Mountainlands features in the June issue of Country Life magazine. The main focus is on Eureka City, the remnants of an old mining town that is located in the north of the reserve. The article can be accessed by following the link:
http://www.countrylife.co.za/travel/a-wander-around-eureka-city
Happy reading everyone.
Contributed by Marjorie Nuns of the Barberton Bird Club
On Saturday, 25 April 2015, Sandton Bird Club – taking advantage of the long weekend – joined Barberton Bird Club for a trip into the magnificent 18000 hectare Mountainlands Nature Reserve close to Barberton. To keep things manageable – as there were over 20 of us – we split into two groups. Dave Mourant took charge of the visitors and covered the Wonderscheur area and I covered the Dycedale area with the local bird club members. We arranged to meet for lunch and set off in different directions.
It was a later start than usual – as some of the visitors only left Sandton on Saturday morning and arrived after 8am – but it didn’t make too much difference to Dave’s group as they got off to a cracking start with a great close up sighting of Gurney’s Sugarbird on the Bulembu Road. Thereafter, the birding was pretty slow for both groups but the visitors were more than happy with regular sightings including African Goshawk, Buffstreaked Chat, Cape Batis and Brimstone Canary.
Things started off very slowly with my group as the Dycedale birds in the high lying areas tend to be late risers during the cooler months and only make an appearance when the sun is up and it warms up a little. However, no-one complained because it’s always wonderful just being in this incredible reserve and taking in the fantastic scenery. It was particularly special for me and hubby Andy because we hadn’t visited this side of the reserve for over a year – having been busy counting birds in the Low’s Creek area – and had almost forgotten just how beautiful it is.
After a very quiet morning, things improved considerably in Dycedale at precisely 11h45- at one of our regular stops – when Andy shouted ‘RAPTOR TO THE RIGHT”! And there it was …… we found ourselves gazing at the most magnificent Black Eagle (now called Verreaux’s Eagle) flying quite low and in fairly close proximity giving each and every one of us the most magnificent view of the white on its back, its yellow feet and the yellow on the bill. We couldn’t believe it – we knew what it was immediately but also knew that we were looking at something incredibly unusual because Black Eagles don’t occur around Barberton. According to Dr Dirks, the local boffin, as far as he can recall the last time a Black Eagle was recorded in the Barberton area was about 15 years ago and it was a once off sighting. Prior to this, it was probably around 30 years ago when they occurred mostly in the Nelshoogte area. Barberton Bird Club occasionally hears of a Black Eagle sighting but they have always turned out to be Long Crested Eagles.
When we eventually caught up with Dave’s group at lunch time there was lots of excited chatter from both sides and the visitors thought the reserve was absolutely breathtaking and all of them indicated they were having a great time in the reserve and they all loved Barberton! After an hour or so we continued in different directions with the visitors hoping for a glance of the Black Eagle on the way out. Unfortunately, they weren’t so lucky but what two of the group did see – which was also very exciting – was a sighting of Dassies in the same area!
So, all in all, it was a very exciting with Black Eagles and Dassies being recorded on the same day in exactly the same area. As Dassies are the Black Eagle’s favourite food – and there are lots of other good pickings in the Reserve in the form of birds and small mammals – this suggests these magnificent raptors could be around for while. Dr Dirks also mentioned that Dassies used to occur on the road to Pegglars Bush but that was also about thirty odd years ago. Barberton Bird Club has been visiting the Reserve regularly for the past 10 years but no-one has ever recorded Dassies but we understand that Nico Oosthuizen saw them in the Fourteen Streams area in the early 2000’s or thereabouts
We are not sure when these magnificent eagles arrived in Mountainlands but we have now recorded them in the same area for three consecutive months. Nico and Delia Oosthuizen also reported a single bird some before our first sighting on 25 April 2015 and Mr Oosthuizen Senior recorded a pair on 13 June 2015. We have only recorded a single bird on all three occasions so hopefully this could indicate that there is a nest somewhere because the timing is right as these birds breed from May until July. So, we will continue to scan the high rocky areas and hope to find a nest and spot ‘junior’ in the not too distant future!
We’ll keep you posted!
Prof Kevin Balkwill from Wits University with a stick insect keeping him company.
Scientists, students, school children, volunteers and lay experts have once again converged on the reserve for the early summer bioblitz.
