by Dominic Chadbon | Nov 15, 2018 | Fynbos, Whale Coast |
Wind-torn, sun-scoured and torched by fire, the mountains at the Rooi Els Reserve may not sound the most appealing destination but what I saw there early one morning nearly made me choke on my bran muffin. An hour’s drive from Cape Town, Rooi Els (pronounced ‘Roy...
by Dominic Chadbon | Mar 15, 2018 | Fynbos
Forget what you learnt at school: the science of Botany has been re-written – by none other than yours truly – and I present, after many years of diligent observation, Chadbon’s Three Immutable Laws of Fynbos. Law 1. Afrikaans has Better Names for Plants than English...
by Dominic Chadbon | Nov 21, 2017 | Fynbos |
What is it with flowers? Why are they are red or blue or yellow or pink or a combination thereof? Some smell like honey or fruit salad while others stink bad enough to make you wretch – what’s all that about? And why are some flowers sticky, or hidden away from sight...
by Dominic Chadbon | Sep 28, 2017 | Fynbos |
Apart from “Are we nearly there yet”, the most common question I am asked while hiking in these Cape mountains is: “What actually is fynbos?” It’s a good question. Is it a bush? Or lots of them? And why does such apparently insignificant-looking vegetation elicit such...
by Dominic Chadbon | Feb 17, 2017 | Fynbos |
Their name comes from the Greek word for testicle and sometimes they are only seen after fire has incinerated their habitat: weird, wonderful orchids have long fascinated humankind and if you thought you had to go to steaming tropical rainforests to see them, then it...
