images of africa

I was quite amazed this morning, looking at my cluster map, how widespread the visitors to this site are. I always assume it is the guys who leave comments, and family, but it seems there are lots of silent visitors too. (Which figures really, I don't know why I am surprised, because I often surf links too, but don't comment at every 1 I visit.)

Anyway, I wondered if seeing a bit of Africa would interest those of you who live far away? I thought I'd post a series on photos, old and new, showing what an amazing and vibrant and diverse continent this is. Because there are so many, I thought of doing them in categories, such as the people, towns and villages, mountains, wildlife, transportation, contrasts (1st world vs 3rd world) lighthouses, trees, diverse vegetation types, rivers and waterfalls, deserts and arid areas, transportation, arts and crafts, the coast etc. If you like them, and want to see more, or if there is a topic that interests you particularly that you want included let me know, and I'll scan some old photos over the next few weeks.

Since one of my passions in life is Rocks (I studied Geology at Varsity, not design, that was one of life's curve-balls that turned out to be a nice surprise!), I am going to start with a couple of interesting rock formations.

Du Toit's Kloof pass, between Worcester and Capetown, a beautiful stretch of road cutting through very folded and rugged mountains, and the low rays through the mist add to the atmosphere. This a stunning part of South Africa, with parallel mountain ranges which rise steeply from the coast to the central plateau, running all the way from Capetown in the West to Kwa Zulu Natal in the West. Between the ranges are fertile valleys where much of our fruit is grown.

Meiringspoort pass, between Victoria West, in the Northern Cape, which leads to Oudtshoorn further South.

weathered granite domes in North Eastern Zimbabwe, covered with wonderfully colourful lichens for added pizazz!

these spectacular granite domes (locally referred to as "gomos" are amazing. You can just picture the ancient volcanic forces bubbling under the surface to form these plugs of lava, which cooled, and then the surrounding softer rocks weathered away.

This one near Kassala, in Sudan, is my favourite, wow!

Balancing rocks near Harare, erosion at its most bizarre!

And speaking of erosion, isn't this rock cute?

These are also volcanic formations, this is weathered basalt in the Valley of Desolation near Graff Reinet
and the ultimate volcanic formation, an active volcano, this is in The Dafur region of Sudan.

this is a classic limestone cave, with a stalactite hanging in the centre. It is the Chinoyi cave in Zimbabwe, and the pool is called "the sleeping pool". It is so deep that no diver has yet reached the bottom.
And finally the Cango caves near Outdshoorn in the Southern Cape of South Africa, with spectacular stalactites and stalacmites. (the way you remember which is which... stalactites hang down so they hang on 'tite'. Stalacmites grow up from the floor, they 'mite' reach the roof one day!