The valley is full of life.

The natural wonder of spring flowers along the Cape West Coast in the Western Cape draws thousands of visitors from around the country and from around the world between August and September each year. The wild flowers have been known to bloom as early as July and as late as October, depending on weather conditions.

Flower season

Flower season brings a flush of beauty. Spring starts with drifts of white rain daisies and tiny yellow button daisies, blue flax and pink nemesias. The spectacular Cederberg, Groot Winterhoek- and Matzikamma mountains, and the arid beauty of the Knersvlakte and Hardeveld, are covered in carpets of daisies, yellow gansogies, felicias, nemesias and vygies in between. Sheltering between the taller plants are gems like winecups, sparaxis, lachenalias and babianas.

During the months of March and April, March Lilies turn the veld into a delightful pink carpet. The wild flowers of the Cederberg are some of the finest in the world. The Cederberg doesn’t only have the vast carpets of flowers which adorn the coffee table books, it also has the largest variety of wild flower species, many growing nowhere else in the world. This is due to the different topography, from the dry Karoo-like landscapes through to the wetter vlei areas of the Oliphant’s River and the Sandveld en route to Lamberts Bay.

A birder’s paradise

You can enjoy the flowers in many different ways. Take a self-drive tour to the best areas, using Mount Ceder as your base. Small antelope like Ribbok, Klipspringer and Grysbok can be seen on the hillsides around Mount Ceder. Mountain Leopard, Lynx, Black Eagles, Rock Rabbits, Baboons and a number of bird species form part of the wildlife that can be spotted from your house.

Mount Ceder offers avid birders and amateurs a host of birds to look out for.

Here are our Mount Ceder Top 8:

• Black Eagle
• Cape Eagle Owl
• Giant Kingfisher
• Malachite Kingfisher
• Olive Thrush
• Mountain Chat
• Cape Reed Warbler
• Cape Batis