Verskoning: Ons is tans besig om die hele web bladsy in Afrikaans te vertaal.

Dear Reader, Friend, and Curious Soul,

In this month’s Afro-Australian Storybook: something different.  

Namaqualand, along South Africa's northwestern frontier, is a vast canvas of quartzite hills, succulents etched in silver, and semi-precious stones strewn over the parched land. For most of the year, it slumbers in the relentless sun. But come August, when the rare winter rains coax life from the dust, it erupts in a riot of colour: millions of daisies, vygies, and aloes painting the desert in gold, red, and white, a fleeting symphony that draws wanderers from across the globe.  

This land teaches us to see beauty in brevity, resilience in the barren.  

But quite interesting is the mirror on the Australian continent at about the same latitude in the Wheatbelt and to the West.

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Comparative map showing South Africa's Namaqualand region in the northwest and Western Australia's Wheatbelt region, both highlighted as wildflower show areas at similar latitudes on their respective continents.


While the Wheatbelt unfurls vast carpets of everlastings—those pink and white seas echoing Namaqualand's daisies—the true crescendo lies west, along the Mid West and Geraldton Sandplains, spilling into the Northern Agricultural Region toward the Indian Ocean. Here, from Kalbarri's red gorges to Eneabba's dunes, over 12,000 species explode in August-September: banksias like fiery torches, kangaroo paws in crimson velvet, and leschenaultia skies of blue, all nourished by coastal rains and sandy soils that mimic the Succulent Karoo's grit.

Photos from goway.com and broomebeyond.com.au

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Golden carpet of yellow daisies covering the ground before distinctive rounded orange-brown rock formations, with a 4x4 vehicle and two visitors exploring the spectacular Namaqualand flower display. Expansive wildflower meadow displaying a colourful mix of violet, yellow, and green blooms stretching across the landscape with scattered trees and hills in the background. Vibrant red tubular flowers of a desert succulent plant growing among orange rocks and sand in Namaqualand's arid landscape.

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Back to Namaqualand.
We recently visited Namaqualand and roamed from the sandy coastal plains to the rugged mountain scapes in the east.

So, I wrote you a poem, and Hannelie and I took some photos to share. I hope you enjoy it.

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Namaqualand Gallery:
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Have you been to Namaqualand or the flower fields in Australia?
You’re welcome to share!

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Next Time:
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Oil painting portrait of an elderly man wearing a blue head wrap and blue-striped shirt against a warm golden-yellow background, painted in an impressionistic style.

And next time, we still stay off

the beaten track.

I want to introduce you to

Klaas. Say no more.

The Song of Tap

The Song of Tap

an ode to the senses

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