The Pine Tree Project

We have planned a pine hike for he weekend of the 10 and 11 June.

Depending on who is able to attend, loose plans at the moment are as follows:

Friday 9 June, meet at Drak Sun hotel in the evening, and walk in to Vaalribbokkop Cave.
Saturday follow up on previous work, then make way to Hospitaalspruit Cave. Treat isolated pines
in the area. Possible start on Friday morning, depending on who can make it.. A Saturday morning start is not ruled out either..

If you're keen for a fun walk, and swinging an axe or machete, drop me a PM

Cheers
Papa D

September 2015





June 2017





Above shows 2 pines ringbarked in the Vaalribbokkop area in September 2015. Properly dead now, and surprisingly and thankfully, only about 4 tiny seedlings under 1 of them..

This past weekend, diverian, Witchiwoo, SingleSpeed and Papa Dragon left Drak Sun parking lot and made our way up Makhulumane Gorge. Our first target was a cluster of pines to the north of the top of the gorge, which we had identified on a trip 6 months ago. However, on the way, we spotted some pines on the grass slopes just above the top of the forest. We quickly dispatched these, which were fortunately not too big, max about 50mm diameter, 42 in all.

The first cluster.


After some of the work


We got to the cluster, and realized that there were more trees than we thought, with 3 mature trees, and a lot of juveniles, I am sure Singlespeed will post the numbers, but in excess of 100 juveniles. With manpower and teamwork, a lot can be achieved, and it took us about an hour, maybe a bit more, to treat this whole cluster.

We then took a pleasant walk along the flattish section to Stable Cave, seeing 2 very large clusters of pines along the way. We got to the cave at a reasonable hour, and were fortunate to find water not too far from the cave. We were joined later by Dave and Ruth,who had come up Jacob's Ladder, to join us for their first pine hike.

The next morning we made an early start towards Hospitalspruit Cave, but we found a bigger cluster than we had anticipated a few hundred meters before the cave, so we got to work on these. We then made our way down the ridge toward Vaalribbokkop Cave, treating a few isolated trees along the way.

Dave and Ruth getting ready to tackle their first pines.


We got to the cave mid-afternoon, and spent a fairly warm evening and night there. Early again the next morning, and we we started out for the walk back, with SingleSpeed and I checking on the trees in the post above, which were ringbarked in September 2015. Rewarding to see these completely dead now.

Thanks to the team for an enjoyable, productive pine hike.

A few more photos and impressions from the trip:

The walk-in via Jacob's Ladder is quite scenic, giving you vast open views of the Culfargie area. Just ask someone for the best way up if you're considering this approach, as the staff at Drak Sun are none too helpful and claim the path is closed. Slingsby's route does go: you take the Lake Trail to the stables, then follow the jeep track all the way to the head of the valley on your left. It was here that we failed to find the path straight across the hills to the contour path and ended up following the fire-break, which is not too much of a detour. According to Papa Dragon, you can also go up through Bergview Chalets and follow a contour path all the way round the left side of the valley above the Blue Grotto trail.

The view from Stable Cave at sunrise, showing only about half of the immense panaroma one has of the escarpment from this probably little-used, but beautiful, area:


Here is Ruth tackling our first pine. One sees how alive the trees are when you get beneath the cambium; it's a little saddening to kill them, but they don't belong.


Ruth returning from the pine above - again, showing the great view of the distant Monk's Cowl peaks:


SingleSpeed dating a smaller pine above the main work of the day:


The main work of the day:


Another pine farther down the valley near Vaalribbokkop Cave, with Papa Dragon and diverian enjoying some late afternoon sun:


I would urge everyone to consider getting involved in this project, as it is satisfying and rewarding work, which helps to conserve this beautiful place and which, unfortunately, EKZNW lacks the resources to undertake itself.

Respect to everyone who has contributed to the VE Pine Tree Project, thank you. I promised PapaDragon ages ago to join the fray and still intend to do so...I know, actions speak louder than words!!

Readers may be interested to know that in Canada there is also a co-operation between the authorities and the public, who participate on a voluntary basis. There are is some alien plant eradication work, but a lot of trail maintenance is done this way too. Conservation and effective management of natural areas can never be achieved without an active ownership of those that venture into those areas.

This is a really significant observation Intrepid; we often tend to think that the fact we have to get personally involved in maintaining & preserving what we hold precious is an indication that public stewards & systems have failed us, but in many instances it is the lack of involvement of people who are committed & that care which has contributed to environmental deterioration & decline in standards that we see around us. Of course, poor governance and unethical behaviour have accelerated the process. The public has a license and a responsibility to be part of the solution by getting actively involved in initiatives like this and by insisting that public servants carry out their duties in a responsible, accountable, fair & transparent manner.

Evening all

Our next pine hike is scheduled for 18, 19, and 20th August. (Friday to Sunday).

Monk's Cowl area, Vaalribbokkop/Hospitaalspruit. We will hopefully have this area clear after this hike,
but these trees have a way of popping up in surprising places!!

PM me if you're keen

Thanks..

Hi Viking. I'm thinking of doing Tseke in a month or two. Are these juveniles relatively accessible? And whereabouts are they?