Once a year, one of nature's greatest spectacles can be observed in the dry desert of Southern Namibia and Northwestern South Africa. The desert known by the name of Namaqualand.
When the short spring rains have arrived, this desolate landscape suddenly blooms and turns into a magnificent carpet of wild flowers, as far as the eye can see.
Our beekeepers have been waiting for the rains. Filled with joy upon the news, they scramble from the winter quarters, with their bee colonies, to Namaqualand to let the creatures feast on the unique, endemic wild flowers' nectar.
Once the hives are full of very special honey, the fluid is collected and bottled like a precious wine.
You can buy Namaqualand Honey - the most unique natural product on the planet - and present it as a luxury gift, to someone dear.
Each bottle carries the year of harvest and contains a booklet with dried samples of some of the brilliant flowers from the area from where the honey was collected.
It's all about the place, the date, and the very special relationship between man and nature. It's also about the strange, romantic cycle of death and rebirth, of barrenness and fertility.
The market for the product is tiny, but it definitely is a luxury market.
Check the bottle I designed [link]. And do make sure to have a look at the nice fields of wild African flowers.-- django, Aug 31 2008 Bottle http://i3.photobuck...ey.jpg?t=1220182678Yes we can. [django, Aug 31 2008] Namaqualand in bloom - photo set http://flickr.com/p.../72157601478436350/Flickr: Martin Heigan, a tourist, took pictures. [django, Aug 31 2008] Are you suggesting re-colonisation?-- 4whom, Aug 31 2008 No, temporary occupation only. :-)-- django, Aug 31 2008 Sounds good to me. The pictures are awesome.-- dbmag9, Sep 01 2008 Is this a product? I love the pictures but am a bit confused.-- blissmiss, Sep 02 2008 No, this is not so much a product. More a symbol, a romantic story, a myth, a collection of subconscious desires.-- django, Sep 02 2008 There are no farmers who make honey in Namaqualand?-- bungston, Sep 02 2008 [Bungston], I asked myself the same question, and to my amazement, I couldn't find any info suggesting that there are beekeepers in this region.
Chances are that the logistics would be complex or costly.
But that's also why this product would be such a luxury product.
Namaqualand is really quite wild, rough and extremely sparsely populated because it's such an arid region.-- django, Sep 03 2008 Why do these plants flower if not to attract bees?-- Texticle, Sep 03 2008 (+)-- 2 fries shy of a happy meal, Sep 03 2008 //Why do these plants flower if not to attract bees?//To attract tourists?-- coprocephalous, Sep 03 2008 random, halfbakery