Recently, we did a roughly 15km hike at the bottom of the Tugela Waterfall, in the Tugela Gorge. Here we were confronted with the strange and the beautiful, plants that I had never seen in my life before, and familiar ones, all put together in arguably one of the most beautiful places in South Africa. The Tugela Waterfall is apparently one of the highest in the world, but irrespective of this fact, the natural and untouched beauty presented by this place is unmatched. My girlfriend did an amazing write-up of the trail itself on her page, illustrating just how amazing the trail itself is.

In this post, I want to share with you the more intimate details, the hike from up close, through my camera lens. Or from a more “macro” perspective, even though it is not true macro photography. The strange plants, the beautiful flowers, it all adds to the colourful experience which I want to share with you. When I hike, I always walk at the back because I constantly bend down to look at the flowers, taking as many photographs as possible. This is not optimal for those who want to hike faster and finish the hike. Hence the reason why I always walk behind.

I hope that you enjoy this series of photographs, of the beautiful and strange, hidden in the forests of the Tugela Gorge.

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The Strange and the Beautiful

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Postscriptum, or Lay My Body to Rest in the Forest of Old

If I could, I would pack up all my things and live in the forest. I would build myself a small hut, I would study every single plant and tree, fungi and mushroom, and I would live according to nature’s whim. But this is obviously utopian thinking as so much can go wrong, a sudden drought can kill everything, a sudden flood can take everything with it. Food can go away, and I will be left to my own thoughts until my body becomes one with the soil. This idyllic lifestyle always comes with the caveat that you have a type of fallback or alternative which can help you as soon as things get too bad. But the thing about detaching yourself from modern life is that you cannot have that fallback… But still, the life inside of a forest looks so peaceful, the smells, the air you breathe, the sound of the cicadas, the constant reminder that things will be all right.

In any case, I hope that you enjoyed these photographs. I thoroughly enjoyed hiking in the woods, and I enjoyed taking these photographs.

If I could, I would hike here every single day.

Happy photographing and stay safe.

All of the photographs are my own, taken with my Nikon D300 and Nikkor 50mm lens. The writings and musings are also my own, albeit inspired by and influenced by the fresh air and beauty.