Newsletter-2010-07

Newsletter-2010-06

Seed planting : 7 children and 3 adults joined Andreas on this lovely morning to learn about our beautiful trees. Each child got a hip pouch to use to put the seeds in. We went on a walk in the reserve, looking for tree seeds to collect. We found 6 different species. Bags filled with seeds we walked to the nursery. The first thing we had to do is to sort all the seeds, each kind on a different heap. Then trays were filled with soil and Andreas explained how seeds must be planted. After all the trays were filled and planted, the watering cans were filled and the newly planted seeds were watered.

We will keep an eye on our trees. Every once in a while we will check that no weeds are growing in the trays. Once the seedlings are big enough, we will pot them. If trees are big enough, we will use them in a rehabilitation project.

Wagon trail – Sir Lowry’s Pass:
On this lovely sunny morning, 3 children and 4 adults joined Andreas on a wonderful walk up the old wagon trail. It was interesting to hear where the wagons were prepared before the big trek over the mountains, which route they took and that there was another camp at the top of the pass for oxen to rest. We saw the wagon tracks carved into the stone. It is amazing to think they managed to get up that rocky pass.

We had the most lovely views over false bay at the top. We also looked at the cannons that are still stationed at the top, which were used to inform farmers on the other side of the mountain when ships arrived.

Owl box building: Postponed to coming term

Bird ringing: On this chilly winters morning we joined the bird ringers at the Nature Reserve. It was difficult to put up the nets with freezing fingers! But, it was all worth it. We caught 9 birds. The bird ringers showed us how they carefully take the birds out of the nets, put them in a bag and then they are weighed, ringed, measured, primary feathers counted and then released. They had interesting stories to tell of birds that they had caught that were ringed as fledglings in Finland. They then caught one here in Strand that was only 3 months old and had already flown all the way from Finland! Next time we do bird ringing, we want to join them on a Friday evening at the beach, where they catch terns.

Waterfall hike (Jonkershoek) : Due to rain this walk had to be cancelled

Snow camp – Hex river mountain camp
Fully packed for two days, we arrived at the Fairy Glen Estate on Friday afternoon. The group consisted of 5 children (the youngest 5 years old) and 5 adults. Here Bertie Leeuwner and his wife, Mountain Club members of the Worcester section, met us and walked the first part with us.

On our way up we were greeted by the lovely smell of buchu. The proteas were gorgeous. It was interesting how each species grew in a specific location. Lower down there was a patch of rose sugarbushes and repens. Higher up, where the soil has good drainage, but enough moisture is present, the protea magnifica was just starting to produce flowers. Still higher up were stunted protea cynaroides (king proteas). Thomas and Mateo saw a poisonous grass snake, which had most probably been disturbed by us.
It was a long walk up, gaining nearly 1000 meters in height. Mateo, the youngest member, chattered happily all the way up, being interested in everything around him. The children couldn’t resist collecting precious stones. Beautiful coloured and layered sandstone, quartz veined stones, crystals, rusted brittle stones etc. I was shocked when I felt the weight of Tobias’s daypack, filled with stones!

Thomas Hut

After about 4 hours of walking, we could at last see the stone hut, surrounded by high mountains and deep gorges. There were some snow patches higher up the mountain. At the hut, we unpacked and prepared our food. After dinner we moved the mattresses outside on the veranda, to look at the night sky. It was amazing to see how clearly the Milky
Way was visible. A telescope would have been fantastic!

It was wonderful waking up on Saturday morning with mountains all around us. It was amazingly quiet. Not a breeze could be felt. Not even a bird could be heard. We saw no dassies, even though there was enough evidence that they were around. No insects, nor lizards sunning themselves. It felt like being in deserted winter mountains, although it was as warm as a summer day.
We packed our snacks and water to go and explore the area. We followed a footpath in the direction of Fonteintjiesberg. On the way we explored the rock outcrops. At one outcrop found jawbones and fur of dassie and young antelope. It must have been the dining area of Verreaux Eagle. Further and further we explored, the children just wanting to go on: ‘We’re not at the top yet,
so we’ll have to go on!’ they told us.

Andreas saw a layer in the mountains that looked like the Ceres formation. It was a dark brown layer, high up in the mountains. Unfortunately it was too far away to go there. If this is so, there are chances of finding fossils in this layer. We definitely would like to come back to look at this layer.

Walking down we collected dead protea bushes to make a fire that night.

Later the afternoon we explored the river. We found a lovely cave further down, with the most wonderful view over the mountains and a waterfall flowing over it. Some of us decided we want to sleep there that night. The children had a lovely time playing hide and seek in the restios. All of a sudden there was a loud roaring noise to be heard. Children scattered out of the bushes in all directions. Luckily it was only Andreas, pretending to be a Gorilla!

