Pondoland C.R.E.W. Blog: First time visit to the Devil's Backbone (Thursday 29 November 2018)

After we had managed to track down the owner of the farm adjacent to the Gogosa section of the Umtamvuna NR, we obtained permission to drive through his farm to access other grassland areas of the reserve. So this Thursday was a first visit to the Devil's Backbone area for most of us - Dorothy being the exception as she had once visited the area with Tony Abbott many years ago. As we approached the grassland we encountered a fencing contractor busy erecting a new fence along the border with the reserve and he guided us to where they would be positioning a gate for reserve access. We parked in the grassland and set off in the general direction of where we thought we should be going.

Although we could see a footpath, it seemed to be going in the wrong direction so we headed west across a flat section before beginning to descend the slope towards a forested stream. Along this section we found Cycnium adonense, Eucomis autumnalis, Satyrium cristatum and Euphorbia guenzii. Dorothy had decided to be prudent and not tackle the long walk so limited herself to botanising on the slopes near the vehicles.

Eucomis autumnalis

Euphorbia guenzii

Cycnium adonense

We reached a low krans edge and realised that we could not get any further so we reversed and skirted around the forest before reaching the path we had earlier avoided - this took us down the grassy slope between two big forested patches. The forests were resounding with bird calls and we were lucky to see some of the more elusive forest species, including Red-chested and Black Cuckoos, as well as a male Violet-backed Starling. From the calls we knew, we were accompanied by Narina Trogon, Knysna Turaco and Scaly-throated Honeyguide.

Among the rocks a patch of Agapanthus campanulatus was just starting to flower and an Alberta magna stood proudly displaying its red flowers. In the grassland we saw many Dianthus zeyheri, a few Pachycarpus asperifolius and then reached an area where we could see many pale pink-headed inflorescences of Brachystelma rubellum.

Agapanthus campanulatus

Alberta magna

Pachycarpus asperifolius

Dianthus zeyheri

Brachystelma rubellum

Ahead of us lay a low hillock and we chose to skirt around, this keeping the forest just within reach on our left. In the forest we found two climbing Senecios, S. macroglossus and S. oxyodontus. In the forest we saw Schrebera alata and Diospyros scabrida and we were very lucky to find a single Tephrosia pondoensis -- Dorothy had told us to look out for this rare species that she had seen in flower on her previous visit. On this occasion the small tree was not flowering but we did find two old seed-pods.

Senecio macroglossus

Senecio oxyodontus

Schrebera alata

Diospyros scabrida

Looking over at the heights at Gogosa.

In the adjacent large swathe of grassland we found Polygala gerrardii with its delicate blue flower, and the alien Striga asiatica, a parasitic invader in maize lands.

Polygala gerrardii

Striga asiatica

We reached the end of this grassland promontory out into the Umtamvuna River gorge where we stopped to enjoy the view and have lunch.

Looking down the Umtamvuna River from near the end of the Devil's Backbone

On the way back we detoured to see if we could find the path down into the forest that Dorothy had told us about. We pushed our way through a bracken entanglement, past a large Commiphora woodii and found a quite well-worn path into the forest. It seems that this is used illegally by local cattle herders from across the river to graze their cattle in the reserve.

Walking down this path we soon started encountering interesting forest-floor species. First we noticed the large leaves of Streptocarpus haygarthii and then right next to one of these we found the beautifully-patterned leaves of Holothrix orthoceras - unfortunately some time away from flowering. Then we found several small Plectranthus plants flowering along the side of the path - after resorting to our reference books, we were able to confirm this as Plectranthus stylesii, a Critically Rare species.

Little white stars close to the ground revealed the presence of Hypoxis nivea. We could see the new shoots of orchids in the leaf-litter and other epiphytic species on the rocks and trees around us. We all agreed that this would be a good path to explore on another day when we would not linger in the grassland on the way to this forested section to allow us enough time to get down to the river before returning.