Cafe Bloom, Midlands Meander. 2009.

Maybe she's born with it...Pennington Beach, 2009.

The Three Sisters. Whinstone Farm, KZN.

Autumn Alure. Midmar Dam, Howick, KZN.

Dandylion. Whinstone Farm -Curry's Post, KZN.

Puppy love. Deanne and Savanah.

Summer Lovin'. 2008.

Love in Motion. David Acres and Sharon Coughlan.

Musical genius? Priceless. Midlands Forest Lodge 'Music in the Mountains'.

Hanging about. Midlands Forest Lodge, KZN. 2008.

Evolution. Rosetta, KZN.

Wakey Wakey. Umgeni Valley, KZN.

Out of the blue. Plain Tre. Mooi River. 2007

The beginnings of sunrise...Rosetta, Natal Midlands.

Isipingo beach. Winter 2007.

As the wheel turns. Mooi River, Natal Midlands. Winter 2007.

Rosetta, Natal Midlands.

HOGSBACK 2009

HOGSBACK 2009. My first of many Photosoc trips this year. In this photo you can clearly see the ridge of the "hogsback", after which the town is named, in the distance. Hogsback is one of the hidden wonders of South Africa and is the type of place that can be visited over and over again, bringing a new experience each time. It is inspiring, humbling, energising and renewing. A body, mind and soul experience which grabs you and doesn't want to let you go. Of all the places I have been - this one comes close to best : after home in the Midlands of course :)

Frolicking in the fields with the Harvest fairies.

This labrynth is at 'The Edge'. One walks along the snaking pathways to the clover shape in the middle. Supposedly this is meant to help you "find their centre". Not quite my cup of tea but facinating non-the-less.

Last stop was The Edge. Which literally is THE EDGE! Once again, a sheer drop down to the forests below. I had severe vertigo just looking down. You can also walk around the rocks on the left of the picture so that you have a free view of the whole valley. It is just incredible. Your eye stretches for kilometers and kilometers. We were lucky because the previous nights rain had cleared the air quite a bit so we could see a lot of detail. It saddens me to think that someone would choose to live in Joburg ; choosing to make money instead of waking up to this everyday. It is impossible to look at this view without your mouth falling open. I don't think I have said "wow" more in my whole life.

Just for prettiness sake. Hogsback Botanical Gardens.

Usually the water flows straight over the top of this waterfall (called 39 steps) but because of the poor rainfall it isn't so strong. This picture is not the best but it gets its name from the staggered rocks which the water flows down.

Despite the approach of winter, the flowers in Hogsback are still blooming beautifully. The whole place was covered with these little red berries. Apparently they give off an incredibly potent smell when squashed. I was too scared to try. The pink flowers are less frequent but a still striking. They are similar to the flowers which grow on the tumble weed bushes but are alot smaller. They remind me a bit of a sea anenome.

Up early to catch the sunrise. The vantage point is a sheer drop into dense forrest below. Donna is standing on the very edge here. There is a bath tub balanced between two rocks also on the very edge. Plans are underway to make it usable. Will be incredibly romantic if it eventually ends up working. Below is the bath tub.

We found this waterfall in a small cave which smelt of damp earth and Dassie poo. Access to the cave is blocked when the water is high, thus we were among the chosen ones, granted permission to invade this secret world.

I like patterns. They are predictable. Safe.

In nature you cannot choose where you final resting place will be, it just happens. Neither is it fixed, the next gust of wind can whisk you away in an instant. It is the luck of the photographer to catch the moment before if changes. Things change the way you feel, and things change.

Little firemen helmets.

The typical road-side sellers in Hogsback don't harrass you to buy feather dusters and brooms. Instead, wattle walking sticks and clay pigs bring in the income for the locals. As we soon realised upon entering the botanical gardens, he bravest sell magic mushrooms.... Who knows whether or not they were the real deal...

These little everlastings reminded me of two Helen Keller quotes: " Keep your face to the sunshine, and the shadows will fall behind you" and "Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much..."

Autumn is arriving fast in all its glory to Hogsback. I couldn't even begin to count the different hues of reds, oranges, greens and browns. The bright reds of the Japanese Mapels demanded our attention where ever we went. As you can see from the next couple of pictures.

Our weekend overflowed with waterfall visits but no matter how many we saw each held its own charm. This little beauty is the upper waterfall of the Swallowtail Falls. Spectacular in its simplicity and perfect balance and surrounded by whispering trees beginning to shed their summer greens for the warms of autumn it was easy to believe that you were in fairyland.

This carving nestles on a rock facing the waterfall. I have no idea how it got there but no doubt theres some myth or other about water gods and blessings. It must have taken hours to chip away, so must have been done by a godlike person with enduring patience and strength. On another rock further towards the waterfall is the etching of a fish. The icy water stopped me from wading in to see it.