The Nieuwoudtville area has over 300 species of blooming perennials in the spring and it is common to see 50 different species in a one square meter piece of land from mid August to mid September. In the abundant flower areas, a spade full of soil can include up to 100 bulbs.

We completed the self-drive tour through the very colorful flower fields of Matjiesfontein, a farm about 15 km south of Nieuwoudtville. 

On the way back to town we took a brief exploration of Nieuwoudtville Flower Reserve. We didn’t see too many blossoms there and, after looking at the information brochure, we concluded that the peak flower time for this park was about a week or two before our visit.

The short Trekpad flower route turned out much better than we expected because it included several varieties of flowers that we had not seen along other roadsides or at the two private farms. 

We also took a drive to the nearby waterfall and quiver tree forest. The 90 meter-tall Nieuwoudtville Waterfall of the Doring River is most impressive after a winter rain. But it was still a beautiful sight during our spring visit. And a few of the unique plants on the plateau above the falls were in bloom. 

The Quiver Tree Forest on the private land of Gannabos Farm includes 5,000 to 8,000 trees and is reported to be the largest quiver tree forest in the southern hemisphere. The trees are estimated to be 150 to 250 years old. Even though the plants are called trees, they are really aloe plants that can grow up to 9 meters tall and may have a base diameter of 1 meter. The name Quiver Tree came about because the San people used the branches to make quivers for their poisonous hunting arrows.