We returned to the farm in the Karoo near Steynsburg just before Christmas last year and one of our aims was to climb Loskrans. I regret to report I failed to drag my 54-year-old torso all the way to the top.
The krans is indeed "los", with massive loose boulders looking set to tumble under gravity at any minute. Indeed, the point where I decided to quit the climb was littered with rocks several times my height. Anyway, I noticed what looked like my three climbing companions on the summit and did this sketch. It was then that I noticed they just weren't moving! The shapes were in fact small bushes.
As I waited for my companions to come back down, I did several sketches, colouring them later. This was done looking up along the ridge to a thing called Visierkerf, or suchlike, which means it resembles the sights of a rifle from a distance.
A view towards the south.
And another, more to the east.
The farm manager and his daughter in an inflatable on what is known as the Big Dam.
Then, on another occasion, we congregated as a family last year at the Hogsback, where, in a rare break from the misty weather, I was able to draw one of the eponymous peaks, which I watercoloured later.
A none-too-flattering sketch of my mom, Brenda, at the age of 84, enjoying the view of the Bridal Veil falls at the Hogsback. Anyone who's walked there will know it is no mean feat. Bren showed up a lot of people less than half her age.
The Hogsback and Karoo are known to boast all manner of weird and wonderful creatures not often seen in zoology books. This is the wobbly-legged vole.
This amphibious creature also frequents the area, waiting to pounce should Shell attempt to rape the area with its fracking plans.
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