My story starts a year before lockdown. In 2019, at the end of March, I set out to find 60 different disa orchid species as a way of marking an upcoming birthday. I took on the quest as loosely as someone who, after an unguarded conversation, finds themselves on the starting line of the Comrades Marathon months later.
The main problem was that I was a rank amateur at identifying plants. Over the next weeks and months, I set out to gather as much knowledge as possible from books, articles and scientific papers. South Africa has an enviable collection of excellent natural history books, and I was constantly filled with admiration for the people who have devoted their lives to researching such narrow niches of nature.
Looking for disas can be challenging. The well-known red disa (Disa uniflora) is easily spotted in its natural habitat on top of Table Mountain early each year, but there are others that have a completely different approach to life. Some species are fire-dependent and flower only in the first season after fire; a handful of species flower better in the second year after fire; a few more might flower for a few seasons after a burn. This means that some localised species might flower only once every eight to 20 years, depending on the natural fire cycle in that particular patch of fynbos.
For me, much of the exhilaration of looking for flowering disas lay in the planning. It took countless hours of research in my spare time to acquaint myself with the 140 or so disa species found in South Africa, and the ecological requirements of each. I began to look at landscapes through a different lens: geology, soil type, drainage lines and altitude were most often the best clues for locating a particular species.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April/May 2021 من go! - South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة April/May 2021 من go! - South Africa.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 8500 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
The wilder shore
The final leg of a 30-day trek across East Africa sees lan Tyrer and the Africa - Wild & Untamed crew explore both shores of Lake Malawi. Get ready for an overloaded ferry, a croc attack and being surrounded by elephants...
A river runs through it
Sabie is onthe Drakensberg escaromentialongMpumalanga’s famous Panorama Route. Want a weekend away surrounded by forests and waterfalls? Here's wnat you need to know.
TAKE A HIKE
Harkerville's mini Otter
Sweet & juicy!
This issue's recipes all include lush seasonal fruit like nectarines, plums and apricots. Enjoy!
Big mountain magic
On a clear day, as you approach the Cathedral Peak Hotel, it happens involuntarily: You start to grin. You'll be standing up there soon, gazing over this valley, and the scuttling of ground-level life will seem irrelevant. Join us on a five-day adventure into the heart of the high Drakensberg
Your next weekend away
A self-catering house in the Tankwa, a campsite next to the Orange River, a guest farm near the Drakensberg... Toast Coetzer travelled a lot last year: Here are six of his favourite places to stay if you're planning a road trip or weekend escape.
A life through binoculars
If the name Hugh Chittenden sounds familiar, it's probably because you see it every time you use your Roberts Bird Guide he's one of the co-authors. He lives in Mtunzini on the KZN coast and birding is as much part of his day as a cup of coffee.
Wanderlust in the park
All great cities have great parks, writes Dara Kell: spaces where you can exhale and slough off the stress and grime of urban life.
The Kalahari remembers
The Kalahari is a place of magic and heartache, where drought is an ever-present threat. Drive a loop from Upington to the Kuruman River and discover soulful landscapes, brilliant skies and resilient people who never give up.
Take a Hike
Hug a baobab in the Bushveld