Veld School

Nature School for those of you not from here, something I grew up with as a kid and I think it's rubbed off on me. Maybe this trail we went on will do the same for our little folk.

With tales of snakes and cattle thieves Trevor and his second in command had them eating out of their hands. According to them these are some of the more interesting and unusual facts about some of our flora.

"Wild Cucumber": Xhosa tradition has it that a snake can replenish it's poison from this fruit only once it has turned red. This article on Page 4 is interesting.

"River Naboom": The name actually means like a tree or after a tree and as you can see it's actually a succulant with a milk sap that's extremely potent.
In Xhosa it's called a twin bush and is planted next a hut with twins in the family.

The San used it to stun fish in river pools.

Cattle thieves rubbed it on the hides of cattle. The hair would fall out and grow back a different colour, making the cattle impossible to identify. Click here for even more.

"Knob Tree": The bark of which is used for loads of things ranging from tooth ache to stomach ailments. But my favourite fact is that the Xhosa name for it is "European Titties"

If you ever find yourdelf in the Trennerys area on the Wild Coast I would highly recommend Trevors Trails. I enjoyed it so much I went back with the kids and they certainly had fun.