Nature is amazing in her beauty, and we humans always have a tendency to accentuate it but also to ruin it. The immense beauty of any rainforest cannot be understated.
But this places an incredible burden on our shoulders to protect and save these enclaves. Not just for our own aesthetic appreciation, but for the preservation of life as such. But humans rarely rise up to the occasion to save and rather neglect.
In this virtual travel post, I take you to the stunning Lowveld National Botanical Garden situated in Mpumalanga, South Africa. I show you another stunning waterfall and what they call an African Rainforest. I also muse about the trash that collides with nature at the stunning place betwixt the city and plantations.
Without further ado, please join me on this virtual journey to the Lowveld!
The Stunning Waterfall
As you can see from the posts I have made recently, there are so many waterfalls in the Mpumalanga area. It is stunning beyond words.
One feels so small between the immense and wondrous beauty. You can just stand there and take everything in. In a rather existential philosophical moment, you also realize the radical freedom you possess to jump into the water. It looks so nice, and in a different world made from jelly, we could do that. But as things are now, this will not end well. Please enjoy the video below of the beautiful waterfall.
It is amazing how water just accumulates at certain points to form these vast bodies of rushing water.
This is called the crocodile river if I am not mistaken. It is the famous river next to which the Leopard creek golf is built. Various wild game reserves are fed by these waters, yet we treat it like a waste system. But more on this is down below.
Walking in an African Rain Forrest
Rather paradoxically, this African Rainforest aerial walk betwixt the city and plantations is sponsored by SAPPI which is the "South African Pulp and Paper Industries". They did a wonderful job of creating a stunning walkway through the small rainforest, but one cannot help but think that this is a little bit of window-dressing or trying to take out attention away from the bigger problem of deforestation. But let us not go down this rabbit hole.
They played out a fast netword of small pathways connecting the rainforest. This leads to the aerial pathways.
Again rather paradoxically, the pathways are built from wood supplied by probably a SAPPI pine plantation. But this is speculation from my side.
There are also loads of informational boards leading to one learning a lot about the local fauna and flora.
Beautiful Nature
Below, I share with you some of the spectacular beauty on display at the botanical garden. Various indigenous plants provide a breathtaking showcase of South African nature. Not to dampen the mood again, but one is struck at how little animal life there is. For a rainforest, it is rather empty of animal life. Before I continue this line of thought, please enjoy the beautiful nature!
Where Nature and Trash Collide
And now I return to the rather depressing collide of nature and trash. Throughout the whole botanical garden, one is struck by all the trash. Can humans really not just throw their trash in the provided trashcan?
But where does that trash end up? Probably in the river, as seen below. Apparently, after some good rain, the trash is washed away but this just pollutes the river down below. It is sad that even the botanical garden had to put up boards about this problem.
As you can see above, the river is polluted. Poverty in the area is probably a big contributor to the problem. But is this an excuse to keep on going like that? Where will it end?
As you walk through the rainforest, you get to an area where the smell of raw sewage hit you in the face. You look down and then you see the source of the smell. How can we hurt beautiful nature like this? How can something so beautiful be contrasted with something so awful?
And now masks, everywhere masks. I wish I could pick it up, but one can so easily slip and fall. We as humans know how to create so much waste, but we cannot deal with it. We can do so much better, yet we choose to go for the cheapest option, feeling the hungry system to produce even more.
And then you walk past a tree with human carvings on the bark. You think to yourself, why? Why would people want their name semi-permanently written on a tree that might die due to this? I cannot understand humans.
Finding Solace in a Labyrinth
But not all is bad. You get around the corner and in front of you is a beautiful labyrinth on an open piece of grass. You find solace or peace there to calm your nerves from the strange anger you feel against humans for their destructive power.
There is even a small butterfly to calm your nerves. I am not sure about the purpose of these human-made objects are. But in due time when no one knows it might be speculated that it is alien creation. Jokes aside, they are pretty random for a supposed rainforest.
Ending the Walk with a Drink or Two
The information center is really beautifully built. There is a stunning restaurant there where you can have a drink or two after the walk.
It was empty when we were there, we had the place for ourselves. It has that classical "African" feeling towards it you sometimes see in the movies. Alas, the drinks were good.
Postscriptum, or So Long, For Now, Until Next Time
And so our walk ends and we walk back to the car with mixed feelings. I wish I could pick up all the trash but is your bodily well-being worth it? Maybe not. Nature's beauty is immense and spectacular, yet we as humans can so easily destroy it. We should do better.
In any case, I hope you enjoyed this virtual tour with me. All the photographs are my own, taken with my iPhone and Nikon D300. All the musings are also my own. Take care, stay well, be safe, and happy traveling!