The craggy landscape beckons and the late afternoon light casts a spell. Hiking along a ridge line above the coast from Olifantsbos (Cape of Good Hope Reserve) shadows and shapes merge – figures appear. Buck species like the shy Grey Rhebok keep a distance and then meld with the scenery. Red Hartebeest scamper behind boulders. Eland, the largest of the antelope species, show their majestic form. As they pass in front of the ochre coloured sandstone they blend with the rocks, and with a shift in imagination – like slipping through a portal to travel through time and space, a different realm appears. There was a time when animals were people and the San Bushmen captured scenes depicted in their rock art when Hare, Mantis and Eland had different stories to tell.
Nature on the Edge 
Nice pictures of them from the present and the past.
I lived in Simon’s Town and loved taking a day off to drive around the Cape Point Reserve looking out for the wildlife. Specifically kept an eye out for the Eland but found they were shy and not always easy to see and yes they blended in beautifully with the fynbos around the rocks. I really love yyor photographs, thank you very much.
Thanks for your comments Shulamith. Glad to have sparked memories of your time here. Perhaps we’re seeing the eland with a reverence of old? They have a majestic air about them and it’s uplifting to see their regal nature.
In Iceland there are legends of the Hidden People, a race of secret figures who hide amongst the nation’s rocky landscape and can only be glimpsed as fleeting shadows. I can only imagine how an Icelander would feel about this place.
Love the imaginative quest of those two mythologies; how those spirit-animists would relate to the differing landscapes. I reckon Kaggan (The San Bushmen’s trickster god) would have given Ymir a run for his money. I’ve visited Iceland and was gripped by that dynamic and compelling landscape; could quite believe there were elves lurking about :).
Oh what a place to live! You had me dreaming of living there for while so I could see such things on my daily walks. Still, I do get to see sometimes beaver, racoons, and woodpeckers, and frequently squirrels, so I have no complaints.
Alison
Maybe your travel adventures will lead to this end of the world? I so admire your intrepid quest for getting out of the daily rut to experience life in the broadest sense.
Wonderful pictures, thanks for sharing.
Appreciate your comments, thanks.
Great pix, Liz. I wish more people remembered our connection to the animals and land these days.
If only; instead of man’s merciless ways!
I just love the last photo Liz. Excellent colours and composition
Thanks Abrie. Isn’t he a beauty! Regal stature 🙂
What an appropriate title. Lovely images and thought provoking words.
Thanks Jude. This landscape is all layered in history 🙂
I love how you describe your surroundings! You really capture the essence of the land and the way the animals inhabit it.
Thank you I really appreciate this comment, Maddi. Glad to have portrayed the connection between land and animal.
Loved this post, the way you wove the present and the past together.
Thanks Andrea.
It is so magnificent! i understand the red pictures : the millenium pleasure to paint!
Creative thought! It’s like a hologram transporting the artist through different realms.