Once a year we feel a need to make a pilgrimage up the West Coast from Cape Town, to see the wild flowers. It is a Spring thing… every spring the whole world of the West Coast errupts into the most glorious floral display that is so magical that you cannot actually believe it to be true.
Every where you look, everywhere you turn there are flowers, great patches of orange and yellow and purple…
As far as the eye can see…
Unfortunately it was raining so hard on Saturday that those glorious flowers were not at their best – believe it or not!!! But they don’t open when it rains – they need sunshine to open up… The advantage was that hardly anyone else ventured out to see the flowers and we had what felt like the entire West Coast National Park to ourselves. First stop was the information center…
A tiny little stretch of the legs… and a very quick explore:
Have a careful look at that wader… this little person noticed the bird in boots!!!
And then because it was raining so very hard we decided to stop at the restaurant there and see if we could wait the rain out!!! What can I say some waits are worth the wait and some waiting is worth well lingering over!!! We will start with the outside…
A house we could fit into and still have space to share!!! Lovely!!!
And welcome to Geelbek Restaurant, this is Cape Cuisine at its yummy best, and reasonable prices compared to most Cape Town restaurants. The service was fabulous… you know how I love restaurant that treats my children like people and is happy from them to drink their water out of wine glasses. And crisp white linen… I could rapture on… but I will just show you what we ate and then you can make your own decisions.
Traditional Chicken Pie: 
Cape Malay Chicken Curry: 
Hake and Chips: 
Catch of the Day, Angelfish: 
An Open Sandwich, packed with everything: 
Kids Chicken and Chips: 
Kids Fish and Chips: 
We ate food that looked this good… no, we devoured it!!! Loved it !!! And while one of us chilled out recovering from our meal…
The rest of the gang gathered together to test the apparatus…
And then we were off to find the flowers…
We met the ostrich family…
And their babies…
A couple of tortoises…
And a heap of buck… sitting in fields of flowers…
We loved the rocky ridges…
The birds were simply amazing… even flamingoes in the lagoon…
And lots of teeny tiny ones that all flitted out of the photograph before you could say click…
And the lazy lagoon…
And this is where my kids really want to go on holiday!!! West Coast Houseboats…
So we saw our restaurant from a distance…
And the sun finally came out and we caught the flowers in all their splendor just as it was time to go… 
We headed home…and incase you think it was an easy ride:
This is where we first ran out of petrol…
And don’t laugh but this is where we ran out of petrol again!!! Thank heaven for audio books and friends who come to the rescue!!! And in case you think our car enjoyed the ride “it is now in for repairs” for who knows how long!!! But it was worth it… a day out, without the crowds in all that gloriousness!!!
Here are our previous West Coast Posts…
- Se7en + 1 Visit the Strandloper.
- Se7en of the Best Places to Visit Around Cape Town.
- Se7en Significant Hikes.
Oh my goodness – we made the trip on gloriously sunny Sunday, but headed further up the coast to Velddrif! I am almost sorry we didin’t stop in at the nature reserve, but then again, by the time we went past there ar 11h00, the line of cars was almost a kilometer long ONTO THE NATIONAL ROAD, never mind the drive up to the gate. So I think you made a good choice going on Saturday! You are welcome to check out our West Coast shananigans at http://joyfulmamasplace.blogspot.com/2010/08/bless-all-young-mothers.html. We used your kebab recipe, too!!
It really is a place worth visiting! And even in more busy times, not nearly as ‘overrun’ as other places nearer to Cape Town!
What a lovely day you had!
Can I come with you next time you go, if you can fit another person in the car???? Please??? Pretty please?
Hay Aunty Muffin – Isn’t this indeed one of the great wonders of the world… We are so very blessed!!! Have a great day!!!
Hay Aunty Muffin, Isn’t it just awesome!!! We are truly blessed!!! Hope you all have a great day!!!
Oh Joyful Mama… I knew their was a reason why we went on a rainy Saturday!!! Oh boy and to think we had the place totally to ourselves on a Saturday is just amazing!!! I am so glad you had a fun time!!! Lots of love…
Oh Irene, We would love to have you along!!! We could, I suppose…, squeeze you between the countless car seats!!! And wouldn’t another adult be handy when we ran out of petrol again and again!!! Have a fun week!!!
What an amazing ADVENTURE!!!!!!!
Oh KM, How brilliant to hear from you!!! This is quite the most amazing thing to see flowers as fa–aaaar as the eye can see!!! Incredible!!! I am dying to know how your big little boy is doing in school!!! Have a fun week!!!
How incredibly wonderful. The wild flowers are amazingly beautiful! And the animals? Don’t even get me started. What a remarkable part of the world you live in!
Hay Katy, We do indeed live in a land of incredible beauty and splendor!!! If you ever have the chance to visit grab it with both hands!!! Have a fun week!!!