10 February 2008

How green is half of my valley

As you climb out of the Elands River Valley into the mountains before the Gamtoos river Valley, there are the most stunning views that seem to stretch on forever. The country side is also characterised by a profusion of fynbos - most prominet being the erica, proteas and leucodendrons.


I found this valley very intersting with one side being green and lush and the other dry and stark. In the foreground is a leucospemum (pin cushion protea) in full bloom.



The leucospermums on the mountains are not as full and rounded as those in the valleys. I think it must be something to do with the high winds and the cooler weather.

14 comments:

Cheesy said...

Weeeeeeeeeeee flowers!
I can't wait till ours start to pop their little heads out of the dirt!

gma said...

So glad I met you though ABC Wed.
It is great to see photos from your part of the world.What causes the valley to be green on one side and dry on the other?

Max-e said...

Cheesy after all your snow and ice I imagine they will be a welcome sight. What is nice about this part of the worls is that we have plants that flower at different times of the year, so there are flowers all year round.

Max-e said...

lv2scpbk glad you enjoyed it. You are always welcome

Max-e said...

Gemma, I am glad to be able to share our part of the world with you. The only reason I can think of is that the one side lies in the shadow of the mountain - will have to research this one.

The Fool said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Fool said...

Wow more simply great pictures, do you actually live in this or do you have to go on treks to capture these pictures? And if you don't mind my asking, what kind of camera do you use? Also I just thought I would say that I added you to my blogroll.

The Fool

Max-e said...

This shot is about 100 km's from our home. We made a special trip down a not so good road to get there, but it was fun. There is still a lot of beautiful scenery closer to home and some great game parks.
My camera is a Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ7. It has been supeceded by a later model. Value for money it is a good buy and is very versatile and has a lot of features, ranging from fully automatic to manual.
Ideally I would like a DSLR with interchangable lenses

TR Ryan said...

Those are stunning views. I have such fond memories of my visits to your country. Beautiful blog.

Leslie: said...

I was thinking the reason one side is green and the other dry must have something to do with the direction of the sun. I love the bottom shot.

VP said...

Lovely photos as usual :)

I've a 'thank you' award for you over on my blog - it's up to you whether you'd like to pass it on...

Dragonstar said...

That's quite a valley. Love the two-colour hillsides.

Merisi said...

I love your tongue-in-cheek title!
I'd be surprised if being the shady side of the valley were the only reason that there does not grow anything.
I know of a study that was done in Africa about an area that had been (re)planted with trees. They reforestation was a great success, for about 18 years or so, then all the trees started dying. Turned out that there were substances in the soil, at a certain depth, that literally killed the trees off as soon as the roots started taking hold there.
I curious what you are going to find out about the valley.

myonlyphoto said...

So beautiful, and so big, nice place to be and reflect on past, and think about the future, so peaceful. Max-e great job, Anna :)