Honouring Tempus primum
on Dec 18, 2023On a late afternoon deep into September, cotton ball clouds form and aggregate. The winds pick up and the humidity becomes relentless. Looking over his shoulder and pointing to the heavens, tracker Dollen with his radiating smile utters “Mpfula (rain) is coming Boetie!”.
The clouds spill out onto the dust covered Sabi Sabi restoring the colours to their former glory. Replenishing the energy levels of all living things instantly. The arrival of the first rains signifies the beginning of spring and are precursors to an impressive ecological transformation to the reserve. Before delving into the transformation, it ought to be interesting to know some background on the origins of the term ‘spring’.
Spring can be defined as the season after winter and before summer, in which new vegetation growth begins to appear. Spring also signifies the transfer of energy forwards and/or upwards such as jumping or leaping – to life. A spring can also be defined as fountain of water arising from the ground, providing life to the surroundings. These definitions, although vastly different, all glorify the season of spring in some way, yet we only started calling the season “spring” from the 1600’s. Before that the season was known as ‘prime-temps’ derived from the Latin ‘tempus primum’, meaning the first season. Later the phrase ‘spring of the leaf’ came to light describing the time when plants begin to regrow their foliage, which was then consequently shortened to what we now know as spring or springtime.
Some of the first spring additions to the bush would be the welcome splashes of reds, pinks, whites, yellows, and blues originating from a vast array of wildflowers blooming shortly after the first rains. One of the most awaited flowers is the unmistakable Fireball Lily (Scadoxus multiflorus). These massive balls of up to 200 red florets can be found in shaded thickets where they will grow one flower head per season. Although considered to be poisonous, traditionally the Fireball Lily has been used in South Africa to treat coughs and gastro-intestinal problems as well as a medicine taken during pregnancy to ensure safe delivery of a baby. Some cultures also believe that an emetic made from the Fireball Lily will cleanse and purify an individual and acts as a love charm to make them more attractive to their loved one.
The Elephant’s Trunk (Urginea altissima) is another gorgeous arrangement of many white flowers standing up to 1.8m tall. These tall plants have bulbs below the ground that contain toxins that cause skin irritations just by handling the bulbs, hence the Afrikaans name ‘Jeukbol’ meaning ‘itch-bulb’. The bulbs are however prepared into poultices in some cultures to treat swelling and gout as well as abdominal pains. Amongst many other species hosted on Sabi Sabi, touches of pink and purple are added by Spring Gladiolus flowers (Gladiolus brachyphyllus) whilst blues and yellows are added by Blue Wander Jew flowers (Commelina benghalensis) and African Wandering Jew flowers (Commelina africana).
The bloom of fresh shoots and flowers filled with nectar attract an abundance of creatures out of their winter hideouts, kick starting a massive snowball effect as the biodiversity increases. Insects are usually the first to emerge, some seeking the sweet nectar and in turn providing essential pollination, whilst critters such Millipedes emerge to seek fresh shoots and moist decaying vegetation. These arthropods (bugs) are vitally important for the regeneration and well-being of not only the vegetation but also other larger creatures, since they in turn become the food others need to survive.
Frogs and toads are generally the next to awake from their winter slumber eager to prey on the many invertebrates fluttering about. They also utilise this time to find a mate, consequently resulting in fabulous after dark choirs of hundreds of individuals bellowing out their existence to the world. The warming temperatures and ever-increasing abundance of food energise some of the lesser-liked cold-blooded members of the slithery kind, snakes. Although Sabi Sabi hosts many different snake species, it is not a common sight and when seen it quickly draws a crowd. These snakes prey on a variety of animals ranging from small mammals and birds to amphibians and tiny invertebrates. Gorging themselves in preparation for the next winter’s phase of inactivity. It is worth mentioning that snakes in South Africa don’t go into a full state of torpor (inactivity) during the winter as our winter temperatures hardly ever reach low enough to initiate brumation (like hibernation, but for reptiles) and may emerge from their resting spots on warmer days to bask in the sun or to seek water.
Remember the snowball effect referred to earlier in the text? So, the flowers and shoots that fed the arthropods - that fed the frogs and the toads - that fed the slithery snakes, also feed birds many of which are migrants. These birds do not only seek flowers and nectar but also feed on the arthropods, frogs, toads, and snakes, amongst many others. Suddenly, a little sprout or flower has become the foundation upon which an entire food chain was built. Glorious, isn’t it? Back to birds.
South Africa receives a vast number of bird species that migrate to South Africa from all over the world, most of which are spring/summer visitors, reason being the abundance of food sources and for some its safe breeding grounds. These migrants range from the iridescent Violet-backed Starling to the large and gracious Black Stork and even some regal eagles such as Wahlberg’s eagles, Steppe eagles and the Lesser Spotted. Now, a couple of weeks after the first rainfall and the commencing of spring we find ourselves in a world completely different, filled with more life and painted in magnificent colours. The dull brown, dry and dusty landscape literally springs to life with luminous greens and vibrant reds, pinks and yellows all appearing mere days after the first spring rains.
The thought of celebrating and honouring the season of spring came from one particular question often asked by guests. “When is the best time of year to go on a safari getaway?” The answer to this should be any time, but heavily depends on who you ask and most often the answer is winter. Understandably so, in winter the landscape becomes very dry, dull to some, with little foliage increasing visibility, very low chance of rain and nice cool temperatures. These conditions sound exquisite, but my opinion is that if one could add a little bit of colour and perhaps some water to the winterscape, you would have optimal safari conditions, right? Well, that’s where my fondness for spring had sprung. It’s the way the dull bush absolutely shapeshifts into a colour saturated wonderland teeming with even more life than before. So, in conclusion and to answer the question, the best time to go on a safari getaway is any time, however, spring just appeals to me a tad more than the other seasons and would definitely be my suggested best time of year for a safari getaway.
Blog by JP van Rooyen (Bush Lodge Ranger)
