We woke up to the most beautiful sunrise,
the night balmy and the air thick with humidity. Mosquitos flew like army helicopters bloated
looking for another place to land. Anne
had sent us a message reminding us to spray for ticks and the scent of
Tabard filled the air. It was an early
start to a day no-one’s heart strings are tugged to but we do what we have to
do in assessing this protected piece of land that is part of the ever-expanding
site of a quarry in the Oribi area called Rossmin. We’ve never had a day there that is cool and it’s like doing Bikram yoga. It’s going to
be hot and sweaty. It’s so humid that
one’s glasses steam up where everything is in soft focus and beads of
perspiration run down one’s forehead blinding one, making the steep slopes even
more difficult to navigate. Fortunately,
the fall is soft for the grass is so long that if one did take a tumble no-one would
see. One walked amongst grasses and Notobubon
head high. One simply has to love what
one does as normal people wouldn’t do this…
We went in search for the special orchid
Tracy had found, Nervilia kotschyi, it’s like looking for a needle in a haystack but there
it was not in flower and hidden in the grass.
We found the second patch of them which we didn’t see the time before
and they were happy hidden in the shade of the long grass.
The Gladiolus were in numbers and we were
lucky enough to see some in flower, so different in colour from the Rennie’s
ones that were so bold in maroon and these in soft ballet pink.
I’ve never seen so many Polygala hottentotta
masses on both sides of the embankment waving their stems in pink flowers. So
fragile, so delicate and yet so hardy.
We were lucky enough to see the
Gymnosporia rubra in flower. Good
timing. A flower that is miniscule and
not even I-phones want to pick up the image as it’s so small. Seed capsules hung like upside down hot-air balloons.
When we got to the forest area, we all hit
pause, some found a patch along the path to sit down on and just cool
down. One would like to carry litres of
water but the weight can be daunting and one wishes one could simply drink
more and those fortunate enough to have put in ice enjoyed cold water in small
sips.
The terrain is not easy, it’s steep and
there are rocks and holes and it’s always HOT.
Hats are necessary but sometimes they are like a cage that traps an
animal and one’s head can’t breathe. Mascara
runs down eyes and it looks like we’ve been crying but in today's case this was
because it was like an oven and we had laughed so much.
We had found a spot of shade and despite
the large ants that hovered like vultures and seeing a few stray cattle we sat
down to have our lunch. It was early and
Maggie would have been happy but at midday it was a bit much and shade is what
we sought. Since it was only a female
clan conversation strayed and we laughed so much that even our Meerkat Anne
fell into the grass and we all held our bellies in hysterics. We were trying to formulate the C.R.E.W. newsletter and ended up because of one word that made everyone think and then
laugh and laugh a lot.
Trying to compose ourselves we looked at
the hill and decided we had better navigate on.
We did find the second area of the Nervilea and passed Alepidea waving
away as if a secretary had put her tip-ex on their petals to try erase the hue
beneath. They are like a galaxy of
little stars. Beautiful. Tracy taught us about the calyxes.
We all found ourselves back together after walking
down the steep slope which is not friendly to ailing knees. No matter how small the bush we paused in shelter to gain strength to walk on again. Water bottles
that held ice packaged in the car were taken out and shared amongst
friends. The journey home in an air-con
car and chatter and stories told and again a lot of laughter.
It’s Thursday. The most precious day. A day shared with special friends exploring,
sharing knowledge and counting sleeps until the next. 6 more sleeps…
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Nervilia kotschyi
ORCHIDACEAE |
 |
| Rossmin |
 |
| Anne having a closer look at the orchid's leaves. |
 |
Lantana rugosa
VERBENACEAE |
 |
Brachylaena elliptica
ASTERACEAE |
 |
Vangueria infausta subsp. infausta
RUBIACEAE |
 |
Pavonia burchellii
MALVACEAE |
 |
Neonotonia wightii
FABACEAE |
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Schistostephium crataegifolium
ASTERACEAE |
 |
| Schistostephium crataegifolium |
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Lippia javanica
VERBENACEAE |
 |
| Lippia javanica cones |
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Schizoglossum bidens subsp. bidens
APOCYNACEAE |
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Exochaenium grande
GENTIANACEAE |
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Polygala hottentotta
POLYGALACEAE |
 |
| Botanising in the grasslands at Rossmin. |
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Eucomis autumnalis
HYACINTHACEAE |
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Lasiosiphon anthylloides
THYMELAEACEAE |
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Notobubon laevigatum
APIACEAE
|
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| Wahlenbergia krebsii subsp. krebsii |
CAMPANULACEAE
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| Wahlenbergia krebsii subsp. krebsii |
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Tracy with the cameleon.
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