Both of these photos were taken on a trip based on Holbrook’s “South Africa: Gardens, Parks, Wine Country and the Wildflower Super Bloom!” arranged by Sandy Schmidt.
The trip was timed for the spring flower bloom in South Africa’s West Coast. The king protea is South Africa’s national flower and is unique to the fynbos region. We observed them in natural settings as well as this picture taken at Kirstenbosch, the national botanical garden (where we had a private tour with a park horticulturalist).
Our first stop outside of Cape Town was the West Coast National Park. During the spring, the strandveld is an amazing mass of wildflowers. This section of the park is only open during the spring bloom and is accessed via a one-way dirt road that meanders through miles of flowering fields. We also had a chance to watch weaver birds as they zoomed in and out of their unique hanging nest.
Photos and story by David & Laurie Nass
South Africa
