The Dendrology Society visits Storms River Village
Branching out – who ‘wood’ have thought?
The Outeniqua branch of the Dendrology Society not only helped our caring, nature-centric community with a dedicated tree identification event, they also took time out to experience the glorious vibe of Storms River Village and all that it has to offer.
Storms River Village is a charming and picturesque historical hamlet set in the heart of the Tsitsikamma. Renowned for its massive Plaatbos and Goesa Forests with an abundance of fauna & flora, outdoor adventures and its friendly, all-inclusive people hemmed in by nature, it’s no wonder these enthusiastic tree-lovers agreed to use this unique destination for their annual mid-week outing.
Shortly after their arrival and with the prospect of a microbrewery tour close at hand, the Dendro team was quick to muster together in this quaint building.
Built in the late 1800’s and lovingly modified in the early 2000’s, it is today a charming microbrewery with an ambience that fuses the old with the new. Led by Liam, an excellent orator and knowledgeable guide, the Dendros got to experience the intricacies of how our unique craft beer is made, and tasted a flavoursome range, from light Weiss to dark ale – the perfect trigger for a braai and a performance of carefully selected songs about trees, composed by Robert Smith.
After a day of travel, beer tasting and a braai-cum- sing-along, it was time to settle into an array of comfortable accommodation the Village has to offer.
Day 2 saw the Dendros head in various directions. With some targeting the Garden Route National Parks’ Storms River Mouth Camp and world-acclaimed forest meander to the suspension bridge which traverses the Storms River mouth, while others paid a visit to our famous Big Tree (Afrocarpus falcatus), deemed to be between 800 and a 1000 years old.
Others were drawn to the intrigue of the Goesa Trail, so named after one of a handful of historical Moravian Mission Stations scattered in and around the Tsitsikamma. This was all the precursor to building an appetite for the lunch that followed in our western township. An eating and local vibe experience that topped many a Dendro’s lifetime highlights, thanks to Kasi Corner’s hosts Jakes and Ncediswa and their outstanding hospitality, local food and prices that had no chance of breaking any bank.
The day closed with an interactive session between SANParks’ Sydney Mikosi (16 times a SANParks’ Kudu Award winner and recipient of the Ministerial Award for his impeccable dedication towards Conservation), local SANParks Honorary Rangers, represented by (Adv) Johann Muller and Gorgio Lambardi, while Christiaan Viljoen, Curator of the Garden Route Botanical Gardens gave an excellent account of the work he does in George and an in-depth peek into the power of iNaturalist, an App capturing specific fauna and flora photographed by all and sundry and automatically assigned to ‘Storms River Village and Plaatbos Project’ area.
Whilst this is powerful on its own, the real power lies in attracting people to our Village and forests because of these special sightings – a powerful marketing tool, if you will. Our local field guides ‘feasted’ on what Christiaan had to say about this amazing App, so much so that a second session was held a day later.
Day 3, the pièce de résistance for our Dendrology guests – legging it along our newly renamed Leopard Loop Trail, tagging some hitherto unnamed trees and re-tagging trees that had lost their tags with the passage of time. Describing our forests as ancient, pristine and populated with trees of a size not often seen, is how Robert Smith, the Outeniqua Branch Chairperson summerised his experience.
A tractor-trailer ride down to Thomas Bain Bridge, a picnic lunch on the picnic site on the banks of the Storms River overlooking the low-level bridge, rounded off the day beautifully. It was then time to pack-up the picnic goodies and return up the pass. On the way up, Emo the field guide, gave a wonderful account of how the contour path was once used by migrating elephants in the 1800’s and how Thomas Bain and his team of convicts, between 1883 and 1887, used this line of least resistance to build this magnificent pass. He also pointed out the ‘Dry-stonewall’ engineering feats en route, that had clearly stood the test of time. And of course, a stop next to the “tree with a face” (a large Hard Pear) concluded a stunning day out.
A big vote of thanks goes to Emo (Field Guide), Martin (the Maintenance Manager seconded to drive the tractor), and their employer, Storms River Adventures, for providing an outstanding service.
