Ezemvelo reserve near Pretoria is open to the public, and while big game is absent (but there are probably leopards in the rocky hills, there are ample small things to amuse. Most of the animals that roamed this high plateau in days gone by are found here. First was some Zebra (Equus Quagga) with psychedelic stripes to confuse predators and stinging flies.

The Gnu had no such defense. Very tasty, they were hunted almost to extinction. From a small herd of about 15 animals, they were bred back, and are now freely available to game farmers.

The wide open spaces also favor many other species. Here a small herd of Blesbok grazes where mining prospectors passed, where our earliest ancestors hunted.

They provided food for the first nations, the Khoisan people who have lived here since the dawn of time, and who are probably the oldest of our ancestors still living. But alas, these people have been exterminated and are now only found in remote regions.

Plants provide endless fascination. Apart from the varieties of grasses, the indigenous and introduced trees, and other plants, we found some really shy but interesting plants. The frithia has a small window on its hidden body through which the sun can shine on to chlorophyll, but there are no leaves to dry out or attract grazers. 

There were monkeys too. Apart from the naughty vervet monkeys, we spotted these two on a rock. 

This reserve offers a little paradise for urbanites. But there is a snake too. On the horizon looms a controversial coal-fired power station, and an open-cast colliery. The price of progress.