Attractions
Wildflower Reserves
TIENIE VERSFELD RESERVE
This small reserve is situated half way between Darling and Yzerfontein. It was donated to SANBI by Mr. Tienie Versfeld sometime in the 1960’s, as a reserve for this wonderful wet veld type which houses such a diversity of plants. There is free access – visitors must remain on the existing footpaths to avoid walking on the plants. Parking is along the main road and care must be taken when crossing this road, as the traffic can be heavy during flower season.
The main flower area is to the left after entering, where red Drosera cistiflora, Babiana rubrocyanea, Geissorhiza radians or Darling kelkiewyn, and the very special yellow Geissorhiza darlingensis can be seen.
The area to the right is accessed via a walkway, but this can be very wet, so care must be taken. This reserve is best visited the latter half of September and into October.
GROENEKLOOF RESERVE
This is a small reserve at the entrance to Darling on the Yzerfontein side. There is no charge to enter. Parking is at the gate from where visitors must walk.
This reserve was ravaged by a fire at the beginning 2024. It is undergoing a remarkable recovery and small geophytes like Empodium, Spiloxene, Laperousia, various colours and species of Oxalis and Lachenalias are abundant. Drosera are prevalent to the top right and Gladiolus throughout.
March saw a wonderful show of Crossyne guttata, Ammocharis longifolia, Brunsvigia orientalis and Haemanthus pubescens. Some of these only bloom after a fire.
Visitors can take a walk and look for interesting plants making their appearance. Please be gentle – we are in recovery.
WAYLANDS FLOWER RESERVE
The Waylands Wild Flower Reserve is a small reserve, about 80 ha, with around 300 species of flowering plants throughout the season. Access is only during the wild flower season as the veld is used for normal farming activities during the rest of the year. Access is free; there is a road which is suitable for light motor vehicles only, definitely not for heavy vehicles such as buses. Normal access times are from sunrise until sunset. Visitors are welcome to access the reserve in their cars, but are also encouraged to walk around.
Normal rules for flower reserves apply – definitely no picking of the flowers, no fires and keep to the road in your car; going off-road will require recovery of your stuck vehicle.
Waylands is well known for its variety, but more specifically for the Geissorhiza radians (kelkiewyn/ wine cup) as well as the vast field of Arum lilies (varkblomme); they are named varkblomme because their rhizomes (roots) are the favourite food of porcupines (ystervark).
Wild flower viewers are warned that most of the flowers close at night and whenever it becomes cool. The best time to view any wild flowers is therefore from about 10 am (or when it gets warm) until about 3 pm (when it starts cooling down). If you want to see flowers, only those that never close such as the Arum lilies, will be viewable on cold or rainy days! It is always best to start your flower tour at its northernmost extremity as the flowers always turn toward the sun, allowing you to see them clearly as you drive southwards towards Cape Town. The extreme wet conditions this year will make driving off-road extremely hazardous; those vehicles will get stuck in the mud and are extremely expensive to recover. Google Waylands wild flower reserve to get directions to the entrance gate.
RENOSTERVELD RESERVE
This large reserve on the hill above the Darling Primary School, is another area where all the renosterveld plants can be observed throughout the flower season. There is plenty of parking in the street at the gate, entrance is free and there are plenty of different footpaths, which have been cleared to take visitors to the different areas. Please don’t just walk up and back down again, but branch off the main track to see more.
You will see various Babianas like B.stricta, B.melanops and the rare B.rubrocyanea, the pink Ixia scillaris, the white Hesperantha falcata and Lachenalias including newly described species. In September the Kalkoentjies, Gladiolus alatus and the more delicate pinkish G.meliusculus also known as the Darling kalkoentjie, make their appearance. Patches of pink Oxalis, Hermannias and various daisies, Gazanias and Romuleas create a colourful tapestry among the glaucous Renosterbos and Kapok thicket.
A treasure to look out for is the showy large star-shaped white, pink or mauve Spiloxene, normally covered in jewelled monkey beetles.
This is a reserve that deserves a long walk with a stop to enjoy the vistas over the farmlands and the town of Darling.
OUDEPOST RESERVE
This private reserve on the farm Oude Post, near the Duckitt Nurseries orchid sheds, is also renosterveld, but with more open areas for flowers due to grazing cattle during the summer months. Here visitors can drive through in their own vehicles (no buses); please follow the arrows to avoid congestion. There is no cost to enter. You may stop off at the two shaded areas to enjoy a picnic or just a rest under the trees.