Scientists from Wits University, the South African Biodiversity Institute (SANBI), the South African Wildlife College (SAWC), Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency (MTPA), Buffelskloof Herbarium, members of the Lepidopterist Society and citizen scientists gave freely of their time and expertise to record the insect and plant species.
The high lying grasslands, valleys, a wetland and perennial stream were surveyed. A dragonfly known as the Boulder Hooktail, Paragomphus cognatus was photographed there for the first time. According to Christopher Willis from SANBI it is a fairly common species that often perches on rocks in rivers. Christopher also photographed a longhorned beetle, Phytoecia (Blepisanis) bohemani Pascoe, 1858 which is endemic to South Africa.
This longhorned beetle Phytoecia (Blepisanis) bohemani Pascoe, 1858 is a South African endemic. Photographed by Christopher Willis.
It was the first bioblitz where SAWC Environmental Monitors collected dung beetles. Eight dung beetle traps were set up in the veld. These consisted of a bucket placed in a hole in the ground, a funnel that guides the beetles into the bucket, and a grid which is placed over the hole on which the dung is placed to lure the beetles. Four traps were set up in open grassland and four in a dense wooded area on the side of a mountain. The traps were inspected every morning at sunrise and every evening at sunset and specimens were collected for identification. The traps were then re-baited to lure beetles again.
Some of the species found were Kheper nigroaeneus, Anacholcos convexus, Neosisyphus infuscatus and Proagoderus rangifer and another few that the monitors took back to SAWC to identify under microscopes. “According to Dr Alan Gardiner different dung beetles are attracted to and utilize different dung types and this would have obvious implications for dungbeetle diversity in a specific area,” said Marilize van der Walt, Research and University Program Officer of the SAWC.
Together with Dr. Alan Gardner and Barberton butterfly expert, Herbert Otto, the SAWC team also collected butterflies during the day to assist in recording species for the Mountainlands species list. Dr. Gardiner found all three rare Barberton butterflies, confirming their continued presence on Mountainlands Nature Reserve. These specials are Jeffry’s Blue (Lepidochrysops jeffryi), Swanepoel’s Blue (L. swanepoeli) and Barbara’s Copper (Aloeides barbarae).
School children from Barberton and Nelspruit had the opportunity to observe the scientists at work and participated in the spotting and catching of insects. This was a fun learning experience for the budding scientists of tomorrow.
(from left): Bianca van Aarde, Rejoyce Mdhlovu, Louis Loock (Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency), Vutomi Mnisi, Theo Loock and Adriaan van Aarde taking stock of the butterfly catch of the day.
Some of the special plants collected, to be included in reference herbariums of Wits are Thorncroftia lotterii and Eulophia chlorantha which are known from only a few locations. In SANBI’s Redlist of South African plants both these species are categorized as vulnerable meaning they face a high risk of extinction due to the transformation of their habitat brought about by, amongst others, illegal mining and competition from alien invasive species.
It will take time to identify all the insect and plant species that have been collected and the results will be consolidated in due course. Due to the rugged terrain and inaccessibility of many areas it is likely that new species may yet be discovered.
The information gathered during this bioblitz will be fed into the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency database for the reserve which will again assist them with executing their conservation and research mandate.
The bioblitz was made possible through the generous support from Crossings Superspar in Nelspruit and the voluntary contribution of the scientists.
Although common, the pincushion cactus, Euphorbia pulvinata, put up a nice display with its tiny flowers.
Prof Christoph Heubeck from the Geology Department of the Free University of Berlin with Masters Degree student Henry Nordhauss (left) and Doctorate degree student Nadja Drabon (right) from Stanford University discussing a volcanic specimen. Henry will analyze the depositional environment of the spherule bed and Nadja will do the geochemical analysis of the specimens collected.
Now you see it, now you don’t: This piece of rock contains tiny round grains that tell the story of a huge meteorite impact that took place about 3.3 billion years ago.
From a distance, the ridge in the mountain’s side doesn’t look like much. But up close a small outcrop of reddish sandstone stands out against the black chert. And it is this anomaly discovered last year in Mountainlands Nature Reserve which has earth scientists excited.
