Great aunt Nellie

Met a delightful couple Nonier and Alistair and as the former wanted to do the Loerie Trail, I foolishly asked to join them.  Starting from the Lower View Point the route was fairly level for some way but then....

......started going down, and down and - you get the picture, almost to the level of the dam below.

Eventually arriving at a series of pools we took a break and had some very welcome refreshments which supplied a bit of energy for the inevitable.

The trail back up followed the course of the Kadushi River and in places was almost vertical, with multiple crossings on slippery logs, rocks and muddy patches of tufa.  By the time we got to this fall my legs were wobbling but there was still about 100 metres of up to cover before arriving back at the bakkie absolutely knackered.  I had invited them to dinner but we agreed to swap arrangements and they took me to dinner at the restaurant - superb, thanks once again guys.

On a rations run to Graskop I discovered something that I had obviously driven past on a couple of previous occasions - a castle.  How weird, just another eccentric Englishman I guess.

I also assume that the naming of rivers in the area after European capitals was a result of some foreign fellows taking part in the Pilgrim's Rest gold rush.  Here the Lisbon River drops 64 m over a precipice.

On the edge of the gorge a river bush-willow Combretum kraussii displayed it's lovely winged seeds.  This is a really colourful tree as the leaves turn a deep red just before they drop and in summer a lot of leaves turn white just before flowering occurs.

Just down the road are the Berlin Falls with a drop of just over 90 m.  On the way to the falls I noticed a sign that said "Stage start" and when I returned it wasn't long before a ripping, snorting and waste-gate popping beast arrived.

Welcome to the annual York Timbers Rally.  This was the leading Ford Focus and boy did it make a racket.

It was followed by an assortment of heavy metal that left the few spectators gasping in clouds of dust as they hurtled into the forest.  Even from a hundred metres down the road you could hear the mighty clank as they engaged first in the sequential gearbox.  Didn't have all that fancy stuff when I tried (and failed) to complete the Dunlop 500 Rally around Bulawayo.

A view site further down the track even had a commentator, here's a vintage Escort at full tilt.

The month's stay at Blyde flew by and then it was down to the lowveld town of Nelspruit and a pleasant site at Lakeview, a little grand - Damview would be more apt.  Had to do the Botannical Gardens and just my luck I chose a Tuesday - pensioners free, see there are benefits.  Laid out along the banks of the Crocodile river, they include the Nelspruit Cascade.....

.......a magnificent suspension bridge..........

.......and the junction of the Nels and Crocodile rivers, plus a magnificent collection of African species, mostly from our region.

Nelspruit or more correctly Mbombela is also blessed with a white elephant as a result of the World Cup but at least it's used by the local rugby team.

While strolling around I happened on a group of these stunners.  Doubt if even an imaginative kid with a full palette could have come up with this colour combination.  The royal blue brooks just set it all off to perfection.

The inside of the stadium is a bit bizarre with the zebra skin pattern - well Kruger is nearby.

It would appear that most of the workforce lives some distance from town so the local bus company has a huge fleet of articulated vehicles including something I've never seen before - a double articulation.  At 27 m long it's quite formidable to overtake and it's a pity they didn't upgrade the power-plant as in the hilly suburbs it really struggles.

Took a drive up into the hills to the quaint little town of Kaapsehoek and came across this.  Have always wondered what it actually means as it is usually situated on a pass so would that make it High as in up, or is it High as in be careful if you've been smoking something?

Guess the city fathers really took this World Cup thing to heart - it's actually a water reservoir.

Drove up Barbeton way and hooked up with the Geotrail which points out geological features at the side of the pass leading up to Pigg's Peak.  One of the oldest types is Barberton Greenstone, a good example of which was built into one of the lay-by walls.

Passed many plants bearing these pretty little purple flowers but have so far failed to identify them, suggestions welcome.

Not only is the area geologically interesting but it is extremely attractive too.

Had a stroll around the Barberton Nature Reserve situated between the two towns but quickly found that it was huge, so took to the vehicle and was intrigued by a sign that said Barberton Beach - not quite the seaside but worthy of the name.