THE DRAKENSBERG IN MAY

"Is it not possible that a place could have a huge affection for those who dwell there? Perhaps your place loves having you there. It misses you when you are away and in its secret way rejoices when you return. Could it be possible that a landscape might have a deep friendship with you? That it could feel your presence and feel the care you extend towards it? Perhaps your favorite place feels proud of you…" - John O'Donohue (in his book Beauty)

May is my favourite month of the year because it is my birthday month (it is also Autumn) and my husband treats me to a 4 day stay in the Drakensberg. At the beginning of each year I start the countdown and by the time May rolls around I am more than ready to head for the mountains.

We were lucky enough to have a suite facing the mountains with no buildings to obstruct the view. This photograph was taken from the patio.

Drinking water with cupped hands straight from a mountain stream always tastes better than anywhere else.

So many of the trees in the Eucalyptus Forest were hollowed out, inviting one to step inside and contemplate life as a tree .... except there was always that lingering thought..... What an ideal nest for snakes and spiders!

It was well worth the steep climb up to the fern forest and a great way to work off 2 or 3 buffet meals a day.

We came across this baby Berg Adder. It is one of the most poisonous snakes in the Drakensberg....... and yet we were drawn to it.

It is particularly beautiful at the end of the day when shadows fill the hollows in the hillside and Egyptian Geese gather before flying home to roost.

"Now I was suddenly made aware of another world of beauty and mystery such as I had never imagined to exist, except in poetry...I experienced an overwhelming emotion in the presence of nature, especially at evening. It began to wear a kind of sacramental character for me. I approached it with a sense of almost religious awe, and in the hush which comes before sunset, I felt again the presence of an unfathomable mystery. The song of the birds, the shapes of the trees, the colors of the sunset, were so many signs of this presence, which seemed to be drawing me to itself. " - Bede Griffiths