On a brighter note it was pleasing to see that Glenholme, the last little scrap of swamp forest in Kloof, is still mostly pristine though traffic to and from the SPCA, which also shares the property, was hectic.
When Brigid and Peter built the house they planted this flat-crown Albizia adianthifolia which now dominates this part of the garden. Spent some time fitting spot-lights to highlight it's magnificence after dark. Three around the base weren't quite enough for the ladies of the house so a pair in the central fork now makes it visible from space!
Was amazed to see this little procession on an extremely busy section of Old Main Road in Hillcrest and even more astounded by the courtesy afforded by all the motorists. Even though they are called Egyptian geese, they are in fact a wood duck and mostly nest in trees. Just after hatching the chicks are called down from their often lofty perch and hit the ground with such alarming thumps you'd think every bone in their little bodies would shatter. However they appear built to bounce and once all of them are on terra firma, the parents shepherd them to the nearest stretch of water, which is often some distance away.
Just a tad unfortunate that the mainline to Johannesburg has been routed past the base, which does rather affect the ambiance, but fortunately trains were absent during my visit.
Also made the mistake of going for a walk in Lahee Park which used to house what had to be one of the most comprehensive municipal sports grounds in the country. Only the football fields are mowed and all the buildings have been vandalized and ransacked. Appears luxury, German cars for the local Councillors are more important than maintenance.
One of my pet peeves is the almost total lack of moths nowadays, which is even noticeable in Kruger. So it was magical to see a massive Death's head hawk moth struggling up the aforementioned Flat-crown, it's wings still partially folded which indicated a very recent exit from its chrysalis. Sincerely hope you find a mate.
A particularly alluring bottle-brush aloe A. rupestris burst into resplendent bloom during my stay and proved to be a magnet for all manner of birds.......
......while down at Umhlanga, a dune aloe A. thraskii was put to use as a nest site by this little laughing dove. Even though it was only an arms length from the extremely busy beach path, it appeared oblivious to the throngs.
A new section of trail has been added to the Everton side of Molweni Gorge which provides access to this fall which I didn't even know existed............
............and further along up a tributary to the river was a structure which contained the remains of a ram pump - a wondrous piece of equipment that was invented by one of the Montgolfier brothers in 1796. It uses the potential energy of water, two valves and an accumulator to pump water without the benefit of any mechanical assistance. Ask Google to show you how it works.
Also visited Giba Gorge which now sports a number of mountain bike trails but is pleasantly quiet during the week. One section suffered an avalanche during the floods around Easter this year...........
.........but for the most part it is still serene and pretty.
Very happy to report that it is still looking good and my arrival was greeted by an rather vocal red-throated wryneck. Though closely related to woodpeckers, wrynecks lack stiff tail feathers and are more cryptically coloured. They have a tongue that is about 60 mm long, sticky and used to mop up ants, like an aardvark.
A plethora of Bushman's poison-bush Acokanthera oppositifolia were blooming merrily, the common name gives a clue as to why it should be treated with respect. The sap contains cardiac glycosides which do a handy job when applied to the tips of the tiny arrows the San use. There are apparently some foolhardy enough to eat the fruit when it's ripe, I'd rather leave it for the birds!
An orange-breasted bush-shrike was giving it's coffee-tea-or me call from a tree nearby but as soon as I approached, it shut it's beak. As a bit of encouragement I played it's call, where-upon it took off, flew 200 m to another tree then started to reply lustily. Can only assume it was outside it's territory and pushing it's luck and was scared off by the recording. Apologies bird.
A new road has been put in and a second more secluded picnic site opened up at the far end of the reserve....
..........and as I approached I heard the unmistakable meitjie-meitjie call of Klaas' cuckoo, who was so intent on finding a mate that I was able to get some superb shots. Klaas was the Hottentot bought by Francois Levaillant when he arrived in Cape Town for his epic birding tour up the east coast. He was to discover many new species on that trip including the Nerina trogon, named after Klaas' wife. Unfortunately he was a little over-eager and being a masterful taxidermist, started fabricating birds using bits from different species! It all ended in tears when his deception was discovered and he became a pariah and was shunned by the ornithological elite.
Back at the vehicle one of those freak instances resulted in this rather pleasing shot, a new corrugated iron roof created this light path across the water and the geese were a bonus.
One of the attractions of this little reserve is that it is home to a few species not normally seen in Durban such as the elegant little blue waxbill.
The southern side of the Inanda valley features some fairly impressive cliffs which at a point just above the dam wall culminate in this weird structure. Did stand atop it once in the dim and distant past.
And the mighty structure that retains all that water from the Umgeni River - lets see you shoot this weir Dusi paddlers!
Just to show how opportunistic birds are, a number of drainage pipes in a section of concrete wall had been appropriated as nest holes for brown-throated martins.
On a final stroll down to the lip of the Molweni Gorge we happened upon this splendid creature - a Mother-of-pearl butterfly quietly sunning itself - marvelous.
