Autumn is in the air at its natural best here in Sabie. Clear chilly nights give way to foggy misty mornings. The sun intensifies the mist at first, steaming off the moisture on plants, before clearing into bright sunny days.

With Oak and Maple Leaf trees changing leave colors before dropping to the ground, this a colorful spectacle and any photographers playground. 

Sabie lies in the Northern Drakensberg Mountains, surrounded by gorges and forests. Unfortunately for this fragile ecosystem, the majority of the native forest has been destroyed to give way to Pine tree logging.

Rivers create plenty of waterfalls, plunging off the escarpment to the valleys spectacularly. Lots of history, plenty of stunning nature, my kinda area.

We went for an afternoon drive to ‘Forest Falls’; Jacques and Dolla, Frikkie and Tanya and myself.

The afternoon sun shone straight on to these scenic falls, giving perfect light for photography on another bright sunny day. I made the most of the opportunity, just couldn’t stop pushing the OM-D button.

Unlike all other waterfalls, the entrance to ‘Forest Falls’ is free, if you know where to go.

The lush plantation around these falls added to a perfect appearance.

The river is rushing through smaller cascades, before plunging down the waterfall.

There’s always time for a happy group photo.

And of Zimba and myself in camouflage matching hoofs.

Staring at the pools, Frikkie spotted something emerging for a a few seconds, before it disappeared again. We all thought he was day dreaming, until we noticed the very same object.

It was a guessing game for all of us. Turns out, a hippo took this pool into his territory. I went back a couple nights after, hoping to see it out of the water, but it had moved on already. Should have gone the very same night.

Out on old Lydenburg Road are three impressive waterfalls. First one is ‘Lone Creek Falls’.

A popular picnic spot over the long weekend, it was tranquil this time around.

I parked Zimba in between some tall timber, and made my way through lush green forest.

The force of the plunging waters sprays a significant radius around the pool, keeping it mossy moist at all times. Surely impressive.

Lying in a shady pocket, the forest around was covered in mossy green vegetation.

I made my way to ‘Horseshoe Falls’.

Nestled in the thick native bush, a slippery track leads to the falls.

Not as high as other falls, but therefore wider in appearance.

In the rainy season with more water, the middle rock would be acting as a divider, the falls look like a horseshoe.

Washed up tree trunks incline the force of these waters in flood waters.

Some huge boulders have been washed out some time ago. Quite spectacular.

‘Bridal Veil Falls’ was the highest of them all dropping of a sheer cliff high above.

Again, the power of the falling waters creates a mist that supplies water at all times. Lush green vegetation all around.

I got up early a few mornings.

To witness and capture the rising sun over misty valleys surrounded by mountains.

The fog appears relative frequent here, adding danger to these narrow and winding roads, filled with potholes and driven by plenty of speeding, reckless overtaking and often drunk drivers. A perfect recipe for disaster.

The valley forests fog hold on longer, fueled by warming temperatures, evaporating moisture to the air.

‘Cuddle Puddle‘ is a small pond outside of Sabie, giving outstanding reflections on calm days, looking rather steaming in the early mornings.

As clear as an oversized mirror.

An adult puffadder was taking a sunbath on the tarmac when I returned.

A rather short, but highly poisonous snake, looking more like an oversized leech.

 

 

By mid-morning the steam had been burnt off by the power of the sun, turning in to a clear blue sky sunny day. A fabulous Indian Summer’s day.