Namaqua region

Aloe dichotoma, Richtersveld Conservancy, near Eksteenfontein

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The Namaqua region's big skies, endless desert and carpets of flowers are all the reason you need to visit. Every year from July to September, the Namaqualand desert explodes into life. No fewer than 4 000 species of flowers, 1 000 unique to the region, paint the desert in colours that defy the skill of the greatest painter.

Take out 2 or 3 days following the Namaqualand Flower Route on the N7 highway. The action starts 5 hours from Cape Town around the towns of Garies, Springbok Kamieskroon and Port Nolloth. Get out and walk in the Namakwa region's fields of gold.

Enrich your experience of Namaqualand tourism by staying in a nature reserve. The 1 000-ha Skilpad Wild Flower Reserve west of Kamieskroon is a prime location - close to the coast, it's less dry than neighbouring areas. The Kamiesberg mountains offer superb mountain biking.

Birdlovers relish Goegap Nature Reserve, with 92 bird species, including majestic black eagles. A guided tour in an open truck lets you share their view.

The audacious are rewarded by the Richtersveld National Park, a stark lunar wilderness of gold, yellow, pink, white and purple. This World Heritage Site also hosts numerous animal, bird and plant species, including the uncanny halfmens succulent, named after its resemblance to a human silhouette. Warning: a 4x4 is mandatory in this terrain.

But Namaqua activities go beyond daisies. Why not go rafting down the Orange river? You needn't be fit or experienced: qualified river guides make sure you can just enjoy the scenery, swim, and fish.

And a truly primal experience: desert fly-fishing. Fly-fishing camps are held from May - September on the Orange River in the Richtersveld National Park. Fishing in pleasant temperatures for yellow fish, mudfish and barbel as fish eagles wheel overhead - you can't get much closer to nature than that.