I half expected to see a rowing boat full of waist-coated, pantalooned and booted pirates to appear from around the edge of the towering buttress that guards the entrance to the embayment. They never did show up, but there were treasures enough without the need for swashbuckling buccaneers. Read on to find out more.
I thought I should share some of my adventures with you, now that we on this journey together. I have been awandering both physically and mentally, which is always a good thing, - and hey, I can do both at the same time. Every year I take myself off on my birthday and go to an amazing place – it is becoming a tradition, so must keep it up now. A few years back it was the Makgadikgadi Pans of Botswana, then a trip to the amazing lake systems at Kosi Bay, a trip to Clarens and the wonderful scenery and geology there, and this year to Hole in the Wall and on down through the Eastern Cape to Addo, and then back home via Rhodes and Matatiele. For the record my birthday in Botswana was spent digging a Land Rover out of the mud of the pans – without success either, but that is another story.
They are actually nothing more than excuses to go and look at rocks
It has been said, ‘once a geologist, always a geologist’ and I do believe that that is true. Even those who have left the profession always find themselves looking at rocks exposed in a road cutting or on a beach. Fortunately, I have never left, so my trips invariably have geological overtones. In fact, they are actually nothing more than excuses to go and look at rocks. And landscapes. And natural phenomena. And with a good dose of local history thrown in if I can find it.
Sea levels were much higher than they are now
Addo was fantastic if you are looking for elephants. I have never seen so many in one place, including Chobe. Nor have I been surrounded by a herd of marching pachyderms passing by in front of and behind the vehicle. Wow. But when I wanted to get up into those hills above the park to check out the rocks, I found out that it is now a concession area and closed off to the likes of us. Back in the day we had to study the geology of the Algoa Basin, which is where Addo is located. The sediments therein are a combination of continental and marine sediments, deposited during the Cretaceous Period when sea levels were much higher than they are now. Algoasaurus, a sauropod (think Brachiosaurus) and Paranthodon, a stegosaur, have been found in those sediments. And then there is Leptocleidus capensis, a plesiosaur of the same genus as those found on the Jurassic Coast in England.
Horizontal, faulted, jointed, intruded and magnificent
So elephants yes, fossils and rocks no. Too bad. It was a different experience at Hole in the Wall though, where the geology is simple - horizontal, faulted, jointed, intruded and magnificent. Throw in the inexorable action of the ocean which has punched a hole through the rock to create an iconic landmark, exploiting undoubtedly a well-developed joint system which can be seen again in the rocks outcropping 200 m to the south. A river entering the sea directly opposite of the ‘hole’ has undoubtedly played its part in eroding out the landmark. It’s a complex system – alluvial and marine processes interacting with one another, with wave energy being dissipated by the sentinel that is the Hole in the Wall that stands guard over the beach.
The perfect backdrop to a pirate movie.
Standing atop the vantage point adjacent to the ‘Hole’ the views are magnificent, and it is wonderful also to look out over the vast expanse of ocean and feel that you are indeed on the edge of the world. Whales there are aplenty, probably humpbacks, and you can see them breaching and lobtailing if you are patient enough. Those rocky sentinels would make a perfect backdrop for a pirate movie.
So I came home with tonnes of stuff to put up on the Rock and Sky Instagram posts, some great drone footage over the Hole in the Wall, and loads of pics of elephants. All great fun. The Hole in the Wall drone movie can be seen here - amazing footage from on high. Also go check out the footage of the Karkloof Falls here – 105 metres of shear drop, and nearly a crashed drone. Please like and subscribe and maybe watch my other videos whilst you are there.
P.S. If you would like a copy of our plate tectonics e-book click here.
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An Invitation
Start your geographical adventures by reading our articles here. They are pertinent to the physical geography courses that we have to teach, and do much to frame the subject and to provide insights that are not normally to be found in the text books. Enjoy, and leave your comments and requests in the comments section.
Hang out with fellow geographers here, check out what is happening here, and go see some amazing videos of wonderful landscapes here. And last but not least, amazingly interesting snippets which brings earth sciences and geography into our everyday lives here.
So looking forward to adventuring with you.
So looking forward to adventuring with you
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