This post is for the #wednesdaywalk challenge and the #makemesmile challenge collaboration. This collaboration initially took place once a month, but due to its popularity, @tattoodjay (of the #wednesdaywalk) and @elizacheng (of #makemesmile) decided to make it a weekly thing.
If you want to know more about the rules, visit this week's post by @tattoodjay where you will find all the rules at the bottom of his post after you've enjoyed his beautiful photos from his walk.
The past two weeks have been chaotic! First, I dropped my cell phone by accident and the screen got completely shattered. Then I got smacked down by some virus. I thought I got over it just to get it all over again...even worst than the first round...lol.
Then, about two days after my cell phone got handed in for repairs, it seemed like someone tried to hack into my bank account. Fortunately, that was unsuccessful and all seems to be fine now.
But here I am, trying to get back to a normal routine...lol!
So, today's post will be about an outing we had two weeks ago.
A little more than a month ago, I discovered another nature reserve relatively close to where we live. It's the New Germany Nature Reserve, just outside of Pinetown. This is in the Outer West Area of Durban, South Africa.
We took a drive out there one morning during the month of April, just to establish where it is and whether it would be worth a visit. I posted about it in this post where I shared some photos of the reception office and surrounding area.
Two weekends ago, we decided to head out there to walk the trail in the reserve and our four-year-old grandson was keen to join us for the walk.
Walking the Trail
We noticed the first sign of life even before we entered the reception office...
There is no cost involved to enter the reserve, but they do require you to sign a register.
We then entered the reserve area, heading toward the start of the trail.
Starting the trail, and entering the forest.
The trail started twisting and turning through the forest.
I asked my wife and grandson to stand still and be quiet for a moment... I was convinced I heard something in the bush very close to us...
The next moment, this little Grey Duiker appeared and crossed the trail right in front of us...
We stood still for a while and just watched as he started grazing around in the area. He seemed not to be too concerned about our presence.
We enjoyed every moment. For our grandson, it was the highlight of his day so far...lol! But even at four years of age, he was handling the situation so well. He was as quiet as a mouse, just absorbing every moment!
I got a few more shots of the little Duiker and then we slowly started to continue our walk through the forest.
I was amazed to notice that the little Duiker was now following us!
He came so close that I was able to get this shot.
We then had to make a decision. There was a trail that went out to the left...or we could continue straight.
There was no information about where the trail would lead if we would go left, but this is what it showed if we were to carry on straight...
Seeing "Loop" on the information board, we assumed that the trail would make a "loop" and we would arrive back at this point if we carry on straight. We decided to carry on straight...
A few minutes later, we came to the edge of the forest and were about to go out in the open.
If you look closely, you can see the trail continuing in the distance just below the horizon.
As we left the forest area, I looked back and couldn't believe what I saw...
The little Duiker was still following us! But he wasn't willing to leave the denseness of the forest...
Getting out, and moving further away from the forest, we had this view to the left.
You can see a trail twisting and turning on the hill on the other side of the forest below us. At this point, I thought it might be the trail that turned off to the left a little earlier in the forest and indeed, just over an hour later, we would be walking there...yet it didn't work out the way I thought it would. I'll explain that later (part of the "adventure" I refer to at the end of this post)...lol.
A little further we found this bench where you can take a break if needed...
Admiring some colorful detail along the way...
Zooming in a bit...
Let's add some purple to the mix too...
And some more detail of the scenes surrounding us...
Going up the hill, we found a rocky spot in the trail...
Getting to the top of this hill (yes, there were a few) we found another bench where you can sit down and enjoy the view.
Standing behind the bench, giving you an idea of the view from here...
Looking down into the valley, this tree caught my eye.
At this point, it became clear that we still had a slight climb (toward the right in the photo below), before descending again, passing through the forest below us, and then probably ending up on the trail again that is visible on the hill on the other side of the forest.
Yes, getting to the top, we were about to enter the forest again. It was also clear that we were about to start going downhill again as soon as we enter the forest.
And right at the top of this hill, is where I'm going to call it a day for today's post...lol.
Next week, I'll take you along on our journey going downhill through the forest to King Fisher Dam and the adventure we had on this last part of the trail...
Thank you for reading my post! I do appreciate it!