h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

This Saturday I was off on a hiking trip in the Wolkberg mountains! I went along with a group of kids and a few adults, members of my parents' church. They (i.e. my parents) couldn't attend, neither of them being in shape for hiking and mountain climbing!

I got up about half past four in the morning! There was a bit of hold-up as we waited for everyone but we got driving before sunrise. The Wolkberg Nature Reserve is about a 70 km drive to the east of my home town of Pietersburg/Polokwane. I travelled with my friend Sarel Eloff.

I thought we would see sunrise, but the day started cloudy. We drove past the 'Zion City Moria', the gathering site where literally millions of people converge each Easter to listen to the sermon of the church's preacher. When we drove past, the buses were standing so thickly crowded it looked as if one could go for a long walk on top of their roofs, easily stepping from one to the next!

We turned off just after Zion City, driving towards the mountains in the distance. Before reaching the Wolkberg Nature Reserve, we stopped to look at an ancient tufa formation. This refers to calcium carbonate that precipitates out of the water, causing waterfalls to actually build forward over long periods of time, instead of eroding backward into the mountain as usually happens! The waterfall itself dried up long ago, but the formations still remain. There are other spectacular tufa formations in the Blyderivierspoort area, a few hundred kms to the southeast of the Wolkberg.

We reached our destination about at six and there was more waiting before we started the hike. I immediately saw my first wildlife - a pair of White-necked Ravens, Corvus albicollis! They're one of only three species of crow we have in South Africa, and I see them only rarely. They often live in the mountains. These crows are very large and all-black, except for a white crescent along the back of their necks. They also have very large thick curved bills, giving them a distinctive profile. Here are pictures from the 'net:

http://www.biodiversityexplorer.org/birds/corvidae/corvus_albicollis.htm

We started our hike on a high grassy plateau. At first we only saw the rolling grassland, but then the vista opened up before us and we saw the mountains in the distance! In the event, we never reached the high mountains. Ours was just a one-day hike, so we couldn't get very deep into the territory. It's quite a large reserve, at over 20 000 hectares. The highest mountains are over 2 000 m (about 7 000 ft) above sea level. We were amidst the more gentle mountains and hills. We gradually descended from the plateau, and of course on the way back we had to climb up again!

The vegetation of the Wolkberg is diverse. There's quite a range of local climates. Exposed slopes and peaks often get high rainfall, whereas others, in 'rain-shadow' regions of other peaks and slopes, can be quite dry. The higher parts experience cold and frosts in Winter. Forests can be found in sheltered valleys or ravines, and alongside streams. In some places there are trees dotting the grassland, forming a kind of open parkland. At high altitudes, trees are stunted while in the 'Wonder Forest' giants over 30 m are common. Rocky ridges harbour distinctive tree and succulent species.

Of course I would like to stop at every fascinating plant I meet, or for every little bug that affords a photo opportunity! But with so many other people, I had to keep up, and I couldn't photograph half of what I wanted to. So I mainly took shots of the scenery! And there was a lot of it.

There are many waterfalls in the area and they were a major attraction for the kids in our party. They liked swimming in the pools or sliding down waterfalls, or jumping down from the taller ones! The streams in the region are cool, clean and pure, with water much better than tap water in most of Pietersburg.

The region is a 'hot spot' for butterflies and lots of species were flitting about. I saw that they very much enjoy the flowers of the Broadleaved Beech, Faurea rochetiana! There were other flowers in the region also, but since it's now Autumn, not Spring, not many species were still flowering.

We did not see many birds. This is a difficult area to 'bird' in. We heard many birds but they kept themselves hidden in the tall grass and dense scrub. Species I heard include Sombre Bulbul, Southern Boubou, Orangebreasted Bush Shrike, Gorgeous Bush Shrike, Barthroated Apalis, Yellowbreasted Apalis, Lazy Cisticola, a Sunbird (don't know which species) and some Waxbills (I'm pretty sure). I only actually saw some swallows and European Bee-Eaters (maybe on their way back) because they were flying high above the grass. On the way back I saw a Jackal Buzzard perched on a telephone pole. A handsome raptor, dark slaty-grey with a bright rufous-brown chest.

One little wild creature I happened to see, was a tiny little frog! Or actually most probably a baby toad. It was along the road we were travelling towards a waterfall, and tried to clamber out of the way but got stuck on a very steep rocky wall. It crept into a crevice and tried to hide itself!