That evening we made a fire from the dead protea bushes. The bushes burnt out quite soon, so the children went to look for more dead plant material in the area. They found a heap of cut, dried slangbos bushes. This lit up easily and, for a short time, lit up the sky. Braaing their marshmallows and feeding the fire, kept them busy until night time.

All tired from a day full of excitement, we went to sleep in the cave. We were sheltered from the wind, but the only problem was getting used to the thundering sound of the waterfall!

The next morning we packed everything, cleaned out the hut and started our walk back down. With sadness we looked back to the stone hut which had been our home for two wonderful nights.

While having a snack at ‘Lemoendraai’, suddenly a huge black shape appeared, as if from nowhere. We looked and saw two Verreaux (black) eagles gliding past us. Awestruck we watched these majestic creatures, elegantly gliding past!

A little further on, we noticed a cave not too far away. We left our rucksacks and scrambled up. The cave wasn’t very big. As Jeff and Tobias squeezed in, they saw that the sides were covered with quartz crystals. What a sight! Andreas told us that this cave must have been under very high pressure for those crystals to be formed. We found a few loose rocks with crystals which the children could take home.

At a rock fall we saw a huge rock that looked like a huge lump of metal. It was not eroded at all. We tried to take off a piece, but no way, this metal rock was much too hard to break!

Then it was time to go back to the cars. Not only had this been an unforgettable adventure, but also a life enriching experience! We will definitely be back!

Walking in the Hex river mountains

• Saturday 19th June : Kogelberg new trail
• Wednesday 23rd June : Trees: Collecting seed and planting
• Saturday 26th June : Wagon trail (Wedderwill to Sir Lowry’s Pass)
• Wednesday 30th  June : Owl nest building
• Sat & Sunday 3-4 July : Snow camp : Heksrivier mountains (Worcester)
• Wednesday 7th July : Bird ringing
• Friday 9th July : Waterfall hike (Jonkershoek)

All events are weather dependent.  The event will be postponed or  canceled in case of bad weather.

Kogelberg : New circular Route – 19th June 2010
A new route has been laid out in the Kogelberg Nature Reserve. This route has been completed, but is not open to the public yet. Andreas Groenewald will arrange that we will be one of the first groups walking this route. The Kogelberg Biosphere is a wonderful hiking area.
Meeting place: Somerset West Library
Time: 8h00 am (will be back at about 15h00)
Cost: R50 per person + Reserve entrance fee

Tree seed collecting and planting – Wednesday 23rd June 2010
Andreas will be showing and telling us about our indigenous trees. There are lots of seeds that are ripe at the moment. We will be collecting a variety of seeds and children will be taught how to plant different seeds in trays.
Meeting place: Helderberg Nature Reserve – Education Centre
Time: 9h00 am – 12h00 am
Cost: R30 for ECO-Rangers, R40 for visitors per child

Wagon Trail : Wedderwill to Sir Lowry’s Pass – Saturday 26th June 2010
This historic trail will take us up the rail track then right up the mountains on the trail that was used by ox wagons long ago. The ox wagon tracks are still visible where the wheels carved into the stone. Lovely views await us at the top.
Meeting place: Somerset West Library
Time: 8h00 am (will be back at about 15h00)
Cost: R50 per person

Owl nest building (Helderberg Nature Reserve) – Wednesday 30th June 2010 (9h00 – 12h00)
Do you have owls in your area? To encourage them to come to our gardens we will be building owl boxes. The children will have the opportunity to learn about owls and do some woodwork and installing the nests. If you would like to have an owl box  in your garden, you can let us know. You can then buy your nest box and we will help you install it.
Meeting place: Helderberg Nature Reserve – Education Centre
Time: 9h00 am – 12h00 am
Cost: R30 for ECO-Rangers, R40 for visitors per child

Snow camp : Heksriver mountains (Worcester) – Weekend of 2/4th July 2010
We will be walking up to a basic but lovely little stone hut high in the mountains, the Thomas hut. From here we can explore the area. There is a good chance of snow. We hope to be able to slide in the snow and build some snowmen!
This is quite a strenuous hike. If your child has walked up Helderberg mountain or table mountain, he/she should be fine.
A hiking rucksack, good walking shoes, warm clothes and a warm sleeping bag are a must. Children under 12 years must be accompanied by an adult. More detail will be sent at a later stage.
Meeting place: Somerset West Library
Cost: R260 per person

Please let us know as soon as possible if you would like to join us on this snow camp. Space is limited and we need to know how many people will be coming.

