Country in the city on Route 67

A hint of country in the city - tufts of grass on the Donkin Reserve with a windpomp figure forming part of Route 67 in the background

Proteas in the city

I went Geocaching in Lorraine this afternoon and had to follow a trail into the bush in the area to go and find a cache up a tree.  You can see it is spring by the amount of wild flowers in bloom and I specially liked these Pincushion Proteas close to the cache location.

A path inviting you to explore

I had 30 minutes on my hands yesterday afternoon and did a quick detour to Mangold Park to find a new Geocache on the edge of the Baakens Valley.  From the parking coords at the bottom of a cul-de-sac there were two paths splitting off.  A paved one to the right which I had to follow to find the cache and the one in the photo to the left.  Obviously the call of the cache was strong andf I hurried down to do it, but on my way back I took a sharp right onto the path.  The narrow path surrounded by green undergrowth and leading under a number of flowering Coral Trees was just too inviting not to take.  It is normally used by mountain bikers but definitely one that is probably a nice little excursion for trail runners and casual strollers as well.

Observing the little things

How often do you go for a walk in nature and not really notice the little things?  I think the answer is "quite often".  You may notice the flowers or berries in general, but very rarely stop to have a closer look.  A Sunday afternoon caching walk with Drama Princess had her nearly walk away from me as I kept stopping and having a closer look.

Activities at Sleepy Hollow

We are busy organising Chaos Boy's 13th birthday party and decided to have a day out with his friends at Sleepy Hollow in the Maitland River Valley.  I went to dig out a couple of photos I took at Sleepy Hollow in December when we last popped in there for a visit.  I went for a walk up the river with Drama Princess and she is always willing to play the model if I need one for a photo.  This is one of the main intersections on the trail into the valley from the campsite.

Sleepy Hollow offers both campsites and picnic sites for day visitors.  Activities include shorts hikes around the farm and up the Maitland River which runs through it, a walk up to Sleepy Hollow waterfall, exploring the old mines and swimming in the river pools.  There is also a very popular slippery slide where you just can't get the kids away from once they start going.  The place is absolutely stunning and you can really get close to nature while still being close to the city.  On our last visit I spotted Knysna Loerie, a Eagle owl, heard a fish eagle, spotted a young water monitor and found otter droppings.  We even had to duck for a bat that came flying out one of the mines when we were standing by the opening.  Oh yes and Geocachers can look for the three caches I put on the property.  I have a couple of other pics from my visit to share so I think I'll do a Sleepy Hollow series this week.

Old Man's Beard

I'm sure most people have seen the lichen generally referred to as Old Man's Beard.  One sees quite a lot of it in the Tsitsikamma forest, but in this case I found it on the Bushbuck Trail in The Island Nature Reserve.  Usnea is the generic and scientific name for several species of fruticose lichen in the family Parmeliaceae, that generally grow hanging from tree branches and resembling grey or greenish hair.  It is often referred to as Old Man's Beard, but also called Beard Lichen, Tree's Dandruff, Woman's Long Hair, or Tree Moss.  Usnea grows all over the world and like other lichens it is a symbiosis of a fungus and an alga.

Like other lichens, Old Man's Beard often grows on sick or dying trees due to the pre-existing loss of canopy leaves, allowing for greater photosynthesis by the lichen's algae.  It is very sensitive to air pollution, especially sulfur dioxide so if you see it you know that the air is clean and pure.  Where the air is unpolluted, they can grow to 10–20 cm long.

Van Stadens protea

The Van Stadens Wildflower Reserve just west of Port Elizabeth is probably the best spot around the city to see a wide range of protea species grow in the wild.  The reserve offers visitors two different trail options with a couple of stunning view sights over the Van Stadens gorge.  South Africa's national flower, the King Protea, is amongst the flowers that can be seen in the reserve.

Crossing streams

I feel like I am having one of those days where I just want to get out and go for a walk somewhere relaxing. Somewhere in nature. Somewhere with a stream.  But alas I am stuck in the office.  I do have this picture of a couple of friends doing just that in Settlers Park.

Old Man's Beard

Old Man's Beard is a lichen that grows on trees and is normally on found where there is no air pollution present.  You find a lot of Old Man's Beard in the Tsitsikamma as well as on the game reserves close to Port Elizabeth, but you won't find it in the city itself.  On a recent half day hike through the Maitland Nature Reserve west of the city I spotted clumps of Old Man's Beard which shows that its possible to get right out into nature so close to home.