Mostly the place was a plant bonanza for me. I saw a few species I don't know, and some individuals of plants I do know but had only seen once or twice before. Highlights were the Wild Maple trees that grew on rocky ridges and slopes - a very distinctive species (actually not in the Maple family at all) recognisable from a great distance, of which I'd only seen a single individual before; also, I found some Dioscorea dregeana plants - relatives of the edible yam - growing on the shady forest floor. I have some of them growing from seed I bought from a local company and also know of one growing in a friend's garden but had never seen them in the 'wild' before. These plants have many local medicinal uses and are harvested and sold at markets. I am concerned over their survival in the 'wild' but am happy that apparently there are many of them growing in these fairly inaccessible mountains.

Another new plant I saw for the first time in the wild is a Horsetail, Equisetum ramossissimum! This is a very primitive plant, related to ferns, a remmnant of the very first forests to colonise the continents of the Earth. Back then individuals reached over 30 m; today they are small plants - the ones I saw, under a metre in height.

Read more about them here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Equisetum

Another very interesting plant I saw was a kind of Aloe - but one unlike any species I know about! Most aloes are single-stemmed plants. Some form rosettes low on the ground, while others have taller stems bearing the single rosette 2, 3 or sometimes over 6 m above the ground. Only five local species have trunks that branch like trees, and are consequently called tree aloes. None of them grow in the Wolkberg, according to the distribution maps I've seen. But here was a plant looking like a tree aloe - it had a branched trunk with several rosettes at the branch tips, but was only about a metre tall! What could it be?

Well ... in the region there are two species that are *almost* tree like. Aloe castanea, the cat's tail aloe, is of the single-stemmed aloe group but often the stem branches low down into two or more upright stems each bearing a rosette similar to the regular singular aloes. The old dry rosettes clothe the branches under the rosettes and it doesn't have a clean and conspicuous tree-like bole. The rosettes are large, over 1 m in diameter, and typical adult plants stand 2 m or more tall.

Another species in the region is the Cliff Aloe, Aloe arborescens. This is a shrub-like plant, with much branched but thin stems, forming a large 'bush' without a clean tree-like bole. The rosettes are much smaller than those of Aloe castanea - those in the Wolkberg having especially small rosettes.

The only thing I can think of, is that this could be a hybrid between an Aloe castanea and an Aloe arborescens! It is not at all impossible ... hybridisation between wild Aloe species happens frequently in nature.

Well there was lots more. If you're interested, here are some photos from the excursion:

http://outdoors.webshots.com/album/570996370rQfWPf

Though I am in good shape, the climbing was strenuous at times, and my feet were very sore afterwards! Today I have a bit of soreness in my thighs and buttocks ... feet feel much better!

I am dying to read this but don't have time at the moment. Maybe tomorrow if I don't have visitors.

Websailor

Geagte willem,

Well, you are wonderlik!!! Absolutely, marvellously, wonderlik.

Where is the Wolkeberg? In the direction of Zim, Botswana, Northern Cape Province, Lesotho or the Eastern Transvaal? What are those extraordinary rocky outcrops the "tuma" (is that what they are called.) I am afraid that I have forgotten.

My goodness you were exploring. Do you walk with a compass and a huge stick for the snakes? You drive for hours to get to your destination. Is it still part of South Africa? It is quite unlike the first trip you did with your parents. This was really big mountainous country. What is the name of the huge trees?

You mention the fact that there are not many known branched aloes. I know that there are lots in Namibia formerly Namaqualand, formerly South West Africa. When one flies over the country one can see them from the air - i.e. on a dayflight from Cape Town to London. The depth and vastness of your knowledge of our wonderful country South Africa fills me with joy, happiness and a determination to get you to try and find a publisher. You should have a regular column in some explorers journal overseas. But I would like to know what Wolk means does it mean a cloud or is that volke?

I cannot tell you the joy your writing gave to me. Please let me know how on earth I can gain easy access to your photos. Each time I have a job because the site you have chosen appears to be a very commercial one and I keep getting distracted by these wretched captions etc. etc. Someone who has more experience of photography than I - possibly someone called Mistadong who has taken some wonderful phtographs in the Lake district in the UK might be able to help. I shall see if I can get a message to him.

Anyway, ou kerel, thank for doing so much exploring for me. Please will you tell me where to look for your marvellous Wolkberg so that I can place them geographically.

With a lot of affection

go well,

Christiane.

Hello Christiane! I'm happy to see you're still here!

The Wolkberg is in the direction of the 'old' Eastern Transvaal. They are where two mountain ranges meet: the Transvaal portion of the Drakensberg Mountains, and the Transvaal Waterberg mountains. These mountains stretch from about the town of Haenertzburg eastward and northward to the towns of Tzaneen and Duivelkskloof (now known as Modjadjiskloof). 'Wolkberg' indeed means 'Cloud Mountains'!

