Flowers to appear the coming weekend
Dirk Heinrich
A few days after short and partly heavy rain showers since Saturday last week (15th of January 2022) the first Sandhof amaryllis (Crinum paludosum) appeared. On Saturday 5 mm were recorded, on Sunday 20 mm, Monday 7mm and on Tuesday 40mm of rain. The pan/vley on the farm Sandhof, north of Maltahöhe, filled up on Monday and according to owner Oliver Morgan the plants will flower from coming Saturday onwards.. The owners of the farm announced that visitors could come and enjoy the white and pink unique natural wonder on an area of 700 hectares from Saturday the 22nd of January 2022 onwards. Depending on the weather the unique natural wonder will last a week and after that the flowers will quickly wither and disappear.
The moment the rainwater in the 700 hectare pan on the farm Sandhof softens the hard and dry soil and stimulates the Sandhof lilies to grow, an up to 60mm long beetle appears too. The Red-spotted lily weevil (Brachycerus ornatus) survives the dry period as does his host plant in that part of the country underground. But it is not only the weevil that comes to life but also numerous tadpole shrimps or triops. These living fossils have inhabited the earth for more than 250 million years. They are a genus of small crustaceans in the order Notostraca. Other crustaceans start their short life too and will not be seen like the Sandhof amaryllis till the next time the vley fills up at least 15 to 20 cm of water.
To control the people visiting and to cover the costs of cleaning up after the “lilymania”, an entrance fee of N$50 per person, N$30 for pensioners and N$20 for children under 12 will be charged. As in the past, the rest of the money will be donated for a good course. Only a section of the vley is open to the public and no camping is allowed at the so-called lily-pan. The gate to the farm and lily-pan will open at 07h00 and closes at 19h00.