It is an approximately 300 mm thick spherule bed, cropping out along roughly 25 meters. Simply put, spherules are round grains that originated from liquid melt droplets that rained back to Earth after a meteorite impact. The over- and underlying chert rock in which this spherule bed is found dates back to about 3.3 billion years when the surface of the Earth was little more than huge shield-like volcanoes surrounded by silica rich oceans. Scientists say the planet did not have an ozone layer back then, allowing plenty of harmful UV-radiation to reach the surface. The sun’s light, however, was weak; there was little light and the atmosphere was a humid, thick cocktail of noxious greenhouse gases with very little, if any, free oxygen.
Considering that the depositional layer caused by the meteorite that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago is nowhere more than 3 mm thick, this 300 mm thick spherule bed gives an idea of how big this impact event must have been. But that is not the only reason why geologists are excited. What makes this spherule bed special is the purity of the material because it’s here that spherules rained into a deep ocean and were deposited in quiet, deep water. And it is also one of the very few spherule beds discovered north of the R40 Bulembu road.
“When small meteorites hit the Earth, they get slowed down by the atmosphere, plummet and dig into the ground and sometimes people find them. But large meteorites have such a large momentum that their kinetic energy converts into thermal energy upon impact. That is, they liquefy and vaporize upon impact, together with a large part of the target rock . Whatever the volume, imagine meteorites arriving on Earth with a velocity of between 11 and 72 kilometer per second, which is the common velocity for interstellar objects within our planetary system. The Earth’s atmosphere is about 100 km thick and the meteorites pass through it within a second or two. They essentially punch a hole in the atmosphere, forming a tunnel of extremely low pressure behind them as the air did not have time to fill in that path. Add to that the tremendous heat that sucks up the rock vapor into the air and the rebound effect from the compressed target rock. As a result, very large volumes of molten and liquefied rock are injected into the stratosphere to heights of tens to hundreds of kilometers,” said Sedimentary Geology Professor Christoph Heubeck from the Free University of Berlin, Germany, who, together with postgraduate students, is researching the spherule bed and its surroundings.
“We think that more than 80 percent of the rock here consists of the target rock and less than 20 percent of the material of the impactor. Geochemical analysis of the trace elements in other spherule beds in the Barberton Mountainland found isotopes of Chromium 53 that we known exist only outside of Earth. We also found high concentrations of Iridium which is a heavy metal that is concentrated in the Earth’s core. However, Iridium is also found in meteorites, so both these geochemical indicators show that the material here has a bit of an extraterrestrial component.”
The droplets that had been ejected into the atmosphere due to the impact were distributed around the planet in orbits from where they rained back down. Some fell into shallow water and were reworked by tsunamis, waves and currents. Others, like the ones being studied here, fell in deep water and were preserved pristinely with only very little contamination from other material or reworking.
“The tsunamis triggered by meteorite impacts had the potential to travel around the young Earth several times leading to repeated reworking of the spherule beds. That’s why this location in which reworking and mixing is low is particularly valuable. To estimate water depth, slope, the processes that determined the “normal” situation at this place, and the sequence of events related to the impact, we need to look at the rock layers above and below the spherule bed. An additional reason that we are interested in the effects of meteorite impacts is that impacts even earlier in Earth history were even larger. Their kinetic energy was so large that they probably heated the oceans by a considerable number of degrees, briefly bringing to boil the ocean’s surface, thereby effectively sterilizing the Earth. This means that meteorite impacts in the early Earth’s history not only had a profound impact on the formation of sediments and tectonics but also on life and the evolution of early microbial communities,” said Prof Heubeck.
“About 40 meters from the spherule bed we have discovered a volcanic unit which may contain zircons that can be dated. This age will hopefully give us a good estimate of the age of the spherule bed.”
Free University of Berlin Masters degree student Henry Nordhauss will analyze the depositional environment of the spherule bed. He will survey the strata meter by meter and document their composition and particular sedimentary structures because each rock contains information such as how large the currents may have been back then, how deep the sediments were in which these spherules fell and if there was any material that was reworked.
It is nearly impossible to imagine that the clear remnants of an event that took place 3.3 billion years ago have survived in the mountains till now. But it is exactly this kind of rock preservation that draws scientists back to the Barberton greenstone belt year after year.
Lepidoptera lords: (from left) Herbert Otto from the Lepidopterists’ Society of South Africa and Shane Burns, from Whytethorn private herbarium and co-author of Field Guide to the Orchids of Northern South Africa and Swaziland are helping Hayden Loffler with his insect catch.
