A fine day beckoned at last; it has been a very cold and wet winter. So, with a friend to share the fun, and a picnic, we drove up the West Coast to Postberg, the privately owned nature reserve which is managed by SA National Parks and is part of the West Coast National Park. The flowers are spectacular and, if you can, go and see them. It’s about an hour and 10 minutes to the entrance on the N7 from Cape Town and we need to let you know that, once you are in the park, it is quite a long slow drive (because of the wildlife) before you get into the flower area
A male bontebok (Damaliscus pygargus) grazing on a hillside just outside the park
Houseboats on the Langebaan lagoon; one of them is for rent on Booking.com
A boat tied up at anchor on the Langebaan lagoon
These tiny night blooming flowers are only about 5mm across. Also known at Drumsticks
A bontebok calf and a ram who is scratching an itch under his cheek
An angulate tortoise (Chersina angulata) sunning itself on a bank, recently out of hibernation
a tuberous perennial, which can reach 45cm in height. The species name orobanchoides literally means “like Orobanche“, and refers to the flower spike's resemblance to some members of the genus Orobanche
Monkshood orchid is native to flat, sandy areas of the southwestern Cape
A Cape bulbul (Pycnonotus capensis) in the bush
Cattle egrets (Bubulcus ibis) in a flower meadow
They are also known as Tick Birds, because they climb aboard and pick off the pests from the cattle and antelope
Pelargonium is the second largest genus (after Geranium) within the family Geraniaceae, plants native to South Africa which are now seen all over the world. This is an unusual one
The main difference between Pelargonium and Geranium is the shape of their flowers; the two upper petals of Pelargonium flowers are different from the three lower petals, whereas the five petals of Geranium flowers are identical. Pelargonium and Geranium are two plants of the same family
Yellow, white and purple daisies below a rocky hillock, with a cloud of blue flax flowering in the distance
Purple and White flowers on a hillside
White rain daisies, gazanias, yellow Cape beach daisies and purple asters spread across a wide area
A profusion of spring flowers
This photograph has been awarded an Inspiration gold star by YouPic
https://youpic.com/.../postberg-panorama-by-john-duncan-ford
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