#renosterveld

[craiglotter]

Labyrinth Spirals at the Jan Marais Nature Reserve in Stellenbosch (2021-03-20)

Labyrinth Spirals at the Jan Marais Nature Reserve in Stellenbosch (2021-03-20)

[heracliteanfire]

‘These cape lappet caterpillars respond to human voice and noise.’

[novumtimes]

Quad biking and sandboarding the dunes of the Western Cape

Winter has bitten into our warm summer days, but that doesn’t mean you can’t still enjoy fun outdoor activities. If you’re in the Western Cape, quad-biking and sandboarding are two things to add to your list of things to do. Thrill-seekers Cape Adventure junkies will love this tour over a nature trail and sand dunes. Thrill-seekers Cape offers a 1-hour guided quad biking tour through the Atlantic Dunes. 15 minutes before embarking, your guide will review the rules and safety precautions and allow time for everyone in the group to get familiar with the four-wheelers. Once everyone is comfortable, you will get to enjoy a 1-hour nature trail on the bikes. Cape Town Quad Biking This exciting one-hour quad biking experience takes you down the iconic Atlantis Dunes, situated on the West Coast. Before taking off on your fully automated 4-wheeled quad bike, your instructor will give you a ten-minute briefing on bike administration, safety, and operating the bikes. This activity is perfect for both beginners and experts. No prior experience is needed as your riding teacher will guide you through. Morgenhof Quad-biking Picture: Daddy’s Deals The perfect date does exist. Visit the gorgeous Cape Winelands with your loved one, and take in the beauty of the vineyards, forests, and natural renosterveld on the back of a quad bike. Perfect for beginners, this quad biking experience on Morgenhof Estate in Stellenbosch is a treat for the eyes and the adrenaline rush. Grab your partner, family member, or friend and enjoy an hour’s guided quad biking adventure. BBG Adventures – Sandboarding Experience three hours of pure adrenaline and excitement in the Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserve. This is the deal: 2-hour sandboarding with a sandboard and wax, hiking the dunes, guided sandboarding tour, professional sandboarding guides, and shade in summer 1-hour quad biking experience with a 10-minute briefing on safety, administration, and operation of the bike. This is the perfect weekend adventure, leaving your troubles in your dust as you zoom around the sand dunes. BBG Adventures Spend an exhilarating 2 hours sandboarding down the ever-shifting sands of the Atlantis dunes. The rates include a sandboard and wax, and professional sandboarding guides (sandboarding permit not included). Your guide will meet you at the permit office and drive you to the sandboarding site in an off-road vehicle. They will then talk you through everything you need to know including preparation, skills, and safety procedures. If you’re a beginner this activity is perfect for you! Cape Town Sandboarding Tours Pack closed shoes, sunscreen, and refreshments, grab two friends, and indulge in a 90-minute sandboarding session. You can bring additional friends or family for only R250 each. On top of the adrenalin-filled sandboarding experience, look out for the various biodiversity of Witzands Aquifer Nature Reserve. Steenbok, cape grysbok, small grey mongoose, Cape dune mole rat, and the caracal are just a few of the creatures you might be lucky enough to spot. Pictures: GettyImages Follow us on social media for more travel news, inspiration, and guides. You can also tag us to be featured.  TikTok | Instagram | Facebook | Twitter ALSO READ: 10 Things you didn’t know you could do in Mauritius Source link via The Novum Times

[theburnishedopal]

Renosterveld and Medicinal Plants in Malmesbury

The wealth of plant diversity in renosterveld and fynbos, two natural shrub-scrub habitats found only in South Africa’s Western Cape, offers many plants which have medicinal purposes and soothe ailments, if only one knows how to identify them. Traditional South African ‘bush doctors’ have harvested and prescribed these plants to the sick for thousands of years.

Nowadays, in the Swartland agricultural mosaic of the Western Cape, renosterveld is critically endangered and only small fragments remain, mostly on hillsides and rocky outcrops known as “koppies”. One of the larger fragments is  known as “Klipkoppie”, and was formerly a landfill site, and home to a large motocross trail network. It recently been designated a nature reserve, and the motocross is officially forbidden, although motorbike and quad bike riders regularly flout the ban and ride freely across the reserve, which can cause damage and erosion to the plants and soils. Another issue which, according to the council, threatens the integrity of the renosterveld ecosystem is the digging up and harvesting of medicinal plants by local Rastafarian ‘bush doctors’.

