A visit from the Durban CREW office

Suvarna and the CREW admin team came to visit us at Beacon Hill on Thursday for our annual planning meeting - our meeting time with all the computer and projector equipment coincided perfectly with an Eskom load shedding event so we had to revert to steam-era technology.

The planning meeting

We managed to get through the discussions fairly quickly because of the lack of electricity, and decided to treat our visitors to a trip to the Western Heights. As was the case last week, our two student visitors, Lindo Tshapha and Sibuyile (Buyi) Zakuza, jopined us for the walk. With the good rain in July, the veld was showing signs of producing a good show. It was not long before we were able to show Suvarna and her colleagues an early endemic, Lotononis bachmanniana. The Merwilla plumbea (Scilla natalensis) were putting on a great show, interspersed with many Gladiolus longicollis and Disa baurii.

Lotononis bachmanniana

Suvarna demonstrating how to take a photo of Erica cubica

We stopped for lunch next to the little stream - with its Disa tripetaloides hanging over the water.

On the way back we encountered two more orchids, Eulophia clitellifera and Eulophia parviflora, and when almost at the vehicles found an uncommon white form of Sopubia simplex.

White and more common pink forms of Sopubia simplex

Participants: Anne S, Dorothy M, Graham G, Kate G, Maggie A, Uschi T, Suvarna P, Hlengi M, Mbali M, Lindo Tshapa, Buyi Z.