Storms River

Through relatives on my wife's side, we were fortunate to spend some time on a dairy farm in the lush Storms River area in the mid- to late-1990s. The surroundings are breathtaking.

I don't recall the names of these peaks, part of the Tsitsikamma range, but they are fascinating because they are so near the coast.

This one, viewed from the Elliotts' farm, is particularly striking.

Another section of the range, with tall trees in the foreground.

A dam on the farm, with foreground gate and posts, and cattle beyond.

I last explored the interesting shapes of cattle way back in about 1979, while a national service conscript. Again drawing with my eyes hardly ever looking down at the page, the effect is to distort the beasts in most peculiar ways.

Here a horse has joined the fray.

A couple more coos.

And, for good measure, two ducks.

Up close and personal.

The bird looks like some kind of plover. The main image is of a little shed, or suchlike, on stilts, in the garden of the farmhouse.

More plovers and a pig-like cow.

Lazing cattle and a grazing horse on the right.

Strangely, on this occasion the horse has assumed something of the character of those in Frans Marc's wonderful expressionist paintings from the early 20th century.

Two more Marc-like horses.

A cluster of cattle.

Not far from Storm River is Nature's Valley, where we spent a pleasant few hours in the heat of summer. This is a view down the river towards the sea, which is around the next corner.

This rock formation at Nature's Valley, which is the end point of the Otter Trail, has the appearance of some sort of primate.