Mountain idyll

When I arrived the river was in spate and the sound of it was soothing but not so good for the bladder.  The site I picked was in the shade from around 10 am so no need for air-con and of course, in general the temperatures were a lot more bearable.  The town itself is still fairly pleasant but the suburban roads are horribly pot-holed.  There also appears to be a slew of abandoned houses but Merry Pebbles is a gem - even if all the trees are exotic.  A long weekend snuck up on me and the place became quite crowded but nowhere near full as it is massive.

While enjoying sundowners one evening I heard a whump and there lay a small  chameleon, obviously winded and very disorientated.  However after about 10 minutes it got up and moved resolutely towards the trunk of the massive fir in front of the van.  With the jerking gait and a pace that may just beat a snail, I reckon he only made to the lower branches sometime the following day.

The local Spar shop has a large bin labelled Abandoned Pets Bin and I would have obliged except I don't have one.

The shongalolos (millipedes) around here are also quite different with a rather handsome bronze colouration.

No shortage of waterfalls in these parts either, the closest being Lone Creek which features an impressive single drop of 68 m.

Bit of nostalgia in the forest near the falls in the shape of Falling Stars or Crocosmia aurea.  There is a lot of overlap of KZN species in this area which makes identification simpler - when I can remember the names.

A delightful pair of Mountain Wagtails preceded me along the path but even when they stood still it was impossible to get a decent shot - that blasted tail never stops.

Next stop was Horseshoe Falls that necessitated negotiating a pretty horrendous road and were not that spectacular.  It's on private property and I really don't envy the people who live there - unless they only head into Sabie once a month or so.

The surrounding countryside is essentially wall to wall fir trees but most of it is pretty picturesque.  All roads leading to Sabie - and there are 5 of them, are absolutely made for motorcycles and over the weekend the bikers descend in hordes.  Makes me wish I hadn't sold mine.

When I stopped to take this photo I turned and headed back to the bakkie and there on a slope behind it were a raft of Agapanthus inapertus the Drakensburg or Drooping agapanthus.  Just one of the many grassland species losing out to forestry.

Near the highest point of the road to Lydenburg is Long Tom Pass and it was here that the last remaining piece of artillery available to the Boers was used to chuck shells onto the town now known as Mashishing, nearly 30 km away.  I found it even more impressive that these guns were built in a foundry near Barberton just down the road.

More falls, Bridle Veil this time, which in my last blog was flowing a lot more strongly but a close-up was required.

The pool at the base has a large rock which was on the receiving end of the main fall and watching the continuous change in the pattern of the flow caused by gusts of wind was better than TV.  A mini-rainbow was also present and this too shifted and waned constantly.

A path leads around the back of the fall and if you look closely you'll see a couple of guys right behind the curtain.  They're pretty small - look in the wish-bone on the left.

Part of the cliff face features this brick-like structure of exposed sedimentary deposits.

See what I mean about the constantly shifting water and rainbow?

Walking back through the forest I heard a call that I knew but couldn't place.  From the depths of the sludge that is now my grey matter a tiny spark shot forth with Yellow-streaked Greenbul and a few seconds later Robert's confirmed it.  Not bad, as when I worked out when I last heard the bird was probably in Ongoye Forest 25 years ago.  Tried to get a pic but gloomy forest and highly active birds only resulted in bits of branch and foliage, however the internet always provides - ta da.

Went through Graskop on the way to the next local attraction and discovered Panorama Caravan Park and they certainly are not joking - how's this for a pool with a view?  One for the future perhaps.

In comparison God's Window was a bit of a let down.  Noticed something interesting on the path to the view site it was possible to distinguish locals from the hordes of Europeans simply by which side they hugged when passing you.  Europeans right, locals left - seems we are pretty conditioned by driving.

Thought the view inland from the mist-belt forest at the top was better than the view site.

Odd that some of the once well frequented tourist attractions are now abandoned such as this very rare phenomenon of a natural arch which was overgrown, neglected and forsaken by curio sellers

Nearby Sudwala Caves are privately owned and still doing a roaring trade.  Not anywhere near as blessed as Kango they nevertheless feature some pretty unique rock forms.  The dangly bit to the right of the guides torch is a flow-stone which differs from 'mites and 'tites in that it is deposited in layers. One right at the entrance called The Gong emits a boom that can be heard a couple of kilometers away, when given a hefty smack with a rubber mallet.  The stalagmite bottom centre is King Kong with his arm up and about to scratch his head.  As the guide quipped come back in a million years and he may just have achieved the feat.

With a growth rate of 25 mm per century, we were informed that the Colossus on the right was 1.8 million years old.  I started singing Happy Birthday.

I did a few kilometers of the Loeire Trail a 10 k loop that starts and ends at Merry Pebbles and in one section that was mostly indigenous found a butterfly party in progress.  Ever tried photographing these buggers?  Kudos Steve Woodhall, I only managed to get a decent shot of this African Leaf Butterfly (I think) because a) it had the decency to sit still, and b) adopted the flat wing pose of a moth.