'Tufa' is a kind of rock formation created by calcium carbonate dissolved in the water of streams. The calcium carbonate is a part of the composition of the dolomite rocks of these mountains. It dissolves into rainwater and is carried by the streams. It also precipitates out of the water in some places, especially waterfalls. It then forms shelves and terraces below the waterfall and these gradually grow forwards, so there are often deep caves and recesses below and behind the falls. Some lovely formations of this nature are found in the Blyderiver Canyon region and I will try and get there when I can and post some photos!

The tree aloes you mention in Namibia, are good old quiver trees. I wrote an entry about them:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/plain/A25793553

There are only three species of quiver tree: the Common Quiver Tree, the Maiden's Quiver Tree and the Giant Quiver Tree. There are two further tree aloe species: the Fan Aloe (Aloe plicatilis) that only occurs in the soutwest Cape, and the Tree Aloe proper (Aloe barberae) that occurs from the eastern Cape to the southeastern Transvaal but not in the Wolkberg region.

I'm sorry you are distracted by the commercials on the photo site. Just try to ignore them! At any rate ... I will see about getting them up somewhere else ... maybe on my Facebook site will be better for you. There are advertisements but I think they're less distracting.

Actually I had neither compass nor stick! We were on a very clear hiking trail and with someone who knows the area quite well. And we didn't meet any snakes! There are snakes in the region ... but I think our group made so much noise the snakes knew we were coming and made off in time!

Which huge trees do you mean? There are several very huge species in the region. The Outeniqua Yellowwoods called 'Kalanders' in Afrikaans, can grow to about 40 m tall ... and so can the Matumi of which I have a photograph up there. Then there are also Sneezewood trees, the tallest of which grow in that region and reaching 45 m. Other very large trees are the Forest Cabbage Tree, the Forest Fever Tree, the Forest Mahogany, the Forest Fever Berry, and the African Holly, all of which can reach 30 m in height in these forests.

At any rate I am overjoyed that you like reading my accounts of my explorations!

All the best,

Willem

Hi dear Willem,

Not only reading them, but am transported by them. I really do get very homesick. Thank you for siting the area so successfully. |I have never been to either the Eastern transvaal or to Natal. But of course, driving along the Garden Route, there are the yellow wood trees. Beautiful specimens. "blast it"! Their name escapes me*

It will come back, All old memories do at the moment. It is only the new ones that appear to disappar for good.

*No it does not, you silly old bat (aside to myself) It is a Podocarpus - is it soulangeana?

(Sorry this flatly refuses to work properly. and it is such a lovely smiley. !!!

One really has to be brave to face getting old.

But you my friend, are probably going to live to be a 120!!

Everyone is going to live longer what with the wonderful break-throughs that are made continually in the medical worl.d

I only hope that |I do not!!. I shall go on boring people with stories of my youth when everyone is flying to Mars for the weekend. !!

Go well,

regards to your parents

Christiane M.E.

Hi again! I now posted my photos onto my Facebook page ... here's a link ... please tell me if that works ... I'm actually quite unsure whether it would:

http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=12654&id=1641290791&saved#/album.php?aid=12654&id=1641290791

You remembered correctly about the yellowwoods being Podocarpus! There are actually four species in our country: the Outeniqua yellowwood, Podocarpus falcatus, is the largest; the others are the Real Yellowwood, Podocarpus latifolius; the Henkel's Yellowwood, Podocarpus henkeli; and the Breede River Yellowwood, Podocarpus elongatus.

You know I really wouldn't mind living to 120 or more! And I won't mind if you are around quite a while longer either!

It works Willem, Trouble will now be Christiane having to belong to facebook for her to see them

So you're on Facebook as well Anoldgreymoonraker? Please drop me a line and I'll add you as a friend! Did you understand any of the Afrikaans?

Will the link not work if Christiane is not a member on Facebook?

I wasn't a member but became one to look at your pic's which is what Christiane will have to do I think .

I had already seen them at the other place you use
I didn't really understand what you had written but knew who it was for

Hi guys

I have tried to join Facebook but always manage to "mess" it up. I shall try again - early in the morning when my brain is actually, perhaps, working a little. !1

Have a great day.

Christiane.

Perhaps, when Hypatia and teucher have lunch with me we shall have a photo of the three of us In fact gnoman took one of K. and I at the very first meet we attended in Regents Park in 2002 I think it was. it was.

Perhaps he has still got it. !!

Have a good day.

Christiane and K.
Wednesday 15th April, 2009