Pieces of gold

The next day we set off early for Calvinia but first we had to make a stop at one of the local church halls to sample pancakes, Hertzoggies (little jam tarts topped with an egg white and coconut mixture) and to buy knitted gloves with the fingertips cut off to enable photography to continue in the cold.  Apparently owls sleep in the blue gum trees around the church and we were lucky enough to see one directly above us as we leaned against the car,devouring our sweet treats.

Next was the flower reserve outside Nieuwoudtville where drifts of orange-gold Gazanias were scattered all around.

We had to pick our way through very marshy and muddy fields to get to the flowers and looking through my camera lens instead of at the ground, I stepped into a pothole and took a spectacular tumble onto the field.  I later read something about porcupines digging for bulbs, but am not sure if this was what had caused the hole. Seeing I was down there anyway I decided to stay in place and concentrate on the flowers closest to me.

This turned out to be a good idea because I noticed a tiny flower which I would otherwise have missed.  To appreciate how exquisitely small it was, you would have to realise that it was about one-tenth the size of one of the Gazanias.

 

 

 Just as the eye needs a rest from all that orange and yellow you come upon clumps of white Gazanias looking pure and unsullied by mud or insects.

 

Finally, as we left, we came upon this koppie (little hill) with its balancing boulders formed over time by the cooling and weathering  of the of the magma forced up from below ground.

The twilight hour

And so we came to our last evening in Nieuwoudtville at that magical pink and gold time when people head for home and the animals settle down for the night ...

 

and the ducks play "follow my leader" home.

 

 A classic Cape country scene - windmill and bare tree branches silhouetted against the amethyst sky.

Tomorrow we would be on our way to Calvinia.

A last meander

A last saunter around the village back roads and a somewhat prickly incursion into a hedge garnered some worthwhile scenes.

 

 The last rays of sun warming an old farmhouse.

 

Ruins in the sunset

We had read about a ruined village just outside Nieuwoudtville and were intrigued enough to take the extra time at the end of the long day to go and take a look.  As we jolted along the corrugated dirt road we began to see the remains of sandstone structures glowing in the late afternoon sunlight.

A glimpse through spring blossoms to the fields of yellow cats tails beyond...

Brushing past the flowering branches ...

to see the sun glowing through a window in the remains of the tall gable.

A completely different view from the other side of the gable.

The village was built by early trekboers who found a large plateau of sandstone with several springs on it.  They built their houses from the golden sandstone and the beautifully packed and placed stones stand as a tribute to their skills.

 

And finally, the tenacity of nature can only be admired and marvelled at.

 

Hidden Beauty

Leaving the flower fields we headed for the area where, we'd been told, we would find glacial pavements in the fields.  Striations on the rocks would clearly show the passage of thousand of rocks and pebbles tumbled along by the movement of the glaciers. We should look also for the tiny flowers growing in even tinier pockets of soil on and around the rocks.  We found the formations which are from the Permian era 280 million years ago and, sure enough, the striations looked as if they'd been scored into the granite hard rock with a garden rake.

 And then, oh then, we found the delicate little beauties hiding beneath the grasses; difficult to photograph because of the brisk breeze but at least you get the idea.

 

Further along the road were signs of spring on its way.

Cape cottages built with sandstone and planted around with orange aloes.