If one stops in the vibrant section of town by the taxi station, one can find people selling fruit and vegetables and snacks along the sidewalk. Among the melee, I find a group of Rastafarians sitting next to an open sack, spread across the concrete, upon which have been displayed various bundles and packages of medicinal plants. The young Cape woman generously explains to me each of the plants and what they are good for. Her husband is the bush doctor and knows more, she tells me, but he is currently inside the Fish&Chip shop. I look through the window and see a Rastafarian man, dressed in the traditional sack, with dreadlocks down to his waist and bare feet, looking up at the board behind the counter and choosing his meal.

When he comes out, the pair of them point to the different plants and explain what they are good for. On one side of the sacks are bulbs and roots, and on the other are bunches of herbs and wrapped leaves. They show me large bulbs of cinnamon root, which is good for piles and clogged arteries; wild mountain garlic which has a bunch of squid-like tentacles and smells pungent; bunches of renosterbos and sage for tea or smudging (cleaning a house by burning and spreading the sage smoke to remove unwanted spirits); a paper bag of aloe leaves; ointments prepared with aloe and Vaseline; ‘elephant’s feet’ and ‘kankerbossie’ (cancer bush).

The woman explains that her husband goes to the veld every week to harvest in the fynbos from anywhere she calls generally “the Mountain”. I have an image of the Rasta in his sack with a large spade, digging up bulbs and picking leaves from the omnipresent renosterbos. “I can cut a piece for you, 20 rand, 30 rand, how much you need”, he says, indicating the cinnamon bulb.

I see with my own eyes that the harvesting is happening, and that the critically endangered renosterveld is home to this kind of unregulated activity, but I am charmed by the connection these people have to their local ecosystem, and the traditional knowledge that is alive and kicking on the Swartland streets. In the time that I talk to them both, at least two or three men come to ask the Rasta man about a cure or boost for something, and he sells them a little pack of leaves for high blood pressure or fertility or so on. I am also struck by the vibrancy and energy of the black and coloured community down in the town. It makes the white person’s way of life, in malls and air-conditioned cars, look very dull and sterile.

None of the plants I saw were critically endangered plants, nor was the amount so great. I know that medicinal plants are lauded as an alternative means of income for people wanting to manage their renosterveld and fynbos rather than clear for agriculture. It seems to me that the knowledge of the bush doctors and link they cultivate between the renosterveld and the local communities is something to be supported rather than an undesirable activity to be suppressed.

[jacquesmarais]

Hello, #Hessequa! Yup, the term 'done and dusted' rang true today on #Stage3 of TransCape MTB Encounter, driven by #volvocarsa, as the riders hammered back roads all the way from the remote and tranquil Rooiberg Lodge to the glorious little dorp of #Riversdale, set within the temperate and mountainous Cape grain-belt. This hide-away section of the #gardenroute is not touristy at all, which is why it is known as the #ExplorersGardenRoute 🏞️ Again, there were no easy kilometers along a gnarly off-road track that rambunctiously rollicked amidst rugged #Renosterveld ridges and scrubby plains. A herd of at least 30 massive eland tracked me through a lonesome valley, while a handful of giraffes kept watch from the ridgeline. And on one descent, three kudu bulls nearly knocked the leading peloton of their bikes. Truly amazing 👌 A warm welcome awaited the sharp end of the peleton in town, but many riders took a bit of strain today as this 'Bike Journey across the Cape' continues along its incredible way. Yes, they once again had to cope with testing terrain and the merciless sun, but in the end, the rewards are memories for life. Four days of riding remains en route to #franschhoek, with top riding tomorrow to sumptuous #swellendam, via the stunning @gvbconservancy #singletrack. Tough cal, but this has to be my favourite stage (and yes, I've done Transcape 5x now)! Even better, it's bound to be way, way cooler 👌😊 #TransCape2020 #TransCapeMTBExperience #YourJourney #HardcoreLuxury #SevenDays #MountainbikeJourney #IndigenousForest #AridPlains #IconicMountains #volvocarsa (at Rooiberg Lodge) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8LFaqSJKxO/?igshid=1c38f71n43vvc

[bionerds-co-za]

Long-nosed Flies (Philoliche sp) are very entertaining insects to find and observe. You hear them long before you see them, and if you happen to be in their 'territory' you are in for a treat. They rarely sit still for longer than a few seconds, and it is difficult enough to just try to keep your eye on them as they buzz around, just imagine what it is like to try and photograph them!!! At just 35mm in size these Diptera's can be super intimidating. They will buzz you, trying to chase you away, and when that does not work they will hover just close enough with that long proboscis to make you feel very uncomfortable! We sat with this individual for over 30min, and eventually it hovered at eye level, close enough for us to get some relatively acceptable record shots of this little cutie. They are highly specialized little pollinators, and we have observed them on Lapeirousia's and Pelargoniums in Renosterveld all over the Overberg. #canon_global #canon #canonmacro #macrophotography #macro #ishootwithorms #bionerds #biodiversity #insectsofinstagram #insects #flies #fly #pollinators #nectar #diptera #insect #tongue #renosterveld #fynbos #westerncape #southafrica #EcoExploration #photoftheday #photography #insectphotography (at Kam'Bati River Resort)

[veryenthusiasticenvirokid]

The Bontebok bounced back!!

