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Nature and Conservation
 
Without the pristine natural beauty of the eScape Route, we'd be just another destination. And for this reason, conservation is important

Did You Know

12 Amazing Facts about Amahlathi.

 

1)  The indigenous forest at Stutterheim is the sdragonflyecond largest expanse of natural forest in South Africa.

2)   Amahlathi is the only place in the world where 3 species of cycads grow in vast colonies, in close proximity to each other in the wild.  They are Encephalartos friederici-guilielmi, princeps and caffra.

3) The diversity of environment in the Amahlathi region provides shelter for several endangered  or rare species; the Cape Parrot, Samango Monkey, Hogsback Frog, Amatola Toad, Kubusie Damsel, Keilandia (scorpion), Golden Mole,  and Penningtons Opal Butterfly.

4)   A new plant, part of the Fire Lily or Cyranthus family has been discovered in the Quanti area.   It has been named Cyranthus macmasteri after Cameron Mc Master who found it.

Amatola Mountain Lodge

amatola_mountain1Set in an outstandingly beautiful area, Cata is clean, vibrant and friendly offering the tourist an amazing holiday or weekend break.  The scenic route from Stutterheim to Cata, passing the beautiful Gubu Dam and historic town of Keiskammahoek, is approximately 60km.

Accommodation is offered at the Amatola Mountain Lodge sitting atop the hills with stunning views of the village and valley below.  There are two chalets, each comprising 2 single and 2 double bedrooms, a small and cosy lounge, kitchenette and bathroom.  Between the chalets sits a large lounge/conference centre equipped with a central fire place to keep off the winter chills.  There is also a full kitchen provided for large parties or a wonderful, covered braai area where you can enjoy the striking vistas.

The Kologha Boardwalk - When Dreams Become Reality

brodie_moodie_006In October 2006, Stan Dugmore, who runs the Forest Way Outdoor Outreach programme in Stutterheim was inspired by a small, wheelchair bound school girl.

Little Brodie Moodie was only in Grade 1 at the time and was part of the Clarendon class attending the yearly outing to Forest Way. Unable to take part in the obstacle course and races, Brodie was adamant that she would join her friends on the walk to the waterfall.

Impressed by her enthusiasm and courage, Stan discussed the possibility with the accompanying teachers. It was decided to change from the electric wheelchair to the manual chair with thicker wheels in order to tackle the yellow route as far as the first waterfall.  To this day he is still not sure how they managed it, but they did.  It took an exceptionally long time, navigating the bumpy path and at times quite nerve racking for Brodie as in places, the narrow path crumbled towards the edge and the wheelchair had to be tipped on its side.  This courageous little girl was pushed and bumped until finally they reached the waterfall.

Sandile's Rest
In early 2006, Grant Wylie from Mpumalanga purchased a section of land to the extent of 140ha with the idea of developing a tourist resort within the boundaries. Now three years later, a trout dam has been excavated and stocked, roads made, 3 phase electricity and water installed at the demarcated cabin sites, and the manager’s house and office have already been completed.

A Business Developer by profession, the initial idea started purely as a commercial venture, but over time, this has become his absolute passion and he has committed himself to making Sandile’s Rest an ecologically structured resort.

Black Wattle

Although the black wattle ( Acacia mearnsii De Wild., family Fabaceae) has great economic value for South Africa - mainly because of its tannin-rich bark which is used in the tanning process, and wood chips that are exported - it is nevertheless a tremendous threat to our natural vegetation. When it spreads from plantings to other areas, it often forms dense thickets and the variety of indigenous plants are replaced by a monotonous stretch of black wattle. This tree is also known as “Australian black wattle”, “tan wattle” and “wattle”. In Afrikaans it is also referred to as “swartwattel”, “swartbasboom”, “basboom”, “wattel”, “looiwattel” and “blikwortelboom”.

The Importance of Wetlands
‘We all live downstream’ is the theme for Working for Wetlands 2009 and shows the need for good management of river systems. Unfortunately over the years the wetlands in Stutterheim have become overgrown with wattles and the ground has literally dried up and has become useless. For this reason, ATA in partnership with Aspire, Amahlathi Municipality, Wildlife South Africa and DWAF, have targeted our local wetland as a project. Considering that the municipality has two boreholes which supply town with water, it will benefit us all to eradicate the wattle population which consumes much more water than indigenous trees. The first phase is to ring bark all the trees, then to clear the land. Once the wetland has been cleared of invader plants and begins to function again, rain water will be allowed to stand, draining into underground aquifers from which the boreholes pump the water and thereby securing a better water source for the population of Stutterheim.
Food For Thought - Water Hyacinth in the Kubusie River
From a tourism perspective the unpopular Water Hyacinth, can turn our crafts markets around with a twist. Including furniture such as beds, chairs, frames, bowl and tables. These are some of the vast range of opportunities this water alien can be used in many positive ways.

Introduced as an ornamental plant to South Africa in the early 1900’s, the water hyacinth originates from the Amazon basin. Unfortunately this beautiful species is now considered the world’s worst water weed by the World Conservation Union.

The Worm Man of Stutterheim
Charlie Frost has been farming in Stutterheim for 23 years and has always had an interest in organics, but for the last 3 years has been quietly and slowly growing his worm farm. He started with only 1000 worms and now has several, large breeding beds and has designed his own kits which are used for both household and commercial use. Normal compost requires turning, a long and labour intensive process when done commercially, but with worms you have a willing labour force to make the compost for you. The result is compost with superior moisture and nutrient holding capabilities and all these nutrients are in a readily bio-available form. ‘Black Gold’ as it is known also has an exceptionally high and diverse microbial population.

The type of worm used is the Red Wriggler or Eisenia Foetidia which is exotic to this country but has been imported over the years from the Northern Hemisphere in soil media. Charles Darwin was so impressed by the worms that he called them ‘the intestines of the planet’ and stated that they had basically ploughed over the entire world. They can eat their own body weight of food every 24 hours and in ideal conditions, the adults can double the population in roughly a 60 day period.

Experience