West Coast National Park

The park wraps the southern half of Langebaan Lagoon and the strandveld behind it, about 36,000 hectares of low coastal scrub, salt marsh and dune. For ten months of the year it is a quiet birding park - Ramsar wetland, hides over the mudflats, eland and bontebok on the plains. Then in August and September the Postberg section, a private-origin area normally closed, opens to the public and the whole thing changes: after good winter rain the strandveld erupts into orange, white and purple annuals, and the traffic queues at the gate before it opens. The flowers track the sun, so they do not open properly until mid-morning and close in the afternoon, and a dull day means a dull display - this is the single most weather-dependent attraction in the country. Outside the season, Postberg is shut and the park is empty.

History

The Langebaan Lagoon was proclaimed a marine reserve in 1973, a proposal of 1976 called for a nature reserve around it, and the Langebaan National Park was declared in 1985 and enlarged in 1987 (Wikipedia, West Coast National Park).

The landscape

• The Postberg opening - a section open only in August and September for the flowers.
• The strandveld bloom - orange and white annuals across the plains after winter rain.
• The lagoon hides - bird hides over Ramsar mudflats used by migratory waders.
• The plains game - eland, bontebok and zebra in the coastal scrub.

When to go

August and September for flowers, mid-morning to early afternoon only. A day. Weekdays avoid the worst queues.

Things to know

Flowers close on cold or overcast days and do not open early or late - arriving at nine or after four means seeing green. Weekend queues into Postberg are long and the internal roads are gravel. In a dry year the display fails. Fees rise in season.

Nearby

Langebaan town is at the north end; Darling and its wildflower reserves are inland.

Key facts