Up Streaming ...

The Midlands area has been endowed by nature with a number of waterfalls, the most well-known of these being the Howick Falls (and its gorge) which were the subject of a few earlier posts (check the archives to the right). I’m trying to get around to visiting them all, and most recently took the road through the Sappi Forests to get to the Karkloof Falls. The road is well signposted from the Karkloof Road outside Howick, and whilst not strictly a 4X4 track, sections of it do require careful negotiation and a fairly high ground clearance in an ordinary vehicle. It is worth the effort, with the Falls being as magnificent (some say more so) than the better known Howick ones. Of equal attraction are the streams and rivers flowing through the gorges and valleys that give rise to these falls. (falls? rise?) Sappi has generously provided well-kept picnic areas around the site of the falls, and it’s a great place to take a leisurely break when motoring around the area. (The provided toilet facilities were out of order due to theft of the copper piping – only in South Africa!!!!). Here we see the Karkloof stream coursing its way to firstly the smaller Woodhouse Falls then immediately into the considerably higher Karkloof Falls.

I usually look for something in the foreground to frame or add depth to a landscape image, and here two lumbering adjacent fir trees did the job beautifully.

Timberrrrr …

Large tracts of Midlands land are taken up by forests; predominantly these are owned by our two largest paper companies Mondi and Sappi. Open fields of saplings, trees in their teens, and mature and dense plantations liberally cover acres of Midlands' ground. And then, as seen here, you’ll come across stackings of fallen trees ready for transportation to their next stage of processing. Many a well laden timber lorry has been the cause of slow progress along a winding Midlands District Road. But who's complaining? 

Today, a simple image, but a favourite. Although this is raw unprocessed timber I like the warmth and simplicity it conveys - and I do love wood. Many photographers get excited about abstract and semi-abstract textural and pattern shots – and I am no different. Whether it’s the tracery of the twigs and branches of a winter tree, or the random patterning of multihued beach pebbles or shells there is something challenging about shooting textures, colours and natural pattern repeats. The rich hues and shades of a pile of sapele wood logs in the late afternoon light just begged to be shot. And so, with an exposure compensation of -1.7, I shot. 

St Mark's ...

Much of the family history of country areas can be gleaned from the churches and graveyards to be found there.

One of a number of small local churches, situated a few hundred metres off the Karkloof road is this small Anglican example - St Mark's. Originally built on the farm Shafton, the land is today part of the SAPPI (South African Pulp and Paper Industries) forest lands. The beautifully maintained church was built in 1860. The surrounding graveyard is separated into family allotments, many of the names familiar to local residents to this day. Originally built as a Wesleyan place of worship by landowner James Methley (after whom the well know variety of Methley plum is named) St Marks is now part of the Anglican Diocese of Natal. Services continue to be held here on the first Sunday of each month, and the chapel is still used for weddings - a ceremony seen here since its early construction. Glancing at the tombstones' dates, family members continue to find their resting place in the grounds of St Marks. They surely rest in peace.

The simple lines of the chapel and the weathered tombstones create a subtle chromatic composition in the settling mountain mists, so much a part of the Midlands summer weather.