Nieuwoudtville - Van Zijl Guesthouses - South Africa

spring wild flowers

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TIPS FOR VIEWING THE FLOWERS

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As the flowers also face the sun, a good general principle is to travel north relatively quickly and then do most of your flower-viewing in a southerly direction so that the flowers are always facing you.

The flowers are at their best between 11:00am and 16:00pm in the afternoon so there is no need to rush out straight after breakfast, (unless you have some travelling to do before you get to the flower region).

The flowers will not come out in heavily overcast or rainy weather so you should plan to visit other sights on such days. Keep this fact in mind when planning your trip.

The displays are noticeably better if you travel with the sun behind you so that the flowers are facing you. So when planning your daily route, try to travel in a westerly direction in the morning, southerly during the day and turn east in the afternoon.

Get out of your car and walk amongst the flowers - you will appreciate them so much more!

WHEN TO VISIT US

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The flower season peaks between early August and late September and its delights depend on the winter rains. Some years are better than others. If there has been a steady flow of cold fronts during the winter, then it is likely to be a good flower season. However spring temperatures are also important. If it heats up too quickly then the early visitors have glorious sunshine but the flowers do not last very long.

The Catch 22 is that lots of rain means good flower displays. But if it continues to rain during the spring, then it's not so much fun to view the flowers!

As a general rule the wild flowers begin first in the north in Namqualand in late July/early August and then advance southwards through Nieuwoudtviller and the Cedarberg towards the West Coast as September begins. Thus if you are planning a trip for early to mid September, you will be too late for Namaqualand but fine for the West Coast around Darling and Langebaan. Similarly if you are coming in mid August then the best displays will be further north - generally speaking...

HOW TO ENJOY THE SPRING WILD FLOWERS

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Fundamentally there are four main options:

1) Plan a visit using a rental car and a reputable tour operator who will be able to advise you where and when to go and where to stay. This gives you the flexibility as you are free to explore some back roads and get out of the car to walk in the flowers as much as you want.

2) Take an escorted specialist flower tour such as our five day Wild Flower Tour with a small group of like-minded enthusiasts. The benefits are that your guide is both knowledgeable about the flowers and also knows which routes are likely to prove most rewarding in terms of flower-viewing.

3) If you don't have so much time, you can also do a day tour from Cape Town. This works well later in the spring when the wild flowers of the southern West Coast are in bloom i.e. within easy driving distance of Cape Town. However it is too far to get north to Namaqualand in one day.

4) If you have just a couple of nights, you can drive (or we can arrange a transfer from Cape Town) to one of the lodges in the heart of the Cedarberg which usually have excellent flower displays. Good examples would be Bushmanskloof Wilderness Reserve, which also has excellent examples of San rock art and lots of indigenous game, Karukareb Lodge or the well priced Oudrif Lodge.

The Sandveld and the West Coast

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From the Cedarberg you can head west to the ocean through an area known as the Sandveld.Then you can continue south along the West Coast via the picturesque fishing villages such as Paternoster to the holiday town of Langebaan and the West Coast National Park. Along this coastal strip, you find the strandveld of salvias and showy daisies.

Within the West Coast National Park lies the Postberg Nature Reserve, which boasts the greatest variety of birds, game and Sandveld flowers in the Western Cape. This special section of the park is only open during August to October. We recommend visiting during the Darling Flower show held in mid September. The Duckitt Orchid Show runs concurrently with the flower show on a local orchid farm. You can also visit the Tienie Versveld Reserve near Darling which hosts babianas, lachenalias, chincherinchees and sundews.

The Cedarberg

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From Nieuwoudtville you travel down the dramatic, if slightly challenging Botterkloof pass and into the Cedarberg. At the foothills of the Cedarberg lies the picturesque town of Clanwilliam and a number of rewarding flower routes such as the splendid Biedouw valley - which can be the highlight of any flower tour in a good year - the Boskloof valley or Nardouwsberg.

A visit to the Ramskop Wild Flower Garden is an absolute must! Ramskop probably has one of the best displays of wild flowers in the country and looks especially fine during the flower season and beyond. There's a new medical plant section in the garden.

If you pick your dates right, you can also visit the Clanwilliam Flower Show held at the end of August. Every year about 400 species from 32 families are exhibited in their typical setting at the fascinating Clanwilliam Wild Flower show with their botanical names, as well as their very descriptive tongue-twisting local names.

Higher up in the Cedarberg, the protea flowers and other fynbos species are seen later on in the spring with their spectacular large bulbous flowers.