Bird ringing  (Helderberg Nature Reserve) – Wednesday 7th July 2010
This is a wonderful opportunity for the ECO-Rangers to get to see our beautiful fynbos birds up close. They also have the wonderful opportunity to learn from the knowledgeable and enthusiastic bird ringers.
Meeting place: Helderberg Nature Reserve – Education Centre
Time: 7h15 am – 10h00am
Cost: Free

Waterfall hike : Jonkershoek (Stellenbosch) – Friday 9th July 2010
The best time to look at our spectacular waterfalls is now in winter, when the rain-laden rivers threaten to burst their banks. There are two lovely waterfalls in Jonkershoek that are easy accessible. Come and join us on this lovely fynbos walk..
Meeting place: Somerset West Library
Time: 8h00 am (will be back at about 15h00)
Cost: R50 per person + Reserve entrance fee

So do come and join us. Our enthusiastic and knowledgeable Guide, Andreas Groenewald, will ensure a memorable experience.You are welcome to invite friends to any of the events.

Contact Claudia Schuster at 021 858 1218 or 082 7951 778 or email AfrikaClaudia@gmail.com if you want to join us.

As the weather was real frog weather, we learned about frogs and toads. Andreas told us interesting facts about frogs and toads. We saw pictures of the tiniest frog, the biggest and the most beautiful frogs! We were shown what influence man has on these lovely creatures.

Painting the toad houses

To encourage the children to become aware and care for toads and frogs in their environment, we let them make a toad house. This is a ceramic pot which they decorated. They then went home to find a suitable spot in their garden to put it. We hope this will provide many toads with a comfortable and safe home!

I'm sure a toad would love this house!

Hard at work : digging, planting & watering

After all 30 trees were planted the children had time to play and explore in the river.

Clothes dirty and wet but everyone in good spirit, we headed back to the cars.

On our way back we explored a porcupine hole. Max was lucky to see a young porcupine looking out of the hole while we were on the other end of the tunnel.

Every time we have an outing on Wedderwill in future, we will look for our trees, see how they’ve grown, talk to them and water them.

I planted this tree!

Newsletter-2010-05

A group of 12 children and 8 adults joined Andreas on a walk starting in Camps Bay. We couldn’t have asked for better weather: The sun was shining and just a slight breeze could be felt. The mountain stood towering up in the sky in front of us, dropping down into the blue sea.

On our way up Kasteelpoort, Andreas showed us the different rock layers of Table Mountain. First we looked at the Graafwater formation. These mudstones were mostly a reddish colour, caused by iron oxide. The children also found black markings in some stones and we learned that these were from Manganese minerals in the stones. We were shown some outcrops of granite. The upper layer of sandstone created the huge cliffs. The children’s hip pouches got heavier the further we walked!

There was water dripping everywhere after the good rains in the last two weeks.

It took us about 2, 5 hours to reach the top. Everyone, except Max who had already had his ‘noodles on the go’ was starving. We found a nice sheltered spot where we had our lunch.

After lunch the ‘young ones’ (those aged 45 years were welcome to join) sat down with Andreas and rubbed stones together to show how soil forms. I’m sure these children won’t forget how precious soil is after seeing how small a heap they had after such hard work!

After a bit of clambering on the rocks, it was time to move on. We walked through wetland areas (where we wished we had gumboots) until we took the path down Woody ravine. It was the most stunning view down the ravine: high cliffs on both sides with the blue ocean right down at the bottom.

The walk was quite steep at places. There was a cliff ‘shower’ the children couldn’t resist. Enjoying the huge drops falling from the cliffs, we had to drag them away before they became dripping wet!
We passed some lovely scented buchu and wild rosemary on the way. Once in the forest, there was a part of the footpath that was eroded.  Slowly and carefully we walked down the ravine.

Back at the contour path, we had a lovely rest where the children could clamber about and get soaking wet at the river.

While walking the last part and looking up at the majestic mountain, it was with sadness that we had to leave this paradise behind!

Our tour started at 9h00, an hour before the official opening of the museum. So we were the only group in the museum for the first hour. They had a Paleontologist that is working on the Australopithecus sediba fossil, from Gauteng, at the display of the famous fossil. She took her time explaining which bones were found first, and how the excitement grew as more fossilised bones were found. She explained all the special features of this fossil, e.g. long arms like an ape but long legs capable of striding like a human. The children and adults could ask all questions they wanted.

After 10h00, when the museum was open to everyone, the fossil was surrounded by so many people that we were very thankful to have been able to be there early!

Newsletter-2010-04