I live at “the very tip” (It’s not actually the very tip, it’s just known as that) of South Africa, and we had a game reserve called the “Cape Point National Park”. I have visited this park multiple times, and occasionally, i have seen real live Bontebok!!

The Bontebok are classified as near-threatened, because back in 1890s to about the 1940s, they were killed as pests. In the wild, their  population was reduced to of 17 animals in 1927. In the Bredasdorp region (A little place inland in the Western Cape), a farmer put up a fence to protect them. A bit of this fence is still up today. Hunting them was considered an achievement rather than a bad thing. :(

The first Bontebok National Park was proclaimed in the same area a few years later in 1931, but things didn’t improve as expected. So, they moved the bontebok to the Swellendam area, as it was more suited. (This is the Bontebok National Park that is well known today.) Only 61 of the 84 that were translocated survived, but then the numbers began to increase. Soon the park was full and surplus animals were moved other parks such as the “Table Mountain National Park”.

From only 17, their numbers are around 3 500 today. :)

Interesting facts:

Bontebok aren’t good jumpers, but are really good at crawling under things.

Both Females and Males have horns.

They live up to 17 years.

They have a diet of short grasses.

Bontebok are endemic to coastal fynbos and Renosterveld. 

Their main predators are: Lion’s, Leopards, Cheetahs, Hyenas, Caracals, and Jackals.

You will always find family herds of up to 8 individuals consisting of females and babies (Or lambs).

 The rams stay separately in what we call bachelor herds. 

Old bulls are very territorial and mark their ranges with dung heaps which they often lie on on to rest. This makes them really smelly and tells everyone whos the boss.

-Jen 🌿✨

[gamosepalous-5lobed]

Ophionella willowmorensis, 

A rare endemic to Eastern Cape, South Africa. This species follows suite with a similar carolla characteristic found in the Pectanaria genus. It is known to be affiliated with specific dip crevices on sand stone rocks/slabs at 1000-1300 m elv.  in only the Fynbos upper crag-scrub biome of South Africa.  Fynbos Biome is the local biome across the southern corner of South Africa including Eastern cape of Western Cape Province associated with the 100-200km wide coastal belt of Western Cape Province. This Biome is schlerophyllous with mid mediterranean coastal mountain climates. Although this plant is found in the stand stone cragland. there are also to other vegetation zones found within’ the area: the Fynbos and the Renosterveld vegetation zones. 

 Photographed by : Robin Fandsen

[soulandfuel]

That Agulhas Long-billed Lark is endemic to the Overberg region of the Western Cape. I photographed this individual a few weeks ago when I spent a morning trying to photograph the endemic Black Harrier. While I was waiting for the Harriers to show up, a male lark was loudly proclaiming his territory from a nearby bush in the Renosterveld. I was lucky to get him as he took off😊 . . 🌟📸 By @chrisvanrooyen1 🌟 . Follow and support the photographer. . . Selected by : @soulandfuel . . 🎆Congrats for the feature🎆 . ▶️Follow & use #birdphotographyworld to get featured on our page◀️ . . ▶️Check out Bird Photography World on Facebook ◀️ . . Image is a copyright of the photographer ©️ . . . . #wildlife #nature #wildlifephotography #naturephotography #wild #naturelovers #photooftheday #birdsofinstagram #travel #love #birdphotographyworld #wildlifephotos #wildlifefriend #wildplanet #wildphoto #wildlifeaddicts #wildlife_shots #wildlifephoto #wildlife_perfection #wildlifeofinstagram #global4nature #wildlife_inspired #animalsofinstagram #wildlifeconservation #wildlifeartist https://youtu.be/Fi_RfzakvzM https://www.instagram.com/p/CKGh0S2LdUe/?igshid=1l079d4f115jj

[craiglotter]

Hiking up the Hill at the Tygerberg Nature Reserve in Bellville (2018-04-29)

Hiking up the Hill at the Tygerberg Nature Reserve in Bellville (2018-04-29)

Bellville’s 300 hectare large nature reserve in the form of Tygerberg Nature Reserve offers a great opportunity for locals to stretch their legs in nature without really having to go anywhere. And while it may not be a mountain, Tygerberg Hill still rises high enough to give you a great view of Cape Town, the mountain and its suburbs.