Niewoudtville

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Try to include Niewoudtville on any flower tour as many flowers, bulbs and orchid species that are not found anywhere else in South Africa can be seen here. The other charming aspect of Nieuwoudtville is the number of local farms which open their gates to visitors (usually for a small fee) and allow you to drive all over the farms viewing the flowers perfect for picnics. Some even also have little curio shops and impromptu coffee shops during the flower season. A very charming way to spend a day

Namaqualand

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We suggest that you head north to Springbok at a fairly fast pace and then meander southwards at a more leisurely place so that the spring flowers are always facing you. There are various side roads which are often rewarding for flowers. Visit the Goegap Nature Reserve and Skilpad Wildflower Reserve at Kamieskroon.

The Telephone Book !!!

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The telephone book explains it all. It contains the telephone numbers for (just to give you an idea of the extent of the Northern Cape Province) Alexander Bay, Springbok, Nieuwoudtville, Upington, Kathu, Kimberley the Government Section AND the yellow pages for the Northern Cape Province.

This book covers 30% of South Africa, but only 5% of the South African population live in this province.

Nieuwoudtville is just 10 kilometers from the Western Cape boundary and should actually be treated as an extension of the Western Cape. We have a Mediterranean climate - wet winters and dry summers - and are part of the Cape Floral Kingdom.
Hendrik Van Zijl - Your Host
While living and working as an attorney in Cape Town he developed the biggest indigenous bulb nursery in South Africa with up to 600 items on his catalogue.

At his invitation Barbara Jeppe the botanical artist came to stay with the Van Zijl family in Constantia. Over a period of three years she spent a year with the family illustrating and writing the first book (Spring and Winter Flowering Bulbs of the Cape) ever to be published just on the bulbs of the Cape Floral Kingdom. Of the 420 bulbs (illlustrated on 62 plates) 85% came from Hendrik's nursery.

In the acknowledgements to this book Barbara Jeppe wrote the followings "this book was the concept of Hendrik and Rhoda Van Zijl. I stayed with them during the two winter seasons and one summer period while writing and painting for this book. It was a long association of co-operation and friendship during which time I became part of the family. Their three daughters Liezl, Adele and Tanya were good companions.".

In 1991 he bought his first house at Nieuwoudtville and thereafter all the guesthouses listed on this web site. But it was his interest in indigenous flora and particularly bulbs which brought him to Nieuwoudtville.

During 1997 Hendrik translocated to Nieuwoudtville bringing his Clivia collection and his large collection of historical and botanical reference books with him.

The Smidswinkel Restaurant is run as a full on Information Centre with maps, books and Hendrik in attendance to answer what questions you may have about the Flora at Nieuwoudtville and the history of this fascinating area.

The Roads to Everywhere

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When visiting Nieuwoudtville abandon the tar roads and drive to everywhere and not anywhere. You are not going to see nothing but everything.

Drive out on the gravel roads, follow your nose, stop somewhere, sit on the bonnet of your car, have a cup of coffee (and why not a glass of wine) and enjoy the vistas around Nieuwoudtville.

This applies to all days of the year. You do not need a GPS to do this and it is much better if you don't. The only rider to these suggestions is that you must have the right frame of mind and take your time.

Roads 2 Everywhere Photos

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Senic Routes around Nieuwoudtvile

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There are a number of scenic drives around Nieuwoudtville which are all rewarding at any time of the year.

You can collect a detailed map from us and we will suggest which drives you should go on. Our recommendations will be based on the time of the year and the prevailing whether conditions. Some of the most popular drives are:

1. The North Bokkeveld Road

This road takes you in and out of the Fynbos and Renosterveld and past some farms which were granted just over 250 years ago. In places you will pass spectacular stone ruins and you will end up at "The Hell". You can then either turn back or descend a rugged pass known as The Hell. At the foot of the pass is the Knersvlakte where the rainfall is no more than 150 mm per year. From the foot of the pass you can double back across the Knersvlakte through the southernmost extremity of the vegetation type known as the Succulent Karoo. This road joins the R27 (tarred) at Grootdrift just below Vanrhynspas. If you take this drive you will travel through three major vegetation types, namely Fynbos, Renosterveld and Succulent Karoo.

2. The road from Nieuwoudtville to Clanwilliam

From Nieuwoudtville travel southwards past the glacial pavement and on to the Botterkloof Pass. From there the road winds through the northern part of the Cederberg across Pakhuis Pass to Clanwilliam.

3. The drive from Nieuwoudtville to the Aloe Forest

The Aloe Forest is approximately 25 kilometres from Nieuwoudtville. This drive is a must at any time of the year - particularly in May and June when the Aloes are in flower.

