Discoveries · Cango Valley
Where the veld
sets the pace.
At Oude Olien Guest Farm, the landscape is the main event.
In the Cango Valley, at the foot of the Swartberg, the invitation is simply to slow down and look. We stayed at Oude Koos Cottage: a private, completely off-grid observation post for two, with a deck looking across indigenous aloe veld towards the valley.
An outdoor shower brings the day into the open air; a fireplace and built-in braai draw it towards evening. Then there is the wood-fired hot tub, positioned for stargazing. Long after the shapes of the veld disappear into darkness, there is still something to look at.
A closer look · 3 × 3 metres
An ordinary square. A world of detail.
Our Oude Olien veld-survey record began with a deliberately ordinary-looking patch of genuinely undisturbed veld. The idea was to notice what was already there, resisting the temptation to choose the prettiest or most species-rich spot.
- Choose a 3 × 3 metre patch. Look for ordinary, undisturbed veld and leave it as you find it.
- Begin with one wide photograph. Stand several metres away and include the whole patch with enough surrounding landscape to show its setting.
- Get close and photograph every visibly distinct plant. Names can wait. Include the tiny, scruffy and apparently insignificant plants between the showier ones; they may be the most interesting discoveries of all.
The veld-survey record
Explore our living square.
Select a numbered marker or choose a plant record to see its photographs and identification notes. Rotate or tilt the plot to explore it from another angle.
Positions and heights are illustrative, not measured. Identifications retain the original confidence notes and the observations needed to confirm them.
Oude Olien · a living square
Position: illustrative placement; individual coordinates were not recorded.