Here too, are all the renosterveld plants, with more of those that like the wetter areas, such as Romulea eximia, the Babiana rubroyanea (Kelkiewyn bobbejaantjie – only found in Darling), Ixia maculata, Heliophila africana (the blue flax), lots of white and yellow daisies and many more. Again, visitors must take the time to walk among the plants to really see what is blooming.
Tienie Versfeld Reserve
This small reserve is situated half way between Darling and Yzerfontein. It was donated to SANBI by Mr. Tienie Versfeld sometime in the 1960’s, as a reserve for this wonderful wet veld type which houses such a diversity of plants. There is free access - visitors must remain on the existing footpaths to avoid walking on the plants. Parking is along the main road and care must be taken when crossing this road, as the traffic can be heavy during flower season.
The main flower area is to the left after entering, where red Drosera cistiflora, Babiana rubrocyanea, Geissorhiza radians or Darling kelkiewyn, and the very special yellow Geissorhiza darlingensis can be seen.
The area to the right is accessed via a walkway, but this can be very wet, so care must be taken. This reserve is best visited the latter half of September and into October.
Groenekloof reserve
This is a small reserve at the entrance to Darling on the Yzerfontein side. This is a glorious renosterveld area with wonderful examples of this veld type. There is no charge to enter; parking is at the gate from where visitors must walk. Early in the season there are Lachenalia (viooltjies) of various colours, blue pypies and Gladiolus gracilis, followed by Drosera cistiflora (snotrosies). Later in the season the veld should be carpeted in orange and white daisies and gousblom. Visitors should take the time to walk along a well-trodden footpath and look down to see what is in bloom.
Waylands Flower Reserve
Normal rules for flower reserves apply – definitely no picking of the flowers, no fires and keep to the road in your car; going off-road will require recovery of your stuck vehicle.
Waylands is well known for its variety, but more specifically for the Geissorhiza radians (kelkiewyn/ wine cup) as well as the vast field of Arum lilies (varkblomme - NOT varkoorblomme); they are named varkblomme because their rhizomes (roots) are the favourite food of porcupines (ystervark).
Wild flower viewers are warned that most of the flowers close at night, and whenever it becomes cool. The best time to view any wild flowers is therefore from about 10 am (or when it gets warm) until about 3 pm (when it starts cooling down). If you want to see flowers, only those that never close such as the Arum lilies, will be viewable on cold or rainy days! It is always best to start your flower tour at its northernmost extremity as the flowers always turn toward the sun, allowing you to see them clearly as you drive southwards towards Cape Town. Google Waylands Wild Flowers to get directions to the entrance gate.
renosterveld reserve
This large reserve on the hill above the Darling Primary School, is another area where all the renosterveld plants can be observed throughout the flower season. There is plenty of parking in the street at the gate, entrance is free and there are plenty of different footpaths, which have been cleared to take visitors to the different areas. Please don’t just walk up and back down again, but branch off this main track to see more.
There is everything at various times during the season. At the moment the Gladiolus gracilis is in flower, but soon there will be Babiana stricta and Babiana rubrocynea, Ixia scillaris, Hesperantha falcata, Lachenalia pustulata and many many more to be seen. Later in the season there will be more of the daisy family.
Visitors must also look for Oxalis purpureorosea, which makes carpets of pink flowers, the creeping Hermannia pinnata with its nodding red doll’s roses, the aromatic Gladiolus alatus (kalkoentjie) and the pink Gladiolus meliusculus (Darling kalkoentjie). This is a reserve that deserves a long walk with a stop to enjoy the vistas over the farmlands and the town of Darling.
OUDEPOST Reserve
This private reserve on the farm Oude Post, near the Duckitt Nurseries orchid sheds, is also renosterveld, but with more open areas for flowers due to grazing cattle during the summer months. Here visitors can drive through in their own vehicles (no buses); please follow the arrows to avoid congestion. There is no cost to enter. You may stop off at the two shaded areas to enjoy a picnic or just a rest under the trees.
Here too, are all the renosterveld plants, with more of those that like the wetter areas, such as Romulea eximia, the Babiana rubroyanea (Kelkiewyn bobbejaantjie - only found in Darling), Ixia maculata, Heliophila africana (the blue flax), lots of white and yellow daisies and many more. Again, visitors must take the time to walk among the plants to really see what is blooming.
Living Colour parkrun
Every Saturday at 8am.