“Serendipity”, meaning the spirit of happy and unexpected discoveries was the order of the day during the latest bioblitz held on Mountainlands Nature Reserve. A flock of scientists, members of the public and children were hairpinning up and down the hills documenting plant and insect species during the one-and-a-half-day stint, which aimed to expand the database of species found on the reserve.
An especially thrilling surprise was finding the plant Senecio triodontiphyllus in the north of the reserve. According to the Redlist of South African Plants it was known from three collections made before 1930 and was again rediscovered in 2008 at one of the historical locations. Thus a new location within the reserve can now be added for this vulnerable plant. Hemizygia stalmansii, a rare endemic plant that was first recognized as a new species by Mark Stalmans in 1994 and is also known from only a few locations was also collected. It is currently in flower and could be easily spotted on a remote and steep hillside.
Members of the Lepidopterists’ Society of South Africa netted and photographed butterflies aided by children from Barberton Primary and Swaziland. Dr Alan Gardner, a Lecturer from the South African Wildlife College close to Orpen Gate was richly rewarded with a new butterfly species for this area known as Grass Yellow (Eurema floricola).
With the photos of butterflies taken by Christopher Willis from the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) and contributions made by other members of the Lepidopterists’ Society of Africa, the database can now also be expanded with between 20 to 25 species. Christopher is currently also contributing towards the dragonfly atlas of South Africa and will be the first to contribute species records towards a dragonfly/damselfly database of the reserve.
“Through the volunteer contributions of experts and the sponsorship of Crossings SUPERSPAR, surveys such as this help to create awareness about the beauty and natural treasures of the Barberton Centre of Plant Endemism,” says Delia Oosthuizen who co-ordinated the arrangements for the bioblitz.
The next bioblitz will take place in Spring.
(from left) Schalk van der Sandt, Riandre Nel, Herbert Otto and Joshua Matthee from Barberton Primary School look at a beetle caught by Dr Alan Gardner, a lector at the South African Wildlife College close to Hoedspruit.
(from left): John Burrows from the Buffelskloof Nature Reserve Herbarium, Mervyn Lotter from the Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency and Linda Loffler a botanist from Swaziland admire Senecio triodontiphyllus.
(from left) Barbara Turpin, Dave Hempson and Nico Oosthuizen . (in front): John Burrows and Lize von Staden.
Disa Nervosa Schultzenhorst (photo by Mervyn Lotter)
In all things of nature there is something of the marvelous – Aristotle. This aptly describes a recent weekend outing of the Mpumalanga Plant Specialist Group (MPSG) to the Makhonjwa Mountains. A trip to Heemstede – one of the highest and little explored areas in Songimvelo Nature Reserve south west of Mountainlands seduced 27 people to pitch up. But Mother Nature had no intention of sharing her secrets so easily. Mist, drizzle and gushing winds prompted the group to botanise on lower lying, more amicable areas and this is where Hester Stein and Marinda Koekemoer from the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI) in Pretoria were delighted with an Aspidoglossum species find. “According to Pieter Bester this is most likely a new species as it does not match anything in the Pretoria herbarium! A very exciting find,” wrote Mervyn Lötter, acting manager: Biodiversity Planning, Mpumalanga Tourism and Parks Agency) later in an e-mail to the MPSG. Other threatened plants were also found and include Thorncroftia thorncroftii and Aloe chortolirioides chortoliriodes. Many orchids are in flower this time of the year and seven species were seen of which a photo of Disa Nervosa Schultzenhorst is attached.
The Sunday was spent on the higher lying southern parts of Mountainlands and the hunt for more threatened flora continued. Lize von Staden who works for SANBI’s Threatened Species Programme and is responsible for maintaining the Red List of South African Plants collected live Oxalis specimens that correlate with those of herbarium samples of the vulnerable species Oxalis davyana. The plants will be identified and studied by dr. Kenneth Oberlander from the University of Stellenbosch. Several other plant species were also collected by John Burrows and Barbara Tulpin who will identify and house it at the Buffelskloof Nature Reserve herbarium.
Members of the Lowveld Botanical Society recently visited Mountainlands. The genus Pavetta was looked at and the floral kingdom, animals with their young and good weather formed an excellent backdrop to the outing organized by Ina Georgala (left on the photo).
