| A huge field of flowering lilies drew around 540 Namibians and tourists to Sandhof farm, some 40 km north of Maltahöhe, last week. Among the guests of Kalahari Anib Lodge and Kalahari Farmhouse alone were more than 40 who had come just to see the lilies in bloom.
The pink and white splendour of blossoms had already announced itself two weeks earlier when Sandhof farm reported 'land under water': the 700 ha clay pan had filled up with water after good rainfalls in the area. For the phenomenon of mass flowering to occur there have to be at least 30 cm of water in the pan. This happened four times during the last five years, but prior to 2005 there were many years without flowers.
After the pan has filled up with water it usually takes eight days for the lilies to shoot up and unfold their white and pink flowers. Four to five days later they already start to wilt.The lily in question is the bushveld vlei lily Crinum Paludosum. It is part of the amaryllis genus of plants and can be found in several countries in southern Africa. As yet, hardly any research has been done on this mass display of flowers – nor on the weevil (Brachycerus inornatus) which appears together with the lilies, feeds on them and also disappears with them. The insect is about 5 cm long and a member of the snout beetle family. |
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Lilies packed next to one another as far as the eye can see.
One of the weevils which appear and disappear together with the lilies. |
Visitors from abroad are very lucky indeed if they have the chance to see the lilies in bloom. For many Namibians the display of flowers was a good reason for a weekend trip. No less than 34 lily fans spent the night at
, located 30 km northeast of Mariental and thus 140 km from Maltahöhe – which in Namibian terms is not much more than a hop and skip. Another 10 weekenders used the opportunity to get to know newly opened
, 30 km from Kalahari Anib Lodge and situated in the fertile Auob valley, among vines and tall palm trees.
a drive to the lily field near Maltahöhe, some 170 km away, made for a great excursion. The surroundings of Namib Desert Lodge have had hardly any rain so far and the contrast most graphically illustrates the huge effect which a few rain showers can have on nature.