24 October 2007

N for Nieuwoudtville in Namaqualand

Nieuwoudtville is situated in the heart of Namaqualand in the Northern Cape and is famous for the beautiful show of flowers in spring each year. Most of the year the the countryside is dry and arid, then as if by some miracle after the spring rains the countryside comes to life. Two years ago Sue and I took a trip, we had been promising ourselves for many years to see the flowers.

Nieuwoudtville seen from the main road from Calvinia, with a field of flowers in the foreground.


The Church has been the centre of the life in most traditionally Afrikaans towns. This is the Dutch Reformed Church building in Nieuwoudtville


The hotel in Nieuwoudtville. Note the gravel streets.


If you travel to the north of Nieuwoudtville you can get onto Circular Drive, which runs through an arid plain, then through a rugged range of hills and eventually brings you back to town on the Calvinia Road.

These deserted buildings at the beginning bear testimony to the harsh conditions of the area.


This is reputed to be the most Southerly grove of Kokerbooms in South Africa

Farmer's are very protective of their property. Don't know how this one gets away with a sign like this on a public road. So shoot me........

Show of flowers at the end of Circular drive

The farm Maatjiesforntein is just to the South of Nieuwoudtville. It is said to have the highest concentration of bulbs per square metre in the world. In spring the flowers bloom after the first rains and the country side becomes a profusion of colour. For a nominal entry fee you can go onto the farm and enjoy the profusion of flowers.


Flowers, flowers, flowers...............................





An old barn on the farm has been turned into a restaurant..............
.........and is filled with old family memorabilia


Between Nieuwoudtville and Maatjiesfontein is the glacial pavement, evidence of the ice age



The scratch marks from the glacier are still visible

35 comments:

Gerald (Ackworth born) said...

thanks for the grand tour - those glacial scratch marks are remarkable.

dot said...

Such different looking countryside from what I'm used to seeing. Love the flowers and wind mill.

Anonymous said...

This is one of the places that's on my Poulsbo florist travel list.

photowannabe said...

Thanks for all the information and wonerful pictures. The glacial grooves are amazing.

Unknown said...

Gosh, that's beautiful. I really have to do that one day.

RUTH said...

Another fascinating post. :o)

mrsnesbitt said...

The tour was great! How amazing to learn something new and it isn't even 9am yet!

Dx

Pete M said...

As I think I have said before, your photo although often showing harsh terrain make me want to be there. I have never been to this part of Africa but it is on my list now.

Love the flowers

Mike said...

You have some really interesting photos there. I'm not even going to begin to attempt to say the word "Nieuwoudtville".

kml said...

It does appear very dry - but all the flowers are gorgeous! Great series of photos!

Oswegan said...

Cheers Max,

Those names are a mouthfull.

I love the kokerbooms, very cool.

This was a very nice photo essay.

~Oswegan

WalksFarWoman said...

I love your travel guides Max, thank you for putting so much effort into showing us your beautiful country. These beautiful flowers are so amazing, to grow so profusely on such dry land. Lovely photo's.

Digital Flower Pictures said...

I would love to see those flowers, that looks grand.

I have added you to my ABC Blogroll.

Neva said...

Some very interesting words I am sure I can't pronoune!!! interesting post.

Anonymous said...

I can't decide what i like better, the glacial scratches are amazing but my favourite i think is the ruins. Ruins tell such a story without words.
Happy ABC.

Max-e said...

Ackworth Born
The glacial pavement is fascinating. When you see how arid the place is it is hard to believe it was once covered wiith ice.

Max-e said...

Hi dot
There is an amazing variety in this country, fro desert through to lush tropical vegetation.

Max-e said...

Thanks for stopping in theysaywordscanbleed you are always welcome

Max-e said...

thanks for your comments photowannabe. the glacial pavement is fascinating. It is also embeded with smooth rounded pebbles

Max-e said...

Jenty it is well worth the trip - you would go wild with your camera. I believe this year was the best in a long time.

Max-e said...

Hi Ruth glad you enjoyed it

Max-e said...

Hi Denise, thanks for your comments. This is a big country and there is a lot more to come

Max-e said...

Peter M, I love the ruggedness of the country as well. It is only in recent years that I have taken to exploring the Karoo regions. Though there is a great biodivesity in the country. As a country it is welll wort a visit

Max-e said...

Mike thanks for comments. The pronounciation is easy:

knee-vote-ville (silent k)

Ok it kelps if you speak the lingo

Max-e said...

KLM it is unbelievably dry in that part of the world. The flowers are absolutely beautiful. At the end of out first day we were suffering from sensory over load - there was just too much to take in.

Max-e said...

Hi Owswegan
The names are not too bad if you can speak Afrikaans - namaqualand is pronounced phonetically and the other one: knee-vote-ville

Max-e said...

Hi WalksFarWoman
This is a truly amazing country - so much to see and such variety. Glad you enjoyed it and that I am able to share the experiences

Max-e said...

Hi Digital Flower Pictures
With your flair for photographing floweres you should make a spring vist to namaqualand. Thanks for the visit

Max-e said...

Hi Neva, thanks for the comments. The pronounciation is not the problem it is interpreting the letters :) I did that for mike and oswegan

Max-e said...

Hi Kate Isis
Thanks for the visit. I guess each one tells its own fascinating story. You are welcome any time

myonlyphoto said...

Max-e, these are great photos, especially the one with flower fields, I really like the glacier marks - the last photo, so so cool. It is amazing to see something that was created long time ago, Anna :)

karoline in the morning said...

oh max! the flowers..how beautiful..and the glacial grooves....makes the minutes spent touching it seem so minute at 300 million years old..

wow

k:)))

Max-e said...

Hi Anna
It is an amazing place and the glacial pavement is incredible. It is hard to imagine a huge mass of ice moving over this rock

Max-e said...

Hi Karoline, we spent a long time there just soaking it all in. It does make one feel very insignificant.
The floweres just blow you away - there is such a profusion.

david mcmahon said...

Max, Max, Max,

What a beuatiful photo essay ....