I just moved to a new apartment last Thursday evening so when Saturday morning came, my plan was to run along the shore of Blouberg beach, go to the neighborhood’s well-known coffee shop while enjoying the Table Mountain view, do some grocery shopping, sort my stuff as I wasn’t able to do it from the previous days because of work and catch up with blogging. In that specific order.
Then my colleague texted me and asked me if I’m up for a drive in West Coast National Park – a park known for its bird life and spring flowers and which is a must for your South African itineraries.
And the always looking-for-adventure-girl that I am, said yes. Seriously, is this even a question? ?
Fifteen minutes later after I texted back, my colleague arrived. I didn’t bother changing my running outfit and just grabbed my backpack and camera and off we go for another mesmerizing road trip here in South Africa.
As we drove to the reserve, my colleague started worrying that flowers might not be in full bloom yet as the hills on both sides of the West Coast highway didn’t look promising. So we decided to drop by in Grotto Bay to check.
Grotto Bay is a nice small village along the coast of West Coast municipality. The small settlement consists of postcard-perfect houses overlooking the rugged and rocky beach of the area in the middle of the green meadow.
As we drove towards the coast of Grotto Bay, my colleague realized that the flowers are already blooming. We weren’t just seeing them as we were driving toward the sun and these wildflowers “face” where ever the sun is. A natural process known as heliotropism. So as we continued to drive along the West Coast, I had to look behind the car to see the amazing blanket of colorful flowers.
The drive up North was quite interesting as South Africa proved once again its diverse and beautiful landscapes. The West Coast highway is a long stretch of the national high way that connects Western Cape to Namibia. This almost straight highway between hills could have been boring if not for the different colors and diversity of the landscape. One moment, we’re driving between a semi-Arab desert, or between colorful rolling hills or with a good view of the coast or even white sand dunes.
Our next stop is the Tienie Versfeld Wild Flower Reserve in Darling – a small town about an hour from Cape Town. And this place is where dreams are made of (AKA laying a blanket on the fields and read a book with sunshine on your face). I don’t have enough words to describe this place so I’ll use pictures instead.
We spent most of our time here and since we were pressed on time, we didn’t continue driving to the West Coast National Park anymore. Instead, we drove back to Cape Town to check out the wildflowers along the highway that we failed to see earlier. And boy, if the Tienie Versfeld is where the dreams are made of, this random field that we found along the highway is what paradise means! I don’t know the exact location of this field but it is probably about 2-3 km from Grotto Bay. It will come first if you are driving from Cape Town.
These random wildflower fields in Western Cape is the highlight of my day for me. Sunflowers, canolas and different varieties of wildflowers are dancing with the wind for me. If it wasn’t too cold to stay in these fields, I could have stayed longer and watched them all day. To see more of these wildflowers fields, watch the video below.
Thinking of visiting Cape Town and don’t know where to start? Check out our Ultimate Budget Travel Guide To Cape Town or our 1-day itinerary for Cape Town.
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Beautiful! I’m jealous of the fields there, they seem so open and inviting. We don’t have much greenery here, too industrial. Thank you so much for sharing!
Oooh so pretty! Are there hiking trails in Western Cape? The landscape is stunning, and I’d love to explore it!
A lot! You can choose between Table Mountain, Lion’s Head, Kirstenbosch and even along Pipe Trai. Cape Town has lots of super scenic hiking trails here π
If I ever had to move to anothr country, it would be South-Africa. Especially the Cape region is wonderful.
I love wild flowers. I found a field of sunflowers a few weeks ago and spent hours walking through it. These photos are gorgeous! Looks like you had a lovely day. South Africa always looks so beautiful.
Thank you for sharing π
This is absolutely stunning. I love wildflowers. Such perfect beauty!
Holy moly…. your ‘backyard’ is incredible, all those wild flowers. STUNNINGLY BEAUTIFUL! Being able to hike with this as your backdrop would be inspiring. Wish that visiting South Africa from Australia wasnt so pricey, Id be there in a hot minute. π
Yes! This country is making me think to move here. Just plain beauty of nature every where.
The flowers are so beautiful — and so many different varieties/colors! Do they typically bloom in late August/early Sept.? I’m planning a trip to SA next year and would love to see the Western Cape at a particularly scenic time like this.
Yes August/ Sept. By October, it’s already the start of summer. And Aug and Sept are the best weather as well. Not extremely cold as June/ July but not too hot either. π
Love the combinations of colours, pink and yellow, orange and blue, orange and yellow, orange and white, every photo makes me smile. Beautiful!
Oh my gosh, what a feast for the eyes! We drive around to flower fields near-ish us in Virginia – just recently hit up a sunflower field that was to die for. But so much color here! Thank you for sharing π
Wildflowers aren’t something I would have even thought about in s Africa, they are gorgeous!
So many beautiful flowers. I always try to take photos of the springtime to get those bursts of colour.
Those kinds of posts make me rethink living in the city.
Loved the photos, the story-like experience you give (I’m to blame for that myself).
Sounds like you had a great time with your friend. Wildflowers in any country are just so pretty when they come out and really change the way the landscape looks. I didn’t realise that this was South AFrica at first either. Grotto Bay sounds nice. love it when there is a rugged coastline to offset what’s on top.
Well, you just convinced me that spring is certainly THE BEST time to take a trip to South Africa! I can’t wait to get down there, but I know when I do it will be in the spring! I love that boardwalk trail. I hope your move went smoothly!
Gorgeous scenery. I’ve heard nothing but great things about Cape Town. I’m actually considering it for my Honeymoon.
Do it! Cape Town is one of the most beautiful cities I’ve been! Pure beauty everywhere.