Back to School

Back to School
Dr Tony Rebelo of SANBI came from Cape Town to give an iNaturalist course during the week. This is part of SANBI’s Citizen Science Project. They are in the process of relocating their Citizen Science Virtual Museum to iNaturalist. This is an interactive website for photos of flowers, birds, mammals, fungi, reptiles and sea creatures. By posting their observations, citizens from all walks of life contribute to providing data for research and providing a record for future generations. It is a wonderful forum to display your photos and it’s all a great deal of fun.

It kicked off on Thursday morning with 80 Grade 9’s at Glenwood High School. They took to it like ducks to water. Working mostly on iPads and cellphones, their grasp of modern technology is amazing and they were soon “Going Like a Boeing”. In the afternoon we moved to Nelson Mandela University at Saasveld for a couple of hours with staff and students of NMU in their state of the art computer lab. On Friday we had to divide the course into morning and afternoon to accommodate the huge interest shown, mainly by conservancy members and the Outramps. A contingent of 5 from De Hoop led by Adrian Fortuin (De Hoop Reserve Manager), were very welcome visitors. Five delegates from Mossel Bay Municipality involved in environmental affairs were there, with two rangers from the Swartberg Reserve. In the afternoon, it was mainly the more experienced iNatters, who were given glimpses of what the website can do. An example of how to do a species list was greeted with awe and produced lots of “Oohs and Ah’s” An exciting journey of discovery lies ahead, as it becomes obvious that we are currently only scratching the surface of the immense possibilities offered by the iNaturalist website.

So a very big thank you to Tony and to Dr Anton Schmidt of Nelson Mandela University. We are hugely grateful for the use of the Computer Lab at no cost and for the arrangements, which went so smoothly. Everything is done with a minimum of fuss, making it a pleasure to work with both Tony and Anton. Baie dankie Menere.

Saturday dawned with mist and light rain still falling, after some 8mm had fallen during the night - not ideal conditions for either the Kaaimans Gorge or the Fern Trail. This was a meet organised by Cheryl Devine of the Mountain Club of South Africa (South Cape Section). Fortunately the weather brightened during the course of the day. The rivers were running strongly and the Kaaimans Gorge participants did the Gorge in 2 hours helped by the strong flow of the river. Those of us on the Fern Trail took slightly longer. We couldn’t boulder hop across the four river crossings, as the water was too high. We simply had to wade through knee-high water, boots and all. This was followed by a very festive Bring and Braai, back at Strawberry Hill.

For most of the week we experienced the cooler, mizzly conditions that were a feature of George when we arrived here in 1970. It earned the town the nickname “Cold and Wet” taken from our number-plate CAW. Now that the town has exploded into a city, those weather conditions are a distant memory. Just to remind us of that, in between the mizzle, there were 2 days of blistering heat, making hiking very unpleasant. If you have the unenviable task of organising field trips and hikes in February, you will know that it is a very challenging month.

As Marge (leader of WAGS) found to her cost on Wednesday. She is offering Doringrivier as an option at the Walking Fest over the Easter weekend and wanted to do a recce of what plants are in flower at the moment. They cooked, as the temperature on the northern side of the Outeniquas rose swiftly to the high 30’s. It was a very uncomfortable day. Included in the Reportback is her description of the route to whet your appetite. There are also some photos in the Album.

Doringrivier circular hike - by Marge

link to the photos of Doringrivier https://photos.app.goo.gl/vjfDxzrMUMWnBOHo1
This is a strenuous 17km hike (5½ hours walking) on the Northern side of the Outeniqua Mountains, just outside George. The hike is suitable for fit people. My pace is steady, not fast. As there are several stops for fossicking, swimming and eating, and allowing for the time to drive from George to the start of the hike, I suggest that you allow a full day for this magnificent hike. The area is home to the most amazing mountain fynbos. It was burnt about 2 years ago, so you won’t see the large Protea aurea, Protea neriifolia and Leucadendron species it is known for, but the fynbos is beginning to make a comeback, and there is a lot to see. See my March species list at the end of the description.

The trail starts in the Waboomskraal valley, where hops and fruit are grown. We will park the cars next to the road leading to the farm. (S -33.86873, E 22.32681) After walking up a steep jeep track on private land, you will enter the reserve. (824m). We will stop for a breather and a plant fossick here.

The jeep track leads us to the beginning of the circuit, from where we climb steadily in an anticlockwise direction. The track peters out at Pat’s rock, named after the original leader of WAGS, and we now use a path to reach the trig beacon on the highest point of the hike (1093m). There is a stunning 360° view of mountains from here, including the Swartberg Mountains to the North, and Cradock Peak to the East. This is our tea stop and another opportunity for a fossick.

Then we start our long descent into the valley floor. The path is narrow and steep in places but affords great views across the valley. We cross the Groot Doring Rivier (presently a stream) and reach the main jeep track. From here it is a long hot slog uphill to the start of the circuit, stopping off on the way to cool off in one of the best mountain pools in the area. This will be our lunch stop. Once we reach the start of the circuit, we will retrace our steps down the jeep track to the cars.

