Howick Falls

The Falls are looking magnificent following the recent heavy rains. 

This includes my first video posting, but I'm sure you'll understand why I chose this to accompany the still shot.

Despite having recently bought a brilliant new camera with the intention of taking more time out to do some photography - and resuming posts to this blog - this was taken with my omnipresent iPhone. No fancy settings, just aim and shoot, and a magic result though the full high res file is just too big to post here. Makes you think doesn't it?

Gone ...

Not every venture in the Midlands seems to be a resounding winner. I often wonder what it is that makes a business a success. Some years back I knew a restaurateur who had what I imagined was every ingredient for success, and yet his venture never did anything beyond modest trade. Forced by circumstances to move to less salubrious premises he set up again, same team, same menu less swish décor - and business boomed. Go figure! Here in the Lions River area I came across what appears to be a discontinued eatery. Not far from it are two others, directly across the road from one and other. The one is generally buzzing, the other not so much. This place looked as though it had great potential, and yet the image tells me otherwise. As we say locally - shame!

The premises with an eerie sense of emptiness and shadows makes both a fascinating monochrome study and a colour shot. I've chosen to post the colour version - which seems to hint more strongly of ghosts of hosts gone by.

Pushing Daisies ...

No it's not an announcement of early spring, and although the last few days have shown signs of warming, the forecast is for another cold snap over the coming (long) weekend. Amongst all the burned out and frosted grasslands there are still however bursts of colour such as these almost fluorescent indigenous daisy like bushes. I'm not certain of their variety or botanical identity but they certainly enliven the vast expanses of blackened and browned lands.

Once again the macro setting on my standard lens proves its prowess in close-up use, providing crisp clarity in the focus area, and great depth of field beyond it giving an almost 3D effect.

Firelight ...

How dramatically the views of the mountains can change!!! From the snows of  last week we had the sky glowing red with a massive fire on the very same mountain slopes to the west of Howick last night. In the space of a mere hour the flames flared, spread, and passed - but at their height they gave the dark night skyline an appearance I imagine akin to an erupting volcano. I hope there was no serious damage to forests or to life - the day's news reports will no doubt tell, but in the meantime here is the drama of it all. Midlands life is full of surprises.

I should have used a tripod to stabilise the camera for this shot, but as so often happens I was afraid that losing time in setting it up would have meant the moment may have passed. I did get one out and the fear proved to be true - by the time I was ready to shoot again the flames had mostly moved over the crest of the mountain, and the tepid images that followed are not worth sharing.

Snowberg ....

Yes - it's ANOTHER shot of iNhlosane, and even though the snows have almost melted (this was taken last week Wednesday) I'm sure you'll agree this is an image too good to not share. Taken on that road trip where I braved the muddy, icy roads of the Dargle / Impendle route, this shot reminds me of one I took of the Matterhorn near Zermat in Switzerland some years ago. Both mountains dominate their region, and although I could not claim that iNhlosane has anything like the scale of the Horn, and it certainly poses no equal challenge to mountaineers, I took both photos across a valley that helped to give them an exaggerated appearance of height. (I was a little underwhelmed by the appearance of the Matterhorn - which despite its reputation and altitude of 4478 metres I somehow imagined would be more impressive. iNhlosane in comparison comes in at a modest 1977 metres).

Some photographers would have wait twenty years to get a shot like this. How fortunate I am to have had the chance in my first year in the Midlands. Co-incidentally a rare Johannesburg snowfall occurred the year I moved there - in 1981.

Lumbering lumber ...

Continuing my fascination with the forests of the Midlands, I liked the patterns formed by the canopy foliage of these eucalyptus / blue gum trees. I'd been asked to scout for some locations by two contacts - one for some pre-wedding shots for a soon to be married couple, the other for a furniture location shoot where they don't want to use the usual boring room setting styling. I think both will shortly be here. I hope I get to see the results.

I often take several shots to get just one that I really like (of course that's a huge benefit with digital cameras - no wasted film), but with this shot I could see that I got just what I wanted first time.

Snow seen.....

I believe it is the heaviest snow to have fallen in the area in twenty years. This was the view of iNhlosane and her mountains I awakened to this morning - and it was magnificent. The weather has however wreaked havoc with the local roads this week with the main N3 highway between Durban and Johannesburg having been closed since the heavy snow falls of Monday. We're simply not equipped to cope with this European type weather in these parts and the latest traffic reports spoke of a fifteen kilometre backlog of stationary traffic queued up at Van Reenen's Pass waiting for conditions to improve to continue on their journey. Stuck in sub zero temperatures, and totally unprepared for the enforced and unplanned stopover, my heart goes out to those poor drivers enduring this. I risked a drive out through the Dargle Valley closer to the mountains, and the iced over roads were treacherous - thank goodness for the quattro drive on my Audi - many other vehicles were slip-sliding across the slush and ice.

The rising sun reflected magically off the white of the snow capped hills, with the valley still sleeping in the early morning chill.

Lonely tree 2 ...

It's darned cold here today. All day it has rained. There's snow up at Nottingham Road. I'm going tomorrow to take some photos. With the dull misty grey of today I cannot believe that this past weekend delivered such crisp and glorious weather with such cloudless clear blue skies as seen here. But that's our winter, and by this weekend hopefully this latest cold front will have passed us by.
This could only be Africa. It's part of what I love about the place.

Ringing a bell ...

One of the more unusual attractions on the Midlands Meander is the fascinating  Culamoya Chimes. Found in the Lidgetton Valley area just off of the R103 the home of a thousand chime notes is also the home of delightful couple Frik and Lola Haupt who have turned an unusual interest into an equally unusual business venture. With small to giant wind chimes made from metals, glass, bamboo, woods and even sea shells the soothing sounds of chiming fills the air as notes from Big Ben, Westminster and a myriad other appropriately named instruments harmoniously fills the air. If you like the sounds you're certain to find a suitable model to take home and relive the music of the area long after your visit is over. Reached via a winding hill-climbing road the views across the valley are spectacular reward enough - even if the sound of chiming reminds you of the last bout of tinnitus you thought you'd cured.

The magnificent candelabra like mountain cabbage tree at the garden's edge adds foreground interest to what must surely be one of the most beautiful outlooks you could awaken to each day.

Falls View Centre ...

Looking somewhat like a timber fortress from a frontier town the Falls  View Centre in Howick houses an eclectic collection of fascinating shops and galleries from woven rugs, through art collections to a bygones and collectables emporium certain to satisfy the cravings of seekers of shabby chic and mid twentieth century nostalgia. You know - the sort of thing your parents or grandparents discarded that is suddenly this year's retro rage. All part of the Midlands Meander route this is why the dusty little (though fast growing) town of Howick rightfully claims its place as the hub of the Midlands.

The vibrant colours of the place make a tantalising image, which certainly reflects the spirit and vibe of the often busy little centre