

Hermanus Flower and Eco Fair 2011

Head to the stunning Fernkloof Nature Reserve for a show worth seeing this spring

The Hermanus Botanical Society and Whale Coast Conservation host the annual Hermanus Flower and Eco Fair at the spectacular Fernkloof Nature Reserve. Here the pick of the Whale Coast floral beauty is displayed against the mountain backdrop.

Since 2011 is the International Year of Forests, the main theme of the display will be a mini-Afromontane forest, complete with waterfall. Whale Coast Conservation (formerly Overstrand Conservation Foundation) will be on hand to show how we can all help to conserve the fynbos habitat along the Whale Coast to ensure that the wonders of this hotspot of floral biodiversity continue to thrive.

Fernkloof is perfect for picnics and informal fun for little ones, while the 60 km of easy walking trails offer ample opportunities for hikers to explore the fynbos-clad mountains overlooking Hermanus.

Indigenous plants will be on sale along with tasty teatime treats and lunches. A new innovation this year is that the trees and other bagged plants on display may be purchased at a special reduced price for collection when the show closes on Sunday afternoon. There is ample parking outside the reserve with a free shuttle service to the gate.

Venue: Fernkloof Nature Reserve, Hermanus

Admission: adults R30, children free, Thursday seniors R20

More info: www.fernkloof.com or www.whalecoastconservation.org.za

Namaqualand - South Africa

In the north-west corner of South Africa is Namaqualand - famous for an extraordinary springtime transformation of the lifeless scrubland, into a veritable explosion of colours from a multitude of small flowers.

People come from all over the world to witness this spectacle, which usually peaks anytime from mid- August to mid-September. If you are driving towards the sun you may not see what the fuss is all about, but as soon as you turn your back to the sun, the full impact of thousands of yellow, white, orange or purple flowers, will astound you.

The flora is characterized by a phenomenal variety of daisies, but there are also violets, pelargoniums, mesembryanthemums, gladioli and numerous other species.

Aloes also puncture this landscape of the Northern Cape and you know you are in an area of very low rainfall when you start seeing 'Quiver Trees' (Kokerboom - aloe dicotema), so named because the bushmen used the fibrous branches as a quiver for their arrows.

Namaqualand is home to the Nama people, who are direct descendants of the Khoikhoi bushmen, as can be seen in their pale skin and fine features. Their culture suffered when the apartheid regime prohibited their strange multi-click language from being taught in schools and forced them to re-locate to other areas. However, their cultural heritage and customs are slowly returning and their language - which is classified by UNESCO as Endangered - is being taught again and they hope to add it to the school curriculum in the area.

Spring flowers carpet the route all the way down the west coast of South Africa almost to Cape Town, so even if you don't make it up to Namaqualand, whose capital is the isolated town of Springbok, there other opportunities to see the flowers.

Most of the plants of Namaqualand are indigenous and some succulents are so rare they are found nowhere else in the world. Antelopes such as springbok and bontebok are at home in these areas and can be found in some of the reserves and you may also see tortoises and chameleons - the masters of camouflage.

Engela

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