Niewoudtville guest house owner and flower lover, Hendrik Van Zijl, can barely contain his excitement.” This is fantastic. You have no idea the impact on job creation this season will have. The plants have jumped out of the veld. We have never seen it like this. In previous years we were lucky but Springbok has had a very poor display and you should see it now,” he enthused. “It is an exceptional year and all things being equal the flowers will go through August and well into September. If the good rains continue they will go into October,” says Van Zijl, hastily adding that he doesn’t much like predictions.  Looking around the picturesque town of Niewoudtville it is not hard to see his point. There is a new spring in the step of the town’s folk and the flowers are truly magnificent. The reason for this great display? “The April and May rains were the highest in living memory ( something that was constantly repeated when referring to the rains and the flower display) but what we did not anticipate was the warm spells in between. This advanced the flowers more than anticipated, creating an early start to the season,” he said. The folk in Kammieskroon agree. Annelise Le Roux, botanist, researcher and founder of the “Succulent Karoo Knowledge Centre” in the little dorp says “ I have been working here since 1973 and it is the best year that I have ever experienced.” The variety is amazing. Because the rains came at the right time and space, the display came early.” How long will it last? Le Roux smiles: “Its an unpredictable ecosystem. The flowers use the opportunities as they get them, so who knows?” Canadian photographer Freeman Patterson, an annual visitor to the region is also amazed.” The big thing this year is the mix. The vygies on the Sandveld are six weeks earlier than last year, and although the approach to the peak of the season is early, the peak will still be around 20 August,” he says. The season is so good, and the warm spells so unusual, that some folk are wondering why. Annelise le Roux sums it up: “It may be part of the climate change that we are starting to experience. It has been much warmer this year. Global warming could move the entire season towards winter,” she says. As flower lovers rush north to view the spectacle the locals advise: Do not pick the flowers, stay on the paths and rather go to one place, and  get down on all fours than run around like a rabid dog. Take the time to smell the daisies. For an up to the minute flower report call :     * Hendrik Van Zijl of Niewoudtville – 082 829685 or 027 2181535     * Annelise Le Roux of Kammieskroon – 082 4846993     * Kammieskroon hotel – 027 6721614 Contact Details: Andrew Imgram WWW: www.andrewingram.co.za