Marloth: Duiwelsbos Waterfall

Date: 8 August 2010

Location: Marloth Nature Reserve, near Swellendam

Walkers: Helen & Ian

Previous walk in the Marloth here. Map of the reserve here.

This is one of the few short walks I haven't done in the Marloth Reserve, so was the first choice for a quick leg stretch between cold fronts.



The path heads straight into the indigenous forest, alongside a stream.




We got a quick glimpse of the hillside to our right. Although there was some sunshine around it was very windy, and cold in the shade of the forest.



The path climbed steadily which got the heart-rate up pretty quickly.



There wasn't much colour in the forest this time of year, except for some pale purple plectranthus. And of course the yellow route-markers.



Swellendam has been in the grip of a severe drought the last few years. Despite recent rains there wasn't much water in the stream and the pools looked stagnant. There was also a lot of dry undergrowth.




We also noticed plenty of fallen wood in the forest, possibly also a result of drought. Poor old forest, it didn't look in very good shape at all.





As we climbed the wind began to gust strongly and it was rather noisy.




It wasn't long til we reached the waterfall, not much more than a trickle at the moment.



It has three levels. Must be amazing in full spate.



We could see that the pool below was very low. I imagine when there is a lot of water around and in the heat of summer this could be a lovely swimming hole.



We sat on the rocks , had a snack and enjoyed the pretty spot.



Then we followed the same route down. Once out the forest we noticed that the fynbos on nearby slopes seemed to be doing fine.




The clouds were down low, hiding the O'clock peaks from view. Brr, it was cold, and more rain on the way for sure. We headed home for a cup of tea.


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