Home to around 500 different plant species, a large…

[runridedive]

Join Bottelary Hills Mtb Trails and ride for conservation

Join Bottelary Hills Mtb Trails and ride for conservation

The 65km Bottelary Hills Mountain Bike Trails that run through the Bottelary Hills Renosterveld Conservancy (BHC) and across working wine farms, offer spectacular views and multiple route options that caters for various skill and fitness levels.

Get your 2020 BHC MTB permit online (www.bottelaryconservancy.co.za) and enjoy the fabulous trails, while making a contribution to conservation – R680…

[theburnishedopal]

Drought and Survival

The first thing I hear about the Swartland landscape is that it is dry. The area is suffering the third drought year in a row, and this is the driest year in 120 years. Dam levels are critically low and all across the city of Cape Town, billboards and signs on buses and trucks urge water conservation through fewer laundry washes and keeping daily usage to under seven litres per person per day. When I collect the hire car at the airport, the Avis rental desk has a small notice telling customers that their car may be dusty or dirty on the outside, because car washes are limited to save more water.

Farmers growing wheat and wine across the Swartland, the agricultural heartland north of Cape Town, are primarily concerned with drought. Some farmers have dams on their land and some have access to groundwater reserves, but all farmers are glad when rain falls from the skies. When I arrived in September, there had been almost no winter rain, and yet since then there has been unexpected odd grey and cloudy days when fronts roll in across the Atlantic Ocean bringing 5-8mm rain.  Now in November, the last two days have had a peculiarly strong storm, and in one night the dam on Teubes Mostert’s farm, where I am living, filled up. Teubes attributes the rapid filling to the lack of vegetation on the hillsides above the farm, due to the bush fire last year which burned through the natural renosterveld vegetation and exposed shaley soils.

The rain settles the dust across this generally hot and dry landscape, and cleans the crops, so that in the hours after rainfall, the green vines glow and shine, and the golden brown wheat stubble fields look dark with moisture. The contours of the land are clearer, and the colours sharper. Yesterday on the drive back up from Cape Town, I looked out over the patchwork quilt of vineyards, wheat fields and red-brown hummocky hills set against a backdrop of a shining rainbow, dark pewter clouds heading towards the eastern wall of mountains, and late afternoon sunlight streaming from the seaward western sky. It was a symphony of elements that harmonized in that particular hour and led the eye in an intimate, looping dance.

The drought and the monoculture fields generally tell one ecological story: death. Monoculture crops are hostile to biodiversity and insects, mammals and other creatures generally regarded as pests are hounded, trapped and poisoned out of there. The stems of native bushes and grasses are dry as old sheep bones picked clean by scavengers and bleached by the sun. The ground is so very thirsty that it sucks any moisture instantly, desperate for prolonged rainfall but creeping forward to ‘Day Zero’, when the taps will be shut off across the Cape and emergency water reserves will be allocated.

But from certain vantage points the region in its complex agricultural matrix tells very much a story of life and survival. Plants sucking every microscopic drop of water they can and expending every ounce of energy into reproducing as fast and efficiently as possible. Flocks of qualia birds thriving on ripe grains. Trucks passing each other in clouds of dust on the dirt roads, taking hay bales to livestock farmers to feed their cattle. The immutable wheat. All life in a sense, and part of a shared rhythm which makes up this fascinating agricultural landscape.

[thefeedpost]

Great young boy! Pets ferreting out turtles for preservation in the Western Cape

…

Dogs are humans’ best friends – but can they be a tortoise’s?

Working dogs have been used in the fight against animal poaching for decades, protecting our wildlife from the more unscrupulous segments of humanity, but not all canines show their dedication to wildlife conservation by taking down big bad poachers.

PICS: Giant tortoise feared extinct found on remote Galapagos island

In CapeNature’s Elandsberg Nature Reserve, these conservation detection dogs are helping scientists out by sniffing out one of the rarest tortoises in the world – the geometric tortoise, locally known as ‘suurpootjie’.

Categorised as ‘critically endangered’, the beautiful yellow-and-black patterned tortoise was at one point thought to be extinct in the 1950s. Studies and surveys conducted annually are important to keep track of the populations in the Western Cape, but finding them can be quite difficult. 

ALSO SEE: #ShockWildlifeTruths: Massive illegal tortoise trade in Indonesia rears its ugly head

The geometric tortoise (Psammobates Geomtricus). (Photo: CapeNature)

What is a Conservation Detection Dog?

This is where Brin enters – the first dog to be assigned to the Conservation Detection Dog programme trained to find these critters – alive – in their natural habitats of lowland fynbos and renosterveld.