Mountainlands recently welcomed Francois Du Toit as the new reserve manager. Francois brings extensive conservation and reserve management experience to the team. He arrived at an exciting stage with several infrastructure development projects currently underway, and got straight to work on these.
Seen here inspecting road construction projects on the Lomshiyo section of the reserve, (from left) Francois Du Toit - Reserve Manager, Mark Ngwenyama - BATOBIC Relationship Manager, Louis Loock - MTPA Regional Manager and Godfrey Mogoane - BATOBIC Programme Manager.
The first syndicated lodge site in Mountainlands is steadily filling up with members. Named Waterbuck Ridge, it was bought by Nelspruit residents and business owners, Mark and Helen Schormann. Their initial intent was for a private holiday home, but friends and family quickly fell in love with the property and they decided to establish a leisure syndicate that will consist of ten members. The ten owners will divide the costs of the site and the construction of the lodge among themselves.
Mark and Helen Schormann at a World Cup game
Recently, Hanno and Tania Rottier from Durbanville, Cape Town became the fifth syndicate members. “We have a constant craving to go back to the bushveld to experience the peace and tranquility that it offers. This is the reason why we started looking for a place that can offer the privacy as well as all other things that a top class game property offers without the hassle of constantly worrying about the safety and management of your investment. We think we have found it in Mountainlands,” Hanno said.
The Nortier Family: (from left) Hanno with daughters Tamarisk and Nadine and wife Tania in front.
What got Mark interested in the first place is that he wanted to get involved in a conservation project that will benefit future generations as well. “I also look forward to being involved in a project which should attract other interesting people and make friends with people with similar interests and outlook,” he added
The Schormann kids seem to have grown up on Mountainlands, forever finding something new to do. Here,during one of their earlier visits, are from left Steven, Daniel, Michaela and Robyn.
His sentiments are shared by Louis van der Merwe, another member of the syndicate. “What makes Mountainlands desirable from an investment point of view is that there is an overall plan for development of the reserve, and that only a minute percentage of the land will ever be developed. This is being done in an environmentally sensitive and sustainable manner, putting nature first. I consider myself lucky to be part of such a beautiful place that is located so close to where I live. Mountainlands has so many valuable natural attractions, such as its abundance of clean water, which deserves to be cared for, for future generations.”
Louis van der Merwe, trying to tell everybody that it's a borrowed hat.
Helen fell in love with the pristine beauty and serenity together with the interesting history of the Barberton area. Summarizing the aspects of the development that she found attractive, she said she was impressed with the developer’s dedication to the project and the absolute sense of safety. “Also, the close proximity to modern amenities, entertainment, shopping and medical facilities is a huge bonus. We look forward to a development that meets all requirements of luxury and uniqueness while not compromising the natural surroundings or people“, she added.
Once constructed, Waterbuck Ridge Lodge will consist of a main building with entertainment areas and four en-suite bungalows. Helen, who also studied architecture, plans to give a meaningful input into the lodge. “We believe Mountainlands offers endless opportunities for the adventure seeker and creative personalities such as artists and photographers, the fitness junky, or the explorer scientist looking for unique natural wonders. These are the kinds of people that we would like to welcome into our syndicate and hope to meet as fellow owners”, she said.
The Waterbuck ridge owners have become famous for their lavish picnics - time to build the entertainment area.
Five more syndicate shares are available in Waterbuck Ridge Site, which entitles members to 5.5 week’s holiday accommodation per year. Shares presently start at R400 000 initially for the site and between R500 000 & R600 000 for the construction of the lodge itself. To find out more about the Waterbuck Ridge, contact Mark Schormann on Cell: +27 (0) 828025885 or visit http://www.mountainlands.co.za
Renowned artists Leonora Everard Haden and daughter Nichola Alice Leigh recently visited Mountainlands.
Leonora (Left) and daughter Nichola during their visit.
During a two day stint they took several photos and did pastel proofs with the intent to do oil landscape paintings. They are the third and fourth generation of artists collectively known as “The Everard Group”, that is known for their bold depictions of the Mpumalanga landscape. They plan to return to Mountainlands in the near future and it is expected that several paintings of the landscape will follow. To learn more about “The Everard Group” visit: www.everard-group.com
Leonora at work on the Saddleback hill showing in the background.
Leonora's pastel of Saddleback hill.
Nichola's pastel of Saddleback hill om Mountainlands.
Mountainlands Nature Reserve 
Recent Comments