The Green, Green Grass of Home

Namaqualand is a truly amazing stretch our diverse country. It has a ‘wild’ and ‘untouched’ feel to it that I haven’t found anywhere else in SA. When staring into the wilderness of Namaqua, one feels that you could walk forever and not come across any signs of civilisation. This is not quite true though, as every piece of ‘wild’ landscape belongs to someone and usually has a few hundred sheep in it. Furthermore, things are not quite as untouched as they seem, as there are no places on earth where man has been and truly left nothing but his footprints…

Anyway, although I have been lucky enough to see several of the different vegetation biomes in SA, I always feel that little bit more attached to the Natal Midlands than anywhere else. True, in comparison to Namaqua, many parts of Natal have been entirely transformed and replaced in the interests of the economy. Furthermore, the ‘wild’ feeling in the west is replaced in the east by landscapes dotted with rondavels and thoroughly overgrazed areas that are slowly giving way to erosion.

Despite all this, I still love the Midlands. In complete contrast to Namaqua, the main natural vegetation is grassland, with pockets of indigenous forest nestled in gorges on the sides of the mountains. A week ago we went to the Drakensberg and saw this vegetation in all its glory. Here, the grass looks smooth and emerald green from a distance, yet when you start walking the are always little veld flowers and insects that hold your interest. Walking through the grassland, I was happy to note a few plant species that I recognized, including the little orchid I worked on for my honours project.

As for the indigenous forests, I have always imagined that there is a leopard in each stretch, and with the large trees and mountain streams it is certainly possible. As a birthday treat, we went to the Karkloof to go on one of the canopy tours, which comprises whizzing over or through the forest on a cable from one tree to the next. Other than the exhilaration of zipping from tree to tree at top speed, the one memory that will always stay with me is the natural beauty of the forest below, above and all around me as I flew along the cable.

All the wild places I’ve been to (and will still go to) have their own unique attractions. The Kruger, as one of my all-time favourites, will always be remembered for the up-close-and-personal encounters with wildlife (especially the big cats). The Eastern Cape is a lovely pale green, filled with aloes of all shapes and sizes. And the Northern Cape is wonderfully wild and sparsely populated. At the end of the day though, there’s just no place like home!

Hope you have an awesome 2009!