The project was launched in 2012 by CapeNature, alongside various conservation partners, and was the first live target detection work of its kind in South Africa. The dogs are trained for six months before going into the field.

Conservation detection dogs can also sniff out certain flora and other live fauna that are specific to certain studies, making them an important part in scientific field research studies and used all over the world.

These dogs don’t have to be breed specific, but they do need to have a high drive for play and hunt, as well as being suitable to work in a South African climate. 

WATCH: Meet the dogs at OR Tambo Airport that keep runways safe

How the drought is endangering Brin’s job and a whole tortoise population

While the usual habitat degradation for the suurpootjie has always been an ever-present threat, the 2018 drought has brought on more stress to the survival of the species, according to CapeNature’s ecological coordinator Vicki Hudson, who also helped train Brin.

The drought, and the accompanying wildfires, is causing these endangered tortoises to become heat-stressed.

“When the urine coagulates it gets dark red. When you stress the tortoise or disturb it, it sets up a defence mechanism, so that’s the first thing it does. When this is done when it hasn’t had water, the urine gets dark blood red and gets congealed,” Hudson tells CapeNature after speaking about the success of the dog programme at an event.

The lack of water also meant vegetation coverage has taken a hit, making the tortoise even more vulnerable to predators and lack of food.

“The areas haven’t been able to develop because there is no water. Because the tortoises get heat stressed they can’t re-hydrate themselves, so we only started our research in September last year. We normally go from mid-April to October for normal research.”

This late start to research also means that dogs like Brin have less to do, and can’t exactly go and try to find other work during the downtime.

MORE PICS: Specially trained free-running dogs from US to join the fight against poaching in Kruger

Brin next to one of his tortoise friends. (Photo: CapeNature)

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The post Great young boy! Pets ferreting out turtles for preservation in the Western Cape appeared first on TheFeedPost.

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[environmentguru]

Stellenbosch University scientists save endangered Lily plant

Scientists from the University of Stellenbosch are using technology to save a critically endangered plant from extinction. The Paintbrush Lily, found in a fynbos section known as Renosterveld, is one of the smallest of this lily group. Urbanisation i https://www.environmentguru.com/pages/elements/element.aspx?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=tumblr&id=5228205

[bionerds-co-za]

Chameleons are mesmerizing... and this little dwarf chameleon was fast asleep when we found it! Robertson's Dwarf Chameleons is an endemic to the southwestern part of South Africa. They prefer karoid, renosterveld and fynbos vegetation - where one can find their ghostly forms in ones headlamp lights at night. Bradypodion gutturale, Haarwegskloof Renosterveld Reserve, Overberg - South Africa. #canon #canonmacro #macro #ishootwithorms #bionerds #biodiversity #planning #surveys #support #ecoexploration #chameleon #chameleonsofinstagram #chameleons #reptilesofinstagram #reptile #reptiles #herping #herpetology #bradypodiongutturale #robertsonsdwarfchameleons #nature #wildlife #southafrica #africa #haarwegskloof (at Overberg)

[igwalagwala]

The Little 5 – The Rhinoceros Bush

Part 5 – 5

Elytropappus rhinocerotis (commonly known as Renosterbos or “Rhinoceros Bush”) is a species of flowering plants in the daisy family, Asteraceae, endemic to South Africa. It is a very obvious component of the unique Renosterveld Vegetation Type, which is named after this bush.

Distribution

Although the Renosterveld Vegetation Type is confined to the South-Western Cape of South Africa, the Renosterbos plant is much more widespread – occurring throughout the Cape Floristic Region and further, as far east as Molteno in the Eastern Cape, and as far north as Namibia. Renosterbos is also relatively common in this area, unlike most plants associated with Renosterveld vegetation.

As a consequence of livestock finding the plant relatively inedible, the Elytropappus rhinocerotis has spread in heavily grazed areas and increased in numbers relative to other (more easily grazed) plants.

Uses

Elytropappus rhinocerotis is a medicinal plant in traditional African medicine. The young tips of the branches are used in traditional medicine to treat indigestion and stomach ulcers. The foliage tips are now usually added to wine or brandy for such medicinal consumption.

Renosterbos bush (juvenile), in a Cape Town garden.

Cultivation

Elytropappus rhinocerotis is cultivated as an ornamental plant for South African native plant, drought tolerant, and wildlife gardens. It is also planted in natural landscaping and habitat restoration projects.

A cultivar, which has a strikingly crisp, pure-white colour, is usually grown in gardens more than the direct species.

The post The Little 5 – The Rhinoceros Bush appeared first on iGwalaGwala Guest House.

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