Synclostemon Slopes 9 April 2026

This blog is written by Tracy Taylor - published by Gail Bowers-Winters.

We met Gail and Maggie at Beacon Hill, and I quickly jumped in with them and we were off. As we drove, we were a little unsure of our destination and briefly wondered if Anne had bumped her head. We soon stopped in what felt like the middle of nowhere, where Anne explained that her Jimny was low on fuel and she had made a last-minute change of plans. No worries—Synclostemon slopes it is. We happily drank our coffee.

It was going to be a scorcher. We ambled towards the reserve, surrounded by swathes of Erica aspalathifolia. The white flowers were beginning to turn a beautiful earthy russet. Otherwise, there was little to see—just the occasional Argyrella canescens (Marsh disotis).

Erica aspalathifolia var. aspalathifolia
ERICACEAE
South African endemic

Tracy walking the slopes with swathes of Erica's below.

Syncolostemon rotundifolius
LAMIACEAE
South African endemic


Photo credit: Tracy

Diospyros scabrida var. scabrida
EBENACEAE
South African endemic

Crassula nudicaulis var. nudicaulis
CRASSULACEAE

In the shade of a small rocky outcrop, an Anastrabe integerrima (Pambati-tree) stood in full flower. Its yellow blooms contrasted beautifully against the dark green leaves. Beyond that brief shelter, the air was heavy, and there was no escape from the heat in the open grassland.

Anastrabe integerrima
STILBACEAE
South African endemic
Photo credit:  Tracy

Then, despite the dryness, we found it—a Disa polygonoides. Its vivid reddish-orange flowers glowed against the parched grass, small and densely packed along a slender stem, standing proud as if to say: I made it. I’m here. After taking a few photos, we continued on to the stream, only to find the bed completely dry. No trickle, no pools—just silence.

Disa polygonoides

ORCHIDACEAE

GBW

Photo credit:  Tracy
Hemiempusa capenis
Twig mantis

We finally crossed into the reserve, carefully stepping over long, rusted barbed wire and burnt fence poles. Walking was easy; the grass had been grazed down by cattle. Everywhere you looked, deep paths cut through the grassland—trails made by unsupervised, hungry animals.

Ushi going through the Park's Board fence or lack there of!

Bovines!

On the reserve side, water emerged quietly from the ground. Gail pointed out a small cluster of Drosera madagascariensis (Sundew) that had somehow survived the trampling hooves. Along the stream, the ground was a muddy mess, churned by cattle, the plants that once thrived there crushed into the soil. The mood grew heavier as we spoke about the ongoing problem of illegal grazing in the reserve.

Drosera madagascariensis 
DROSERACEAE

We picked our way carefully along the bank when Anne suddenly shouted, “Snipe!” We stopped and turned just in time to see it—the African snipe, which had been sitting motionless in the grass, burst into flight. For a brief moment, its long bill and cryptic brown plumage flashed before it disappeared again into the landscape. A wonderful sight.

Further along, we found Coleus kirkii, the hedgehog flower, its distinctive spikes still holding a few fading mauve blooms. Nearby, the fronds of Osmunda acuta were plump with fertile spores.

Osmunda acuta
OSMUNDACEAE

Plectranthus kirkii (formerly Coleus kirkii & Pycnostachys reticulata), the hedgehog flower.
 Lamiaceae

Erica cubica clung to the stream bank, its pink, bell-shaped flowers bright against the rock. At the end of the stream, water trickled between large boulders before dropping into the gorge below. We sat there in the shade, looking out over the view, and enjoyed a cool lunch.

Erica cubica var. natalensis
ERICACEAE
South African endemic

Heading down the stream to find a cool place to sit and have lunch

Photo credit: Tracy

Rhynchosia totta var. totta

FAVACEAE

Ushi, Anne, Maggie, Alf and Tracy looking at the Rhynchosa creeping through the grass.

What a view.

Gail

Photo credit:  Tracy

Tracy

Anne and Ushi

A sheer drop.  Quite exciting botanising on the edge.

The vista was breathtaking. Gail and I climbed the side of the koppie, while Anne, Uschi, Maggie, and Alf walked around below. At the top, Tarchonanthus trilobus was covered in flowers, alive with small black ants moving busily among them.

Tarchonanthus trilobus var. trilobus
ASTERACEAE
South African endemic

But as we headed back towards the cars, the damage caused by the cattle became impossible to ignore. Paths crisscrossed the landscape, and the once-clear stream had been reduced to mud. A pristine seep—once rich with Merwilla, Gerbera, and Ledebouria—had been completely obliterated.

Cattle destruction.

Cryptocarya wyliei 
LAURACEAE
Near Threatened B1ab(iii,v)
South African endemic

Crassula ericoides
CRASSULACEAE
South African endemic

Photo credit:  Tracy

Lampranthus fugitans
AIZOACEAE
Vulnerable C2a(i)
South African endemic

Delosperma subpetiolatum 
AIZOACEAE
Vulnerable B1ab(ii,iii)+2ab(ii,iii)
South African endemic

Bird rock

Gail and Anne's Jimny's.

Pondoland CREW
Alf Hayter, Maggie Abbott, Tracy Taylor, Anne Skelton, Uschi Teicher and Gail Bowers-Winters

“These landscapes speak softly—but their message is one we cannot afford to ignore.” - Unknown