This post is for the #wednesdaywalk challenge and the #makemesmile challenge collaboration. This collaboration initially took place once a month, but due to its popularity, @tattoodjay (of the #wednesdaywalk) and @elizacheng (of #makemesmile) decided to make it a weekly thing.
If you want to know more about the rules, visit this post by @tattoodjay where you will find all the rules at the bottom of his post after you've enjoyed his beautiful photos from his walk.
I would like to bring a slight twist to my theme for today's post. Instead of the theme being "the walk", I would like to have a theme of "waterfalls" for today's post.
As you know, over the past year, we have visited quite a variety of places. On many of our walks, I have encountered waterfalls...some were smaller in size while others have been quite impressive. In general, I love waterfalls. Whether it's small or big, just a little trickle or powerful, I love water, especially if it makes noise while it's moving...lol.
I can spend hours at/on the water.
Today, I would love to highlight some of the waterfalls we have seen over the last year or so. With some, we couldn't really get up close to it, while sometimes, with others, we could really get close.
Krantzkloof.
In the name, Krantzkloof, there is German, Dutch, and Afrikaans influence (credit to Wiktionary):
- German: Kranz.
- Dutch: Krans (Dutch), Crans (Middle Dutch).
- Afrikaans: Krans
- Plural: Krantzes (in South Africa) An encircling or overhanging wall of rock.
In Afrikaans, we normally refer to rocks as "krans" (in singular form for example an overhanging rock), or "kranse" (plural).
The Afrikaans word "kloof" means gorge.
Krantzkloof is an area, actually, a gorge running through between two suburban areas, Kloof and Waterfall in the Upper Highway area, West of Durban in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.
This is where you will find the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve which covers a huge area.
Unfortunately, the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve is still closed due to flood damage repairs after the floods we had last year.
We did go for a walk along the side of Kloof though, from where we had a view of the gorge.
From here we managed to get a glimpse of a waterfall from a distance.
I recently became aware of another waterfall in this area, and I believe I should be able to get close to it. It is on a hiking trail through the forest in the gorge. Our oldest daughter said she would love to join me on a hike to this waterfall. So it is definitely on the agenda for the near future.
Giba Gorge.
Giba Gorge is a beautiful, fun place to visit just a few minutes from where we stay, still west of Durban, but a little closer to Durban.
Giba Gorge is known for its mountain biking activities...but it is way more than just a mountain biking facility.
Besides mountain biking trails, they also have running trails and hiking trails. They also cater for rides on horseback, team-building events, and more.
But what I like to share with you today, is one of the waterfalls that you can reach via one of their hiking trails.
A few months ago, I walked this trail. It is a walk of about 5 KM one way to get to Giba Falls.
It's not a massive waterfall, yet it is beautiful and it was a welcome site after the 5 KM walk on a hot day.
Paradise Valley.
Our next visit was also just a few minutes from where we are staying.
We went hiking on one of the hiking trails in Paradise Valley.
The Paradise Valley Nature Reserve covers about 100 hectares of coastal and remnant grassland.
Following the hiking trail, it takes about half an hour (one way) to reach the waterfall in Paradise Valley.
This is a beautiful waterfall. We approached it from behind, arriving at the top end of the waterfall.
Getting a bit closer to the edge, watching the water tumbling down over the edge...
The water rushing over the edge, falling into the pool below us...
Can you see the rainbow in the water?
We then followed the trail to the bottom of the falls.
Zooming in on the water...
Howick Falls.
The last waterfall I would like to share with you for today is the Howick Falls in Howick.
The town, Howick, is more inland, about 88 KM west of Durban.
The Howick Falls lies in the Umgeni River which flows through the town of Howick. According to Wikipedia, the waterfall is approximately 95 m in height (310 feet).
Wikipedia also shares the following interesting information about human interaction with the waterfall:
Human interaction
- Many people have been swept over the falls, especially in the pioneer days of the province, as some settlers thought the easiest place to cross the river was just above the falls. There have been a recorded 40 deaths surrounding Howick falls with the first recorded death occurring in 1851. Most of these have been recorded as suicides but accidents and murder have also been known to happen, contributing to if not maintaining the local legendary status of the falls. In 1999, Jeb Corliss had a near-fatal BASE jump into the waterfalls where his chute opening went asymmetric and he could not avoid flying into the downpouring water.
Here is a photo I took on one of our recent outings to Howick in the Midlands Meander.
In the next photo, I tried to get more emphasis on the height of the waterfall, with the water tumbling right to the bottom before the Umgeni River continues toward the ocean.
Howick Falls has become a popular tourist attraction for the Kwazulu-Natal midlands.
And that's it for today, folks.
Thank you for reading my post! I do appreciate it!
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