A first visit to Mount Currie Nature Reserve

On the spur of the moment, Kate and I decided to travel up to Kokstad to see what flowers Mount Currie Nature Reserve had to offer. We were joined at the reserve by Mivuyo Mbiko, a Masters student at UKZN. We were met by the reserve manager, Pat Lowry, who took us to the upper gate of the reserve to show us what route to take on our walk. He and Mivuyo walked with us for the first half kilometer or so before Pat had to get back to work and Mivuyo had to return for family business.

View along path from top gate with Kokstad in the background

The flowers were prolific along this section of the path and the grassland looked in very good condition. In contrast to the sandstone formations familiar on our walks in the Pondoland region, the geology here is mostly formed by dolerite outcrops and clayey soils derived from the weathering of the dolerite.  The views towards Mount Currie are pretty spectacular.

A cloud-capped Mount Currie

We soon came across the first Orthochilus foliosus of the many we were to see that day. Another common orchid for the day was Eulophia ovalis. Nearby was a Hibiscus aethiopicus and another ubiquitous species for the day, Monsonia grandifolia.

Orthochilus foliosus

Eulophia ovalis

Hibiscus aethiopicus

Monsonia grandiflora

There were also many Pachycarpus plicatus - a species I had forgotten we had seen previously at Ngele. Not far away was a Eulophia zeyheriana and another orchid, Orthochilus leontoglossus.

Pachycarpus plicatus

Eulophia zeyheriana

Orthochilus leontoglossus

Amongst some dolerite boulders we found Dioscorea rupicola  in flower as well as Bowiea volubilis. The latter is a bulbous plant which is very popular for use in traditional medicine (muthi), and as a result is heavily collected. 

Dioscorea rupicola

Bowiea volubilis

Near these boulders we found Schizoglossum stenoglossum subsp. stenoglossum and we were to see several more of these during the day. Another plant which enjoyed the protection and micro-climate offered by the boulders was Helichrysum tenax var. tenax.

Schizoglossum stenoglossum subsp. stenoglossum

Helichrysum tenax var. tenax

We worked our way up an outcrop, finding Moraea graminicola and Dianthus mooiensis along the way.

A dolerite outcrop - the red-coloured grass is Rendlia altera

Moraea graminicola

Dianthus mooiensis

Once we reached the top of the outcrop we found Convolvulus natalensis, Ipomoea oblongata and the first of many Xysmalobium stokenstroomense.

Convolvulus natalensis

Ipomoea oblongata

Xysmalobium stokenstroomense

In the distance we spotted the wetland that Pat Lowry mentioned so we headed down to explore. Here we found a few Gladiolus papilio and the two varieties of Senecio polyodon, one with ray florets and one without. This area was rich in Cyperaceae as well as an unusual white-coloured form of Pentanisia angustifolia.  In another section of damp grassland we found an Alepidea which may be A. duplidens (awaiting confirmation).

 

Gladiolus papilio

Senecio polyodon var. polyodon

Senecio polyodon var. subglaber

Pentanisia angustifolia

 

Alepidea duplidens

We stopped for lunch near a stream in the shade of a Leucosidea sericea and then set off downhill towards the reserve camp.

The boulder strewn stream bed as our lunch stop

We found a dramatic display of Agapanthus campanulatus on a steep south-west facing slope set off by tall Cephalaria oblongifolia. Opposite these was a small forest patch dominated by flowering Olinia emarginata trees.

Agapanthus campanulatus

Olinia emarginata

Skirting around the forest patch we clambered down a steep slope finding Indigofera foliosa on the way down.

Indigofera foliosa

 At this lower altitude, we moved into areas which had been used as commonage before the establishment of the Reserve. Clearly this is an area which the game seem to prefer as we spotted a Mountain Reedbuck watching us for a while before whistling an alarm and running off. Closer to the camp a group of rather tame Zebra followed us for short distance.

Mountain Reedbuck

Zebra

This was a very promising first visit. We will probably choose to explore the higher parts of the reserve during future visits as these areas appear to have suffered less from past grazing activity. Maybe with an earlier start it will be possible to get even higher up Mount Currie than we managed on this occasion.

Participants: Graham G, Kate G, Mivuyo B, Pat L.