By Marinda Bruwer (words & pictures)
Due to the winter rains and the damage to the roads we were not permitted to drive on our own, but Lourensford offered us a tractor and trailer with seating for 20 people. On Saturday 16 November 2024 the 20 people with the quickest reaction time on Riël’s message about the number limit, departed with the tractor and trailer for a great outing. It was our first November visit to Lourensford; the previous two were in autumn. It was great to be there at a different time of the year.
It was quite fun to be all together in one space and there was a lot of chirping amongst the group.
The day started off slow in terms of birds, but we did not mind as the breath-taking scenery made up for it. It was a sunny, windless day and we stopped often to get out of the trailer and walk around.
Charlie showed us some cork oak trees that were growing amongst the other trees. They are not indigenous to South Africa. The trees are unique in their ability to regenerate its outer bark when it is stripped. The trees should only be stripped of its bark every 9 to 12 years.
We walked past a tree where it seemed as if someone lost his/her heart. We also lost our hearts again in all that beauty and the privilege for us as a club to be allowed to access areas on Lourensford and Vergelegen where others are not allowed to go.
We visited a few of the dams on the farm and did our coffee and eats stop at a dam with beautiful scenery and braai areas for the people who stay on the farm. What a privilege it must be to stay there. At one stage there was quite a lot of debate about whether we’re seeing a pipit or a chat and everyone had a ‘chat’ about it for a while. Turned out in the end that it was a Plain-backed Pipit [Donkerkoester].
Jakobus kept the best for the turn-around spot when he took us to a huge area filled with pin cushions and the most Cape Sugarbirds any of us had ever seen in one area. Jill Shapland-Smith wondered if there are any Cape Sugarbirds currently in the Helderberg Nature Reserve as Lourensford is the place to be – it’s like a one-stop shop that offers everything that a Cape Sugarbird can be looking for. It has so much on offer for them.
The ladies were in luck as a gentleman that was busy between the protea bushes offered us all a few flowers each. What a treat!
More pictures will be published in the next edition of the Batis (February 2025)