Eerste Drif

Sleepy Hollow is situated in the Maitland River Valley which means that the Maitland River runs through the property. Duh.  That sounded better in my head before I typed it.  Anyway.  There are several trails that you can take with the main trail following the stream up the valley.  Along the way the trail passes several pools while you have to cross the stream three times.  This is Eerste Drif (First Crossing) where you can either walk through the knee deep stream or follow a (slightly muddy) path along the side. 

Bracket Fungus

I normaly walk around with one eye looking out for a nice landscape and my other one scanning the ground for the little things.  Mushrooms and fungi tends to often make for interesting photographs.  This bracket fungus presented itself on the trail in the Maitland Nature Reserve.

Aloe Nature Reserve

Port Elizabeth has some very beautiful and naturally diverse nature reserves in and around the city.  The nice part is that they all have hiking trails through them and its possible to do them either on your own (always keep safety in mind and walk in at least a small group rather than on your own) or on a guided walk.  The Aloe Nature Reserve is particularly beautiful this time of year with the aloes in flower.  The reserve is situated on the plateau next to the Swartkops River and can be accessed from the top of Tippers Creek Road between Amsterdamhoek and Bluewater Bay.  Last Sunday I tagged onto a guided walk through the reserve and although I only did the 2km trail and didn't stay with them for the longer 7km one, its was still a very informative hour out in nature.  The photo is looking down towards the Swartkops River mouth.

Pincushion Protea

Pincushion Proteas in full bloom at the Van Stadens Wild Flower Reserve west of Port Elizabeth

River pool

One of the pools on the Maitland River at Sleepy Hollow west of Port Elizabeth. In summer a lot of the campers like to cool off in these pools which is situated up the valley from the campsite.

First drift at Sleepy Hollow

I love camping at Sleepy Hollow just outside of Port Elizabeth. Its only 15 minutes from the city, yet its out in nature with a bit of indigenous forest growing along the Maitland River flowing through the valley in which Sleepy Hollow is situated. I have quite a lot of pics from Sleepy Hollow which I will post from time to time. Following the trail up the river one gets away from it all. Along the walk you cross the river a couple of times. This is the first drift as one leaves the camp site.

Sleepy Hollow caravan and camp site

Sleepy Hollow caravan park truly is one of Port Elizabeth's best kept secrets. It is situated in the Maitland River Valley and is a real get back to nature spot. That is if some idiot doesn't play his music loud enough for the whole camp to hear. But them you occasionally find in all camping areas. Sleepy Hollow has various short hiking trails with the main one following the Maitland River up the valley. Along the way are a few swimming holes and river crossings while a small waterfall can be accessed by boulder hopping up a separate gorge. On the photo the camping areas are on the left next to the river or on the right above the ablutions. The row of roofs are caravans that are parked there permanently and who's owners come to Sleepy Hollow at least every second weekend.

University

Continuing our little jaunt down Marine Drive, we pass the grounds of the University. Previously known as UPE, it recently amalgamated with the nearby Technikon, and the two are now together known as Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University, or NMMU for short.






The buildings are a classic example of what is now called "brutal architecture", the raw concrete edifices that were considered the height of modernity in the 70s. They are very spread out, the original intention was to have a built in transport system, but this never materialised. The buildings are set in a large nature reserve, protected by the ubiquitous security fencing. They have done a good job of clearing the alien vegetation and establishing indigenous plants to stabilise the sand, and there is quite a selection of wildlife to see as you drive past. (we tried to capture some springbok for you, but they were a bit far away so it wasn't the most exciting photo!)

Alien invaders

While we are in the area, we might as well take you along Marine Drive between Summerstrand and Schoenmakerskop. We featured the beacon the other day. If you travel away from town from there, you enter a Marine reserve, which, until recently, was covered with alien vegetation. However a concerted effort has been made to clear the Port Jackson Willows and now there are views across the dunes to the sea where you could previously only see scraggly bushes.

The Port Jackson, an Austalian plant, was originally introduced in the 19th Century to stabilise the dunes in the area. At the time, the city was under serious threat from encroaching sands, and the main streets were absolutely miserable with drifting swirling sand whenever the notorious coastal wind blew, so the willows were introduced to bind the dunes. But they became a problem, with no natural enemies, and took over large areas, and because they are very volatile plants, when there were fires, the heat destroyed all the indigenous vegetation totally. Eventually they were declared Noxious Weeds.It has cost a fortune to begin eradicating them, and is very labour intensive, but in this area at least, good progress has been made.