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The flower garden is one of Clanwilliam’s leading tourist attractions, but a lack of resources threatened the existence of the Ramskop Nature Garden, until Lottoland stepped in.
Clanwilliam – the tenth oldest town in the country – is known for its beautiful historical buildings and the town’s picturesque location in the Cederberg between the Olifants and Jan Dissels Rivers.
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It is also the only place in the world where rooibos grows, the Sandveld’s potatoes are well-known and the region makes a large contribution to the Western Cape’s agri-economy, says a proud Dr Ruben Richards, executive mayor.
Tourists admire the historical architecture in Clanwilliam, but this part of the country is best known for the floral splendour that adorns it every year around August and September.
The Ramskop Nature Park just outside Clanwilliam was declared a nature reserve in 1960 and was actively developed from 1967. The reserve covers 66 hectares, of which 7.5 hectares are developed and 2.6 hectares are under irrigation.
Along the footpaths, visitors can see various plant species for which they would have had to travel far and wide to find them in the veld. The garden boasts around two hundred different flower and plant species.
“Many tourists only have a day to look at the wild flowers. In the garden you can see a large variety of flowers at once,” says Ilse Lochner, chairman of the Chamber of Commerce and Clanwilliam’s museum.
The garden is maintained by a single worker, donations and Clanwilliam’s very active Wildflower Society.
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“The garden needs a lot of financial support - there just isn’t enough money to keep the garden going year-round. The garden is old. The (reception) building is 47 years old,” says Lochner.
“We want to attract tourists all year round,” says Jan Oosthuizen of the Clanwilliam Chamber of Commerce. A lapa that could be rented for functions such as weddings and parties would help attract more visitors.
“There are many of us in the Wildflower Society whose parents started the garden, then we started to think oh, is our generation to useless to preserve the garden for Clanwilliam,” says Lochner.
Then Lottoland decided to help.
Leah, presenter of Lottoland Help ‘n Dorp, surprised the Chamber of Commerce with R450 000 and four weeks use the money in the reserve.
This was after they applied for help to, among other things, renovate the kitchen area of the reception building, replace the irrigation, and extend the developed part of the garden.
“There was nothing in the kitchen except a sink with colder water,” says Lochner. “Now there is hot water, new sinks and lights. The lapa was fitted with blinds which means we can now use it even in cold and rainy weather.”
Oosthuizen says the venue can help generate an income. The community also has plans to establish a tea garden here and to expand the income from seed sales.
“Clanwilliam’s people are all very nice. We are friendly, hospitable people and we like it when people come to visit us,” says Gerald Zimri of Clanwilliam Tourism.
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“We hope that many more people will now visit our garden,” says Lochner. She also invites visitors to Clanwilliam’s annual flower show, when displays of the local vegetation are held in, among other places, the old NG church in the town.
¦ For more information about the flower show and other attractions in Clanwilliam, visit www.clanwilliamwildflowershow.co.za.
