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c.1770CLOUDSKRAAL
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Water, stone & the living veld

A field guide to the wet places, flowers and wildlife in and around Cloudskraal. Follow the water through the farm, then look closer at the different worlds held in clay, sandstone and quartz.

An aerial view of an oval dam on the edge of the krans at sunset, the Knersvlakte beyond
A vleiland at the edge of the krans, with the Knersvlakte beyond. Photograph by Alex Nel.18 August 2023

The land that holds water

Some of the most interesting ground is wet for only part of the year. Around Nieuwoudtville, seasonal pans, seeps and wet valley bottoms create habitats that change as the winter rains arrive and the ground dries again.

On the farm, Melkvlei and Groenvlei are named vleilande, with Flaminklvlei at Garsland. The family uses Onderste Dam, Boonste Dam, Garsland Dam and Gaaitjie for swimming through the year. These dams are a different water setting from the surrounding wet ground.

In spring, Alex describes a stream running through Popelierbos towards Nieuwoudtville Waterfall, in the Doring River catchment. The shade of the poplars, a moving stream and the open vleis offer different ways to experience water in this landscape.

Farm places and seasonal water observations from Alex Nel, October 2026. The regional wetland account is described by the Department of Water and Sanitation · Nieuwoudtville wetlands, section 17.5.

Reeds, rushes & small wetland worlds

A feathery common reed is a grass. Papkuil has a dense brown flower spike and belongs to another family. Sedges, true rushes and restios add other forms. Identifying them means looking at the stems, leaves and flower heads, rather than calling every tall wetland plant a reed.

Dense reedbeds can be natural habitat, providing cover for wildlife. Their extent can also change with water, nutrients and disturbance. A photograph alone cannot tell that whole story.

The Bokkeveld’s seasonal pools have their own botanical history, including tiny wetland ferns. A summer-dry pool can still be an important wet place.

SANBI · Classification of South African wetlands

Water Research Commission · WET-Health

SANBI · Plants in Peril: Bokkeveld vernal pools

The farm’s water places
Melkvlei
One of the farm's vleilande, identified by Alex.
Groenvlei
A second named vleiland in the farm landscape.
Flaminklvlei
The vleiland at Garsland; the place name is retained as supplied by Alex.
Onderste Dam
Used by the family for swimming through the year.
Boonste Dam
Used by the family for swimming through the year.
Garsland Dam
Used by the family for swimming through the year.
Gaaitjie
One of the year-round swimming dams named by Alex.
Popelierbos
Alex describes a spring stream running through the poplar wood towards Nieuwoudtville Waterfall, in the Doring River catchment.

A different veld, a few steps away

Flower country is a mosaic. The red clays around dolerite koppies, stony tillite ground and sandstone fynbos support different plant communities. A scented arum in a wet rock crevice belongs to a very particular setting; rooibos cultivation and the wild flora beside it have their own stories.

Spring is only one chapter. Alex’s Maartblomme photographs record an autumn display in March 2021. Flowering responds to the season’s conditions, so the dates in this guide are observations and regional windows, rather than promises.

SANBI · Hantam geology

Pink Maartblomme covering the red earth at dusk, with the plain stretching to the horizon
Maartblomme across the plateau. The name is Alex’s; the photographs await a species-level check.29 March 2021
Small plants growing between white quartz stones on the escarpment edge
Plants among the quartz stones. Their identities are still to be checked.11 July 2026

Below the krans: the Knersvlakte

The lower plain’s white quartz patches shelter specialised dwarf succulents. This is a different setting from the plateau above. The guide keeps lower-Knersvlakte records attached to that geography, so a regional plant name is never assigned to a farm photograph simply because quartz appears in the frame.

CapeNature · Knersvlakte management plan

Some stay. Some return with the season.

Bird movement has more than one rhythm. Blue cranes move locally and gather in flocks. Lesser kestrels visit southern Africa from the northern hemisphere. Black harriers can travel seasonally within Africa.

The European bee-eater in Alex’s October 2021 photograph is one of the farm’s recorded visitors. The species includes both long-distance visitors and birds that migrate within Africa; this individual’s journey cannot be read from its photograph.

Barn swallows show another connection between migration and wet places: communal reedbed roosts are documented in southern Africa. A roost has not been recorded on Cloudskraal in this guide.

Three blue cranes in a green field, one with its wings raised in display
Blue cranes in display in the family photograph archive.27 August 2023
A European bee-eater in flight against a white sky
A European bee-eater, identified by Alex as a farm visitor.21 October 2021
A yellow weaver in flight beside its woven green nest
A weaver at Popelierbos. The species remains unconfirmed.29 August 2025
SANBI · Crane movements: Farming for the FutureSouthern African Bird Atlas · European bee-eaterBiodiversity and Development Institute · Barn swallow

The species guide

Explore plants, birds and other wildlife by name or habitat. Owner-identified photographs record particular observations. Regional records come from published accounts of the surrounding country; they are not all farm sightings. Some are historical and are labelled in their notes.

Wider-range references give broader context, while identification comparisons help distinguish plants such as reeds and bulrushes. Open an entry for its notes, seasonal context and sources. The guide can grow as dated photographs and checked identifications are added.

Flowering and wildlife activity windows are regional guides and depend on conditions. Unknown seasons do not mean absence, and a regional entry does not establish farm presence.

258 entries

Keep looking, in the photographs and on the land

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