8/4/2019 11-08-26 Victoria Falls

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Put a pretty Spring in your Namaqua stepKim Helfrich

THE Northern Cape a nd adjacent West Coastis having a spring ower season of note thanks to good rains at the start of this month.The oral carpets covering the mostly barrenand dusty ground of Namaqualand have alsoattracted a large number of visitors, boostingtourism spend in the area.

Colleen Rust, of the Hantam NationalBotanical Garden in Nieuwoudtville, said thisyears display could well be compared withexpensive champagne.

Enjoy it slowly, taking in the delight of eachsip before moving on to another, is her advice.Hantam is the provinces only botanical

garden and visitors can enjoy expanses ofdaisies in a variety of colours, pink eveningowers, sporries, pietsnot, varkiesknol

and purp le hongerblom.As an added bonus, Hantam visitors are

ferried around in an ancient Bedford bus.The spring show is also in full bloom at

SANParks Namaqua National Park, 22kmfrom Kamieskroon and 67km from Spring- bok, acknowledged as Northern CapesSpring Flower Capital.

Both coastal and inland areas of the parkreceived good rain early in August and thishas transformed it into a riot of colour, saidspokesperson Reynold Thakhuli.

The area around Soebatsfontein has some

wonderful patches of purple and yellow vygieswhile the 4x4 route between Skilpad and Soe -batsfontein is well worth the drive.

In addition to Hantam and the Namaquapark, visitors to the area would do well tospend time in Kamieskroon and take in

Geogab, the Kakamas/Springbok road andthe roads to Arkoep and Leliesfontein.

SANParks has also broken new ground thisyear in its eorts to make enjoying the springowers more accessible. It is running a specialower beach camp in the Namaqua Park.

The camp is accessible only by 4x4 andthe tented structures will be dismantled andtaken away ready for erection in time for nextyears spring ower display, said SANParkssales and marketing manager Bheki Zwane.

People wanting to spend quality time in theremote beauty of Namaqualand to enjoy the

owers as well as take in beach walks insearch of seals and waterbirds ca n also optfor transfers from the Namaqua Park head-quarters if they do not have o-road vehicles.

Enquiries: Hantam garden 027-218-1200;SANParks 012 -428- 9111

PARADISE RETURNS: Water, rocks and spring owers combine in an easy-on-the-eye setting in the Hantam National Botanical Garden. Picture: COLLEEN RUST

On the Go is edited by Jeremy Shepherd Smith

Email: jeremys@thenewage.co.zaPhone: 011 542 1263\082 673 3690

www.thenewage.co.za

GRAND LUXURY: The Stanley & Livingstone hotel.

UP CLOSE: Ellie rides raise funds for anti-poaching.

RUSTIC ELEGANCE: Vic Falls private game reserve.

MOSI-OA-TUNYA: Closer to Johannesburg than Table Mountain, the mighty Victoria Falls beckon.

The Smoke that Thunders is just a doze awayVictoria Falls is so quiet you cant sleep, writes Scott SmithLIVINGSTONE is so close toJohannesburg that I have hardlydozed o when the ight atten-dant wakes me for landing. Justshort of two hours and closerthan Table Mountain, anothernatural wonder of the world is

Victoria Falls, the Smoke ThatThunders, or Mosi-Oa-Tunya, asthe locals would say.

We land in Zambia and makeour way to the border with Zim - babwe. If you blink more thanonce passing through downtownLivingstone, you might miss it.There are maybe one or twobuildings higher than three sto-ries but South Africa has a rmstamp: Spar, KFC and Steers areall in evidence.

Victoria Falls town, on theZimbabwe side, is quiet but itsa little bigger than one might

think, with homes and settle-ments stretching far from themain road among warthogs andimpala. Home prices are increas-ing, which is a sign that Zimba-bwe has licked her wounds.

In the market you will nd the

usual curios and from one stallto the next you see much of thesame thing. Despite the hard -ships, crime doesnt seem to bea problem and many will tell youthat at night your biggest fear iswild animals the town is withinthe Zambezi National Park.

We escape the dust of the townand drive further up the ZambeziRiver to take for a comfortablecruise up and down the river,watching the hippos in the waterand elephants on the banks.

The next day, we saw the fallsand were happy we came at a

reserve, 10 minutes from Vic-toria Falls. Priced from R6 085per person sharing, enjoy a ve-star experience at this boutiquehotel. This package includesreturn ights from Johannes- burg to Livingstone, Zambia,return hotel transfers, two nightsaccommodation in a luxury suitewith breakfast daily. Bonus: onechild under 12 eats and stays forfree, only paying for ights andtransfers. This package is validfor travel between now and Janu-ary 31, 2012, subject to currency

uctuations and availability.Visa: South Africans do not

require a visa to visit Zambia orZimbabwe.

Currency: Rands or US dol-lars.

Victoria Falls is a malaria area,so take proper precautions.

Get there: British Airways iesto Livingstone from Johannes-burg six days a week.

Contact Flight Centre on0860 400 747 to book this pack-age or visit www.ightcentre.co.za for more details.

time when the Zambezi Riveris not in full spate so we couldwalk freely around the forestedarea without getting too wet. Thefalls do bring up a gentle mist,however. The rain forest stays

green all year round, bringingrelief from the harsh sun that cansend temperatures to over 40C.

I didnt have a chance to y ina helicopter but from the ground you get a better sense of the

sheer volume of the water.Victoria Falls is clearly a

tourist haven. We opted for theexpensive and grand Stanley &Livingstone, named after theexplorers, David Livingstone andHenry Stanley.

It was so quiet that an avidinner-city dweller like me almostcouldnt sleep because it was so

jarring to my senses.Its an impressive hotel. With

decor, beautiful interior gran-deur, and 16 suites of Victorian-style elegance.

We take a drive through theprivate reserve and enjoy thefeeding of rhinos and stop bythe elephant sanctuary, with 18elephants in the project.

People pay US$120 (R900) tosit on the back of an elephant forabout an hour. A dash expensivebut one needs to remember thatthis is also a rehabilitation facil-ity. Rather tame than dead, andthe elephant rides raise moneyfor anti-poaching initiatives.

It was the rst time I hadtouched an elephant. I felt histrunk, exible sponge rippling with muscle, rough skin andcoarse hair. The ranger assures

me that they can feel. I clap myhand on his hefty forehead anddont get so much as a icker outof the long eyelashes.

The Vic Falls present sucha lovely natural border. As you marvel at their length andexpanse, you see those on theZambian side marvelling at thesame thing a rusty bridgeerected in 1905 by the son of thefamous biologist, Charles Dar-win.

Evolution is happening on somany levels here that the touristattraction to the Victoria Fallsis sure to develop even further,hopefully increasing the need topreserve this natural, wild wil-derness.

#The writer travelled to Victo-ria Falls courtesy of Rani Resorts,Wild Horizons and Flight Centre.

Readers ofer:

The elegant Stanley & Liv-ingstone is set within the game-rich Victoria Falls private game

PAGE 23Friday, 26 August 2011

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