It is March and the “Candelabra Flowers” (Brunsvigia Orientalis – or ‘Koningskandelaar‘ in Afrikaans) are making their annual appearance – and how beautiful are these photos taken by Gavin Joyce!
This plant comes from the Western Cape where it blooms in late summer before the leaves sprout. The large bulb sends up a huge flower cluster up to 24 inches across resembling a red chandelier!
It forms a large bulb that can grow over 8 inches across. It usually makes 4 to 6 large, tongue-shaped leaves that lie flat along the ground.
The leaves grow throughout winter, and the bulb goes dormant for the summer. In late summer or early autumn, its dramatic flower stalk sprouts from the bare ground.
The cluster has from 20 to 80 scarlet blooms that face upward, which serve as a landing pad for birds. After flowering, the round cluster dries up, breaks off from the stalk, and rolls around in the wind like a tumbleweed, which spreads the seeds around.
The plant can reach blooming size at 6 to 8 years old.
“This extraordinary battle till death took place on my front lawn a while ago and although the quality it not great as I used a mobile phone to record, it still gives one an idea what happens in nature. These things happen so unexpectedly and can be over before you’ve blinked I didn’t have time to get a camera. Thanks for watching.” – Ballie Bizza (YouTube).
Watch until the end to see who won this battle – in Stilbaai.
The whales are back!
The Southern Right whales visit from March till November to breed while the Humpback whales are also seen in the waters of the southern Cape during these times.
Take your time, sit back and watch them enjoying their annual visit. Go to the Whale Look-out Point above the harbour from where you have a spectacular view. Hein Oosthuizen took these awesome drone footage of the Humpback whales in Stilbaai recently.
There were some floods in 2008 in Stilbaai and although information about it are somewhat scarce, Stilbaai Tourism shared these photos (photo credits unavailable).
We were unable to find more information about these floods while it seemed that some flooding also occured in 2013. Feel free to contact us with information (and photos). Send e-mail to mystilbaai@worldonline.co.za or send WhatsApp to 082 458 8517.
June 2020 – How serene is this?!
Rowing on the Goukou River in Stilbaai in winter. The weather has been beautiful and with the COVID-19 Lock-down regulations that were lifted somewhat, many longed to be walking on the beach and practice their watersport again.
