cokie

I'll be back in SA again in a couple of months and was thinking of doing a slightly "off the beaten path" excursion with my daughter, who lives in Joburg. I recalled reading an article in the New York Times over a year ago about Oudrif in the Cederberg and it sounded quite interesting. I am wondering if any of the Fodorites have been there and, if so, what were your impressions? We would be going at the end of August/early September and I would love to see the flowers and enjoy some hiking and San-art viewing. Do you have any other Cederberg / Namaqualand suggestions?

mkhonzo

The Cederberg is anextraordinary place to be in Aug/Sept. If you aren't already booked, do it NOW.

The flower show is a spectacle that should not be missed. Essentially you'll see flowers from Darling northwards, but the main areas are north of the olifants river in the foothills of the cederberg and up to Springbok.

San art, well the berg is littered with art, however some of the better preserved sights are in the bUshamnaskloof nature reserve.

There are less expensive and obviously way less luxurious guest houses and camp sights throughout the cederburg, just do an accommodations search on the internet and you'll have a zillion choices.

I trust that you will give yourself a couple of days to explore this area and that you'll drive yourselves around? That in MO is the best .

cokie

Thanks, Mkhonzo for yor encouragement. we've mad a reservation at Oudrif (in the Cederberg) and will be spending 3 nights there and then one night is open. We'll be driving ourselves. I am very excited about seeing the flower show and I'll keep my fingers crossed that the rains this year bring on a good one. Thanks again.

Travelings

Hi,
I went on a flower tour last year and it was super. It might be worth making contact with some local guides to find out where the flowers are. Last year there weren't lots of flowers in the "normal" flower areas of Springbok, but more centered around van Rhynsdorp, Niewoudtville and surroundings. We ended up on a farm with flowers all around us - 360 degrees view of flowers - awesome.
Due to time constraints we decided to go with a tour company that does flower tours and it was great. The guide was fantastic - we got a great view of places like Clanwilliam, Citrusdal, Bird Island, Cedarberg, Quiver Tree Forest to name but a few. The people in Clanwilliam are extremely friendly - might be a good idea to find out from them where the best flowers are. It's one of the hotspots during the flowering season - loads of tourists stay there since it's fairly central i.t.o visiting some tourist spots.
Hope you have a lovely time!

cokie

Thanks. I am curious: Which flower tour company did you go with and how long a tour did you take? What else did you do besides seeing the flowers?

Travelings

Hi,
We used www.ecotourssa.co.za ¡V the owner (Andy Rice) took us and he was great. The tour was 3 nights and we squeezed quite a bit into those 4 days ƒº.
We started in Cape Town.
First up was the West Coast National Park where we were lucky enough to see some flowers, whales and plains game (in the Postberg Reserve). From there we drove to the Citrusdal and stayed on a farm for the first night.
The next morning we went to the Bird Island in Lamberts Bay (quite an experience) - some more flowers along the route. This was one of the reasons we chose to go with him ¡V to see and experience Bird Island.
Then off to an export rooibos tea farm for a tour - the guide loves his flowers and it was very interesting.
We spent the next 2 nights in Clanwilliams Town.
The next morning we went to Niewoudtville and Van Rhynsdorp and the quiver tree forest (one of the higlights for me). Here we saw the majority of flowers and it took my breath away ¡V it was literally 360 degrees of flowers.
The next morning we spent some time in Clanwilliam to allow some of the people in the group to go to the wild flower show (we didn't feel it was necessaryļ, so we skipped that part of the tour and went browsing through the town).
Then we traveled into the Cedarberg and spent quite some time there - saw some rock paintings (although according to the guide ¡V if you know where to go there¡¦s loads of paintings) The scenery was absolutely stunning and just as beautiful as the flowers.
Then back to Cape Town via other small towns like Tulbach, stopping on a wine farm for wine tasting, etc.
This company also specializes in tours in the Cedarberg - walking and camping at one of the camp grounds there. The owner has basically grown up in that area, so his local knowledge of the people etc really made the tour worthwhile.
Let me know if you¡¦d like more information¡K

cokie

Hi Travelings,
Thanks so much for all the information. It sounds like you had a terrific experience. I am looking forward to repeating some of your itinerary. The Quiver Tree Forest sounds amazing! I can't wait.
Thanks again.
Cokie