Photos (unless stated otherwise) and text by Tracy Taylor
18/02/2019
A party of nine met at the
traffic lights at Port Edward at 7 am and set off in two off-road vehicles.
On the way Sinegugu, our very knowledgeable
guide, entertained us with explanations on lobola and how to go about acquiring
permission to build a homestead. He also shared his knowledge of
the area, as well as his hopes, dreams and concerns for Pondoland.
Our first stop was a short
one at the Mnyameni River where we feasted on Syzygium cordatum and Eriosemopsis
subanisophylla fruits. Along the banks we saw Leucadendron pondoense, Syzygium pondoense and Syzygium sp nov. The
latter has a different vernacular name
from the more common Syzygium pondoense and
the local people eat the fruit of both.
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| Eriosemopsis subanisophila |
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| Syzygium cordatum |
Then we moved on towards
our final destination. The roads were badly corrugated and washed away. A 4x4 is
definitely needed. While driving we were very lucky to see a breeding pair of
Ground Hornbill with a chick.
We parked at the top of
the hill and walked down towards the Majuleni River where some explored the
surrounding grasslands while others went to explore one of two caves where we
saw shards from clay pots estimated to be 1500 years old. We saw Delosperma vinaceum and Hibiscus penduculatus near the caves.
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| Sinegugu discusses the cave with Maggie |
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| Hibiscus pedunculatus |
We then walked up out of
the valley and back into grazing land. The area is beautiful with gorgeous
views but the damage from grazing and frequent burning is evident. We made our
way to the edge of the mountain like goats and ate lunch. While we admired the
view we made the decision to go back and explore the forest below and see the
waterfall we could hear but not see. After lunch we made our way back to the
top where we were picked up by Nkosinathi Wandini and Thanduxol Ntshangase
(Chief Marine Inspector) and taken back to the cars.
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| Christine, Mark and Phillipa sheltering from the sun |
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| Uschi, Dorothy, Maggie, Sinegugu and Tracy |
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| The lunchtime view |
Participants: Christine T,
Colin T, Dorothy M, Maggie A, Mark G, Phillipa M, Sinegugu Z, Tracy T, Uschi T.
01/03/2019
For our second visit we
had a smaller group. We picked up Sinegugu on the way and headed for the Majuleni
forest. We took the same route this time, stopping to take photos of and admire
a Disa nervosa. When we reached the spot where we were to start walking we were joined by three men from the surrounding
homesteads. One stayed with the cars and Dumisa Sonjica and Ngqweqwe Dimani
accompanied us to the forest.
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| Disa nervosa |
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| Sinegugu discussing the route with Dumisa and Ngqweqwe |
Dorothy, Christine, Mark
and Philippa drove to the edge of the forest and Uschi, Sinegugu, myself and
two of the men walked down through the grassland, which is very over grazed. It
was an extremely hot day. Armed with bush cutters and garden shears we set off
clearing a path through the unspoiled indigenous forest. Not a single invasive
in sight.
Sinegugu explained that
the falls we were heading to had no name and that although he had grown up in
the area, he had never seen the falls. We climbed through the undergrowth, over
boulders and some of us managed to avoid the Smilax anceps.
Along the way Uschi caused
a lot of excitement when she found a Colubrina
nicholsoni. The identity was subsequently confirmed by Prof. Braam van Wyk. Another exciting sighting is what we think is Maytenus species A, still to be confirmed
by Prof. van Wyk. We also saw Plectranthus
hilliardiae in the shade.
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| Colubrina nicholsonii (Photo D McIntyre) |
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| Plectranthus hilliardiae |
As we got closer, we could hear the waterfall and after scrambling down into
the river bed and over some enormous boulders, we were rewarded with the sight
of the waterfall. The fall is made up of one main stream and two smaller ones.
We ate lunch and explored the surrounds. Here we saw Impatiens hochstetterii and Stenoglottis
fimbriata.
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| Our guides leading us to the falls |
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| Uschi, Dorothy, Sinegugu and Tracy on the way to the falls (Photo P Makepeace) |
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| Impatiens hochstetterii |
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| Stenoglottis fimbriata |
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| At last - the "no name" falls |
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| A frog who joined us for lunch |
After lunch we headed back through the forest and out onto the grassland. It
was a wonderful experience. There is something so special about exploring a
seemingly untouched piece of forest.
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| Heading back from the falls |
Participants; Christine T, Dorothy M, Mark G, Phillipa M,
Sinegugu Z, Tracy T, and Uschi T.
