Winter and the bush is adorned with browns, greys and dust. The landscape is at its most barren and suddenly, out of nowhere you see a flash of crimson and white. In the middle of this sea of dullness an unlikely splash of colour meets the eye. As you near closer, the perfect star-shaped, brilliantly coloured impala lilly flowers beam up at you.

There are certain species that find it beneficial to flower in what seems to be the most unlikely time of year and the impala lilly is one of them. Most of these plants are succulents such as aloes and euphorbias. Succulents are able to hold moisture during the drier parts of the year and are therefore able to flower without spring rains. By doing this they eliminate competition for pollination with other flowering species in the springtime and therefore ensure pollination.

Impala lilies and euphorbias can be seen in the bush at Londolozi and are in full flower at the moment, surprising us with their bright colours on game drives. While there are no naturally growing aloes here, we do have beautiful aloe gardens in camp. The aloes are now in full flower and are keeping the birds and bees very happy.

A small spider sits on a beautiful impala lilly

A close-up of the deadly thorns and dainty flowers of the Candelabra euphorbia

An African Monarch butterfly feeds on the flowering Euphorbia

Splash of crimson and white – the impala lilly 

A beautiful array of colours in camp. Can you see the little sunbird on the Mountain Aloe?

Founders Camp in full flower

Macro shot of a flowering aloe

The tiny flowers of the toxic Transvaal Candelabra Tree

An incredible contrast of greens and yellows against a bright blue winter sky

Written and photographed by : Andrea Campbell