KZN midlands Archives

Peeping Inhlosane

A good portion of my personal fishing history, has developed upon a patch of landscape from which the Inhlosane mountain is in view. