We have a very dedicated team of people who volunteer their time and effort in eradicating the invasive pine tree in the Drakensberg. They have concentrated their efforts in the Monks Cowl/Steilberg/Vaalribbokkop areas and they get together every couple of months to tackle this huge task. I joined them this last weekend to see firsthand what it all entailed. Admittedly I was also very keen to get out in to the Berg again! The forecast was for wet and cool weather and we set off under overcast skies, having got a lift with Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife to the foot of the Steilberg. The team were heavily laden with climbing gear, bow saws and chain saws in addition to their backpacks and we made steady progress to the work site which was situated on the side of the Steilberg facing the escarpment. The guys got straight down to work and tackled a very steep gully that had a lot of big pine trees that were already well established. Notes and measurements were also taken as this is invaluable to research projects. By the time they called it a day, the area that had been cleared was noticeable and we headed off to Stable Cave, our home for the night. The weather had behaved and the rain stayed away although the mist came in as dusk fell and we had heavy rain during the night.
Work continued under blue skies the following morning with the ropes and gear being used to get to the steeper bottom sections of the gully - dangerous and hard work! By the end of the weekend, a total of 56 Pines had been cleared. Well done team!
