The Big Tree

For my last post in this week's series on the Tsitsikamma I featuring a thing and not an activity.  The Big Tree is probably one of the best known landmarks in the area and a very popular stop for tourists.  An easy 500 meter boardwalk takes visitors to one of the giants of the forest.  I haven't been to the Big Tree for a couple of years and one of the things I noticed while there was that the signs no…

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Storms River Mouth Trail

I can never rave enough on how awesome the Tsitsikamma National Park.  Its an absolutely beautiful place and the amount of visitors, both domestic and international, that go there daily is proof that its one place you cannot miss when travelling along the Garden Route.  Most of these visitors do the Mouth Trail from the rest camp to the Storms River Mouth which is one kilometer away.One of my personal highlights of the walk is the stream that flows past…

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Tsitsikamma Forest Trail Part 3: Up the old pass

The first part of our walk through the Plaatbos Nature Reserve took us on various trails through the forest before taking a halfway break next to the Storms River by the old low water bridge.  This left us with the walk back up to the village on the Storms River Pass. In 1879 the famous pass builder Thomas Bain was busy surveying the area east of Plettenberg Bay and found it to consist of almost impenetrable forests and deep river gorges.  To get…

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Tsitsikamma Forest Trail Part 1: Plaatbos Nature Reserve

I find forests to have some kind of therapeutic effect on me, hence the fact that I will find any excuse to go and spend some time around forests.  It's no surprise then that I found myself and Family Firefly on a family outing in Storms River Village in the Tsitsikamma.  Three days around the forest for me is probably comparable to somebody from Gauteng spending a week at the beach.  I did make it clear to the family that I wanted…

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Brown bracket

Although orange bracket fungus are easily spotted in the indigenous forests of the Tsitsikamma there are a number of less brightly coloured bracket fungus that can be spotted growing on mostly dead trees as well.  In this case I found this branch full of a light brown bracket.  Its because of things like these that I should just be left to walk through the forest on my own to explore and take photos without being rushed by the rest of…

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Orange bracket fungus

Walking through the Tsitsikamma forest you see shades of green, brown and grey, but every now and then there is a bright flash. The red from under the wing of a Knysna Loerie gliding from branch to branch, a tiny colourful flower or an orange bracket fungus growing on a piece of dead wood.    

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Pink ferns in the forest

If I could go for a walk in an indigenous forest every day I would.  I love the beauty and peacefulness of it and don't think I'll ever be able to get enough for it.  One of the thing that I always find very interesting are the young fern leaves that's coloured pink, something I saw quite a lot of in the Tsitsikamma last week.  I asked somebody in the area once why the young leaves are pink before turning green and…

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Houtkappershuisie

Met sy inheemse woude vasgedruk tussen 'n pragtige kuslyn en die Tsitsikammabergreeks en bruingekleurde riviere wat daardeur vloei is die Tsitsikamma een van my gunsteling plekke in Suid-Afrika.  Wanneer mens die dorpie Stormsrivier besoek vind jy hierdie ou bosbouhuisies langs Eikelaning wat van die dorpie na die ou pad deur die woud lei.

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