Vanrhyns Pass

Vanrhyns Pass climbs the Bokkeveld escarpment from the coastal plain to Nieuwoudtville, and the viewpoint near the top is the reason to stop: below it the Knersvlakte spreads out, a plain covered in white quartz gravel where the ground looks like broken crockery and supports a dwarf succulent flora found nowhere else - hundreds of species of tiny plants surviving in the gaps between the stones. Thomas Bain surveyed the pass and it was built in the 1880s, later rebuilt on a modern alignment. Nieuwoudtville at the top calls itself the bulb capital of the world, and the claim is defensible: the surrounding Bokkeveld plateau has an extraordinary density of geophytes, and after good winter rain in August and September the fields turn solid with flowers. In dry years the same fields are bare, which is the standing caveat for all Namaqualand flower travel.

The main sights

• The Knersvlakte - a plain of white quartz gravel with a dwarf succulent flora.
• The escarpment view - the coastal plain seen from the top of the pass.
• The bulb fields - Nieuwoudtville's geophyte density, spectacular after good rain.
• Bain's survey - an 1880s pass later rebuilt on the current alignment.

When to go

August and September for flowers, mid-morning to early afternoon. One hour for the pass itself.

Practical notes

The flowers fail entirely in a dry year and no one can promise them. Blooms close in cold or overcast weather. The viewpoint is a layby with no facilities. Accommodation in Nieuwoudtville books out for the season.

Nearby

Nieuwoudtville waterfall and the bulb reserves are above; Vanrhynsdorp is below.