Some of the plants that we should see at this time of year are:
Aspalathus ciliaris, Berzelia intermedia, Bobartia aphylla, Bobartia robusta, Cephalaria attenuata, Dilatris ixioides, Erica densifolia, Erica rosacea, Erica seriphifolia, Lanaria lanata, Leucadendron salignum, Leucadendron uliginosum, Linum africanum, Lobelia linearis, Metalasia pulcherrima, Mimetes cucullatus, Pelargonium fruticosum, Phaenocoma prolifera, Protea lorifolia, Protea nitida, Stoebe spiralis, Syncarpha paniculata, Tritoniopsis antholyza, Watsonia, pillansii

Another busy week lies ahead. On Tuesday we are attending the Gouritz Biosphere meeting in Oudtshoorn. The theme of the event is, “ Our River, Our Region, Our Future - Building resilience in the GCBR”. On Thursday the Outramps are doing a field trip in the Still Bay area, organised by LOT. Then, Jan Vlok has asked us to check on populations of Disa gladioliflora. Ethan Newman and Steve Johnson from Kwa Zulu Natal University have asked where they can find large populations of Disa gladioliflora subsp gladioliflora (the pale variant with large flowers and long spurs). They suspect that this form is also mimetic like D. gladioliflora subsp capricornis, and they would like to figure out its pollination system. So on Friday, SIM will be going to Tierkop to check on a known population of this beauty. The last time we saw it, there was only one plant. Hopefully this time, we will find more.

It has been a momentous week in South Africa with the election of Cyril Ramaphosa as the country’s President. There is promise of renewal in our beloved country and a sense of optimism is in the air. We are right behind him and wish him all the best. Good luck Squirrel – you are going to need it. Hope Springs!!
Hamba Kahle
Groete en dankie
The Outramps CREW Group
Southern Cape

All id’s subject to confirmation by Doc Annelise and Jan Vlok, Steven Molteno Dr Tony Rebelo, Nick Helme, Prof Charlie Stirton, Dr Robert Archer, Dr Robert McKenzie, Dr Ted Oliver, Christopher Whitehouse, Derek Tribble, Adriaan Grobbler, Prix Burgoyne, Dr Kenneth Oberlander, Dr Pieter Winter, Dr David Gwynne-Evans and Damion. Thank you all for your ongoing help and support. The South African community is busy migrating to iNaturalist and we will soon have projects etc. up and running. When they are ready, I will provide you with the links.

Abbreviations Glossary
MCSA – Mountain Club of South Africa
MSB - Millenium Seed Bank based at Kew in the UK
WIP – Work in Progress
HAT – High Altitude Team
LOT – Lowland Team
SIM – Somewhere in the Middle Team
WAGS – Wednesday Adventure Group
VB – Vlok Boekie “Plants of the Klein Karoo” and our Plant Bible
ITRTOL – Another thread “In The Rich Tapestry Of Life”(It describes a challenging situation, usually to do with the Buchu Bus)
ITFOT – In the fullness of time
WOESS – Fair Weather Hiker
FMC and JW – too vulgar to translate, but the equivalent is “Strike me Dead” An expression of surprise and delight on finding a new “Rare”
Kambro – same as above
Fossick – A meter per minute, scratching around looking for rares
SIDB – Skrop in die Bos – Another name for a field trip, this one coined by Prix
BAFFING – Running round like a blue-arsed fly
SYT – Sweet Young Thing - Anyone under the age of 40
TOMB – Get a move on
Mayhem - Needless or willful damage or violence
SESKRYNG – “Sit en staan kry niks gedaan” ,with thanks to Brian
SOS – Skelms on Scramblers
FW – Idiot
BOB – Another name for the Buchu Bus when she’s misbehaving.
CRAFT – A symptom of Old Age
DDD - Metalasia tricolor (Damned Diabolical Daisy)
VP – Vrekplek – Retirement Village
Qàq – Self-explanatory Inuit word describing some of our local problems
Mr Fab – Our Fabaceae specialist, Brian Du Preez – originally Boy 1
Muisvoel -The Mathematician – Peter Thompson
Boy 2 – Kyle Underwood who works on Orchids and is still at school
Sharkie – Finn Rautenbach – Our latest SYT is a surfer in his spare time
Sicko – Someone who suffers from Car Sickness. With 4 in the Group, allocating seating in the Buchu Bus is tricky
VAG – Virgin Active Garage, which is our meeting place when we head north
MATMUE – Meet At The Mall Under E - Meeting place when we head West
WG – Waves Garage in Wilderness East. - Meeting place when we’re going east.
VU- Vulnerable
DDT – Data Deficient and Taxonomically ?
NT – Near Threatened
EN – Endangered
CR – Critically Endangered
PE – Presumed extinct
LC – Least Concern
TBC – To be Confirmed
TLC – Tender loving care
JMS – An expression of absolute disdain
FOMO – Fear of Missing Out
Milk – the fruit of the vine
Condensed Milk – Scotland’s finest export
Full Cream Milk or Fat Milk – Any product of Humulus lupulus eg. Milk Stout
Milk of the Gods – Rooibos and Brandy
Milk Shake - Sparkling Wine
NS – Species of conservation concern new to the Outramps
PS -Priority Species allocated to the Outramps by our CREW Cape Co-ordinator , Ismail Ebrahim
iNFD – iNaturalist for Dummies as compiled by Sally
Mizzle – Mist and drizzle combined. A regular feature of George in the ”good old days”. Now seldom seen
FE – Fire Ephemeral – only appears immediately or after a couple of years after fire

Posted on February 19, 2018 11:56 AM by outramps-tanniedi outramps-tanniedi

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