4. There are other drives that we will mark on the map when you arrive.

The Journey Cape Town to Nieuwoudtville

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In distance Nieuwoudtville is less than halfway to the park, but in travelling time exactly halfway. Nieuwoudtville is also the gateway to the great undiscovered secrets to the north of us.

Travelling from Cape Town you will bypass Malmesbury and from there onwards travel through the Swartland, Moorreesburg and Piketberg and up to the magnificent Piekenierskloof Pass. In days gone by there were no wheat fields and the Swartland was the Renosterveld. It is the dark colour of the vegetation in the Renosterveld that gave the Swartland its name.

As you cross the Berg River between Moorreesburg and Piketberg, in the distance off to the east you will see the peaks of Kleinwinterhoek and Grootwinterhoek. In winter, and if you are lucky on a clear day after a deep cold front has passed, you will see these peaks capped in snow.

Travelling up Piekenierskloof Pass you exit the Swartland. Down the other side you enter the valley of the Olifants River.

The West Coast of Southern Africa is dry. There are only four perennial rivers between Cape Town and Angola. The Berg River with its estuary at Velddrift; the Olifants River with its estuary at Papendorp (did you know that?); the Orange River with its estuary at Alexander Bay (a seriously disturbed if not destroyed ecosystem that calls for international indignation); and the Kunene River with some of the biggest crocodiles in the world - the ultimate experience for the adrenaline junkies who canoe this river!

Now back to the Olifants River Valley. As you cross Piekenierskloof, Citrusdal is on your right and for a distance of 100 km the road hugs the Olifants River. Amazingly, for most of its course this river flows northwards with the Cedarberg to your right (to the East) and the coastal range to the West.

Travelling between Citrusdal and Clanwilliam you will pass through orchards of navel oranges, valencias, satsumas, clementines, lemons and grapefruit. If you are fortunate enough to travel during the flower season, the heady scent of the citrus blossoms will blow your mind.

Halfway between Citrusdal and Clanwilliam, there is a low-water bridge off to your right. The "pad predikant" (road sign!) will direct you to Algeria, a forestry station in the Cederberg. Do not proceed to Algerea. Immediately after crossing the river, turn left. From there onwards right up to Clanwilliam you will be travelling along what was once the main road to Upington and Johannesburg. This is before they built the macadamised highway along which we are now obliged to travel. The old gravel road the erstwhile highway - will take you back in time. It follows the flow of the sinuous Olifants River until it enters the Clanwilliam Dam. Clanwilliam is one of South Africa's oldest towns and the birthplace of one our most hallowed poets, C Louis Leipoldt.

For the moment I will not say more about Leipoldt or Clanwilliam, but when on a cold winter's night you sit around the fire in the SMIDSWINKEL RESTAURANT enjoying good red wine from the Olifants River Valley, we will speak of Clanwilliam and Leipoldt. And read Leipoldt's poetry written about the Anglo-Boer War, and discuss his journeys as the personal physician for Pulitzer (of the prize fame) when he tended him on his yacht in the Caribbean.

With Clanwilliam behind us we enter the lower regions of the Olifants River passing through Trawal, renowned for its export table grapes. Most of the crop is never eaten in South Africa but ends up in Covent Garden. With Trawal on your left, you will see the stainless steel fermentation tanks of the Trawal Cellar. Drive in and buy some of their red wine excellent value for money. And this applies to each and every cellar that hugs the river. North of Trawal you part with the Olifants River at Klawer and from there enter the southern extremity of the Knersvlakte, the name derived from the sound which the wheels of the ox wagons made crunching across the quartzite hills which extend up to Nuwerus.

Your next town on this epic journey northwards is Van Rhynsdorp. If you carry on northwards from Van Rhynsdorp you will ultimately reach the Orange River and Namibia. However, it is a prerequisite to visit me at Nieuwoudtville, so turn off to your right (eastward), travel through Van Rhynsdorp and undaunted, take the Upington road.

Approximately 55 km beyond Van Rhynsdorp, on your route to Upington, you will ascend Van Rhyns Pass. Once you crest the pass you will enter the Bokkeveld Plateau, and from there gently glide down to Nieuwoudtville, THE BULB CAPITAL OF THE WORLD.

Pioneer Travellers of South Africa

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It is estimated from early records that the first Dutch Settlers arrived at Nieuwoudtville ca. 1725 and that the first farm Groenrivier was granted in 1750. Historically the records of the early travellers are of great significance.

When information is sought in the journals of the pioneer travellers in South Africa, no reference will be found to "Nieuwoudtville", as the town was only established and named approximately 100 years ago by the then new Dutch Reformed Church Congregation. The Congregation bought a farm from a Mr Nieuwoudt, and then laid out the town. This in itself is a most beautiful story of "modern" property development.

Reference will however be found in the journals of many of the early travellers if you look up "Bokkeveld". The Bokkeveld Mountains at Nieuwoudtville are not to be confused with the Koue Bokkeveld Mountains near Ceres or with the Warm Bokkeveld.

One of Sweden's most famous botanists, Carl Peter Thunberg, visited the Cape in the 18th Century. Thunberg visited the Bokkeveld and writes most eloquently on his visit to the Bokkeveld and his stay on the farm Groenrivier, approximately 1 km from Nieuwoudtville.

A quote from Thunberg's diary on his visit to the Bokkeveld in 1974.

"On the 2nd of November we rode up the Bokkeland mountains with two pairs of oxen, with which the farmer who had passed us, kindly assisted us, ours being quite fatigued and disabled, and the mountains so steep that several Hottentots were obliged to hold the conveyances fast with cords to prevent them oversetting. This mountain was not only very steep, but likewise very hilly, and abounded with slate, above there was a steep ridge, and the sides of the crown itself were almost perpendicular. The top of the mountain was level, the air colder, and the plain abounded in grass.

Bokkeveld lies between the 30th and 31st degrees south of the equator. In ascending this mountain we discovered a species of aloe (Aloe dichotoma) the stem of which, when a proper thickness, is hollowed out, and used by the Hottentots for a quiver for their arrows.

Weary but not a little pleased, we afterwards arrived at Clas Losper's farm, whither we intended indeed to have gone the preceding year, but were prevented by an accident. In this honest farmer, during the few days stay we made with him, we found as generous a host as we had before found in him a faithful guide and kind assistant. He was the richest sheep grazier in the whole country; and was at this time in possession of at least twelve thousand sheep, and above 600 full grown horned cattle, besides about 200 calves."

Where time allows, all visitors to Nieuwoudtville should view the spectacular sandstone ruins on this farm Groenrivier, where Thunberg stayed in November 1774, 227 years ago.

Other travellers also visited the Bokkeveld during their peregrinations through Southern Africa. From his journal we know that Robert Jacob Gordon visited the Bokkeveld and so did William Patterson. For more details on their travels we recommend PIONEER TRAVELLERS IN SOUTH AFRICA by Vernon S Forbes (published AA Balkema/Cape Town/Amsterdam)

Of particular interest to all historians will be Henry Lichtenstein's TRAVELS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA Vols 1 & 2 (published by the Van Riebeeck Society of Cape Town Vols 10 & 11). Lichtenstein travelled in South Africa from 1803 to 1806. He arrived shortly after the end of the first British Occupation of the Cape which was from 1795 to 1803. Historically the period 1803 to 1806 is referred to as the Batavian period and preceded the second British occupation in 1806.

Fun at Nieuwoudtville - We dare you to eat a tortoise and a snake

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What is fun at Nieuwoudtville.

1.Sit in the Aloe Forest surrounded by these ancient giants. Some of these denizens were around when the Drommedaris put into Table Bay.

2.Feeling energetic? Hike the Oorlogskloof where fish eagles can be seen and with luck Clivia mirabilis.

3.Walk or drive to the ruins at Groenrivier where Thurmburg stayed in 1774. We have a map of this site. Sit in the doorway of one of the old houses and try to imagine the scene a 100 years ago. In many respects it will be the same as today. I have sat in a doorway and seen farmers in the distance plow with a tractor. Then it would have been with horses. In some respect so little has changed. They understood how bread comes from wheat. Do we when we buy our bread?

4.Sit yourself down at the waterfall and look down the gorge. At different times of the year you will see Aloe mitriformis and Crinum variabile in flower. Eagles circle the gorge and you will hear rock pigeons calling from their nests in the crags. You will also see the thick roots of a Ficus snake across the rock faces to anchor its precarious position.

5.Test your arm and see whether you can make a ripple in the pool below the falls.Visit the falls when it is in flood. I have been there at night in a raging storm and heard the water thunder over the falls. It was awe-inspiring!

6.A braai or barbeque - morning, noon or night. Why not? We have some of the finest mutton in the world. Have a juicy lamb chop for breakfast and briefly forget about dieting. Buy it from our excellent butcher at Nieuwoudtville and ask for A2 lamb. You are on holiday. Indulge yourself.

7.And in the evening? Have the rib of the lamb. A hint. Braai the rib slowly. Take your time. It must be crispy and all that this requires is patience. While waiting for the rib drink the wines from the lower Olifantsriver valley and braai some wors to still the hunger pangs.

