We took our last hike of 2011 on New Year's Eve Eve near Bonwapitse, a small village not far from Mahalapye. There was a lovely rock hill we climbed up. I took this photo about halfway up.
We found this interesting plant growing in one of the crevices up in the rocks. Does anyone know its name? I'd never seen it before.
Mr K up on the hill. My camera is not very good with distance but we were high up in the tree tops.
The rocks had beautiful coloured lichen on them: blacks, reds, oranges and blue.Hikes in the bush and the lands around Mahalapye are one of my favourite things. There are so many places to discover. Hoping 2012 is full of many hikes.
15 comments:
Thanks for this Laurie - I've always been under the impression that Botswana was all flat Kalahari desert ... I really must visit your country sometime soon, after all, it is just up the road from me ...
I really enjoyed this post...seeing your countryside. I'm like Graham in that I always thought that Botwana was flat desert. I really like the plant you spotted. I have no idea what it is but the leaves look a bit like my corn plant.
Hi! I love the virtual hike..Mahalapye is in such a pretty area.
As for the plant - now I will have to wait till I get home, but it looks almost like the current status of our scarlet pincushion lilies, which live in the bush at the bottom of our driveway. I have posted photos of them in flower in my latest blog post, but right now since finishing flowering, they also have round green baubly things on top, and the leaves look right too! I shall have a look and send you a photo when I get home.. another way to check, is to do the same hike in mid to late November, to see if you can spot some scarlet lilies! :)
Graham and Joyful- Botwswana has all sorts of environments and physical features. We lived in Lecheng for six years, it's a village in the Tswapong Hills on the eastern side of the country. Beautiful sandstone hills surround the area with hidden pools and waterfalls. I spent a lot of time roaming aorund those hills with my little doggies and sometimes Mr K and the kids.
Karen- That certianly sounds like the plant. Is it a bit waxy? The leaves are thick too. I must get a plant guide. I have a very complicated little dichotomous key for trees that came out of UB in the 80s. Mr K and I are trying our best to learn trees right now. Mr K often knows their Setswana names but the guide is handy as it has English and scientific names as well as Setswana.
The sandstone hills and hidden pools and waterfalls, sounds magical to me.
I've been searching on line for your plant but I can't come up with any Botswana plant photos that look anything like. I'd be curious to learn what it is when you find out.
By the way, as you and your husband are learning about plants and trees, I came across this research article which you might be interested in as a supplement to what you are already reading. Very good information!
http://www.academicjournals.org/jmpr/PDF/pdf2011/18May/Motlhanka%20and%20Makhabu.pdf
There are several such useful research papers on line.
Loved the pictures. It's fun to see where y'all went. Makes me want to travel somewhere close by and go on a hike.
Amazingly beautiful! I wish I had taken a cheap flight to Gaborone instead of going to Accra last year. The scenic beauty in the pictures is simply spectacular and they have tempted me to plan a Botswana hike tour soon.
I can't get over the colour of the rocks - they look as if they've been painted. You sure do live in a lovely part of the world!
I'm always amazed by the colour of the lichen on the rocks, Selma, and in the most inhospital places.
I enjoyed to read this post, thanks for sharing your hiking experience with us...
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Your last hike of 2011 was very fantastic. The rock was really amazing.
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