Today we navigated our vehicles closer to the
destination taking into consideration that we are not children anymore and in
the setting sun that grips the earth it can be relentless and taxing when heading home. Today was a day of blood, sweat and tears. “Hazel Ridge” was a place to retreat to in heat. A small oasis is what we remembered it to be.
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| Photo credit: Tracy |
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Burnt Watsonia leaves.
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Burnt Watsonia's
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As we drove in through scrutinized controlled gates
of “Covid” regulations we found the fauna to be poor even though it had been
burnt. It didn’t have the same vibrance
and variety of that we saw at Beacon Hill when we all met for tea.
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| Heading to Hazel Ridge. |
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Hazel Ridge - Umtumvuna
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Erythrina lysistemon
 | Alf, Anne and Tracy
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 | Homalium rufescens (Small-leaved Brown Ironwood)
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 | Cineria albicans
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Tentively, we paced ourselves forward gazing at
the Gerbera natalensis who snuggly wore their “pyjama’s”. The burnt Watsonia in their rusty hue’s were
a great contrast to the serene grasses and Orange-breasted Bush shrike sang their cheeriest song.
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Gerbera natalensis
 | Salago tarachodes
 | Apodytes abbottii (varigated with virus).
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Indigofera rubroglandulosa
 | Crassocephalum crepidiodes (Not a weed in SA).
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 | Delosperma sp.
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 | Photo credit: Tracy - Solanum incanum
 | Phytolacca octandra (A weedy plant found in disturbed areas).
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| Salacia gerrardii (Photo credite: Tracy)
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It was an unusually clear day with the rolling hills
in various colours of grey. Our oasis had been savagely burnt by a “Covid” run away fire which destroyed both the
reserve and neighbouring farmers lands.
The Petopentia's natalensis were blackened and looked like empty balloons
and the Ochna arborea's stem’s that were “cool to touch” were just like any other. Their magic had been lost. Many had been totally destroyed in the hot fire. The tree’s that were a sanctuary to orchids and ferns were no longer. Baboons did not help the environment as they turned the earth for grubs leaving orchids upturned. The neighbouring farmers to the reserve
planting “Nugget’s of Gold” had allowed their invasives on their boundaries to be harvested by birds that ate their berries and distributed them into
pristine areas. We were left to spend
our botanising day pulling our Chromolaena and Bug weed. The Bug weed left our skins itchy and irritable. Raw
skinned and red with bloody arms we tattooed ourselves for the day. Conservations is for those who care.
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| A monkey skull |
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Polystachya sandersonii
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Petopentia natalensis with Rhipsalis baccifera growing on it.
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Petopentia natalensis
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Petopentia natalensis
 | Ochna arborea
 | Ochna arborea
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 | Faurea macnaughtonii
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Where the fire couldn’t burn up
from the depths of the ravine, we found Stangeria eriopus and Clivia robusta
breast high. How privileged we found ourselves to be in nature that was devoid of people. No noise, no litter.
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Anne showing how huge Stangeria eriopus is.
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Clivia robusta
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Clivia robusta
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Having paid some of our dues in looking after the environment we cautiously crept
down the steep hill side and had to be watchful of where we placed our feet as the decomposed trunks
and earth matter easily gave way and one could fall. Our
hands went from trunk to trunk edging our way forward to mossy green
oversized boulders with crystal clear water where Water skimmers swam around. Minusops obovata flowers lay amongst fallen leaves.
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Dorothy, look how agile she is!
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Mimusops obovata
 | Photo credit: Tracy
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We settled in for lunch in the coolth of a ravine. All peace was restored. If only peace could remain.
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| Acokanthera oppositifolia |
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Acokanthera oppositifolia
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Carissa bispinosa (notice the small leaves)
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| Carissa bispinosa |
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A flatid bug: Tribe Phromnini - Member of Planthoppers - Superfamily Fulgordoidea
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| Stenoglottis fimbriata |
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| Leafy plant growing under a Steptocarpus haygarthii. |
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| Petopentia natalensis flower |
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| Cryptolepis capensis |
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| I'm watching you. |
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| Anne looking down onto the pool far below. |
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| Oxyanthus speciousus |
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| Tricalysia capensis var. capensis. |
With the setting sun we slowly walked back, tackling invasives on the way and promising to return to make it a day's job getting rid of them once and for all.
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Dorothy, Gail, Simon, Alf, Anne and Tracy
Pondoland C.R.E.W.
- "Wherever you go, go with all of your heart."
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