8.The view from the escarpment at the top of Van Rhyns Pass at dawn and sunset. This view across the Knersvlakte is much like it has been for thousands of years.

9.Visit the Church which towers over Nieuwoudtville. Admire the stone masonry around the windows and doors which was done by a Swedish stonemason at a time when all conveyance was by horse or oxen. A time when lamps and candles lit the tables and toilets were little structures set well away from the houses. You can still see them.

10.As a group walk the streets of Nieuwoudtville. If you are lucky at night you may see the ghosts of the British soldiers and the Boer Burgers on horseback involved in a fracas outside the old stone rectory. Ask me about it.

11.In Kerkstraat West, up the road from my Guest House Hendrikshof, is a well. Until 1962 this road was the main road to Upington and from there on to Johannesburg. Before the advent of the internal combustion engine oxen pulling wagons were watered from this well.

12.Further up to the same road is a monument erected in memory of a young man who fell from his wagon and was trampled to death. A beautiful dedication by parents to a child.

13.Walk Neethling Street at night and you will hear and find the owls nesting in the trees opposite the church.

14.Have you seen a full moon rise across the African veld? When last did you see the Southern Cross, Orion's Belt or Gemini? The Milky Way could hardly be brighter.

15.When you awake in the early morn listen for the trademark crows of cocks, some distant some closer, as they herald the break of day.

16.Count the animals in town we humans, dogs, cats, geese, ducks, chickens, bantams, the odd donkey, goats of different sizes and colors and of course the many sheep that outnumber the town folk by almost ten to one.

17.Most afternoons a westerly will blow moderating the day. This is the time to stroll through Nieuwoudtville.

18.Nieuwoudtville is a hamlet. For you a visit to Nieuwoudtville can be a journey both back and forward into time. The ticket for these journeys is your imagination.

19.The road to Hell and Back. This is for the adventurous with a vehicle that can
take the rugged roads. Take the Grasberg road which winds Northwards at times close to the escarpment the vegetation either Fynbos or Renosterveld. At the end of the Bokkeveld Peninsula you will descend down a rutted gravel pass called "Die Hel". At the bottom of the pass you will reach the white quartzite plain called the Knersvlakte. This is the habitat for many diminutive succulents endemic to the Knersvlakte. Use the escarpment as a land mark (you will be hugging it) and you will join the tarred road at Grootdrift. There you turn left and follow the road back to Nieuwoudtville. This is a great outing at any time of the year and in summer requires cold beers and some chilled wine. Pick a map up from us and we will direct you.

20. Visit my friend Tinus Coetzer the owner of the only garage at Nieuwoudtville. He owns an
enormous collection of vintage cars and motorcycles for which he is renowned throughout South Africa. Take your sons with you for Tinus has an collection of model cars enough to wow any child.

21.Buy a beautiful goose down pillow or duvet. Ask us and we will direct you to a farm just outside town where there is a enormous flock of geese and you can make your purchase.

22.Something for the bold and the brave at the Smidswinkel Restaurant. Please give us some prior notice.
You will not be eating a diminutive tortoise but what we call in Afrikaans a "Skilpadjie" a piece of liver wrapped in "netvet". This you braai on the coles as a starter to your meal. And a Pofadder??? - an intestine of a sheep stuffed with chopped liver and kidneys. This you also braai on the coles and is delicious.

Are you shocked. You shouldn't be. Where ever you are in the world this was eaten by your ancestors and you can take poison on this statement.

And how about a baked sheep's head which we call a "smiley". This must be eaten with freshly baked home made bread. Apricot jam is an optional extra. This to has been eaten for centuries and is one of the specialties of our local cuisine. My personal favorite is to gather around the fire and roast a whole sheep's liver which I slice to your preference.

For those less bold, how about the rib of a sheep which has to be done patiently over a slow fire which insures that it is well done and crispy.

For the vegetarians we serve a spinach quiche made from our own homegrown spinach.

In our South African cookery books there are recipes for a porcupine stew but in deference to the conservationists we do not serve this dish.

For more information on the cuisine of Namaqualand and the Karoo please ask me when you visit the Smidswinkel Restaurant. There are many fascinating tales to tell.

And there is so much more to do and see. Just ask me and pick up our detailed map of the area. hen4455

Hendrik van Zijl now lives at Nieuwoudtville, RZA, the bulb capital of the world. Im the owner of beautifully restored guest houses, a restaurant and caravan park in Nieuwoudtville. "After you have departed from Nieuwoudtville, you will remember his sense of humor for a long time." Nieuwoudtville is worth a visit because of its unique flora, pristine landscapes and its place on the map. http://www.nieuwoudtville.com

Hendrik Van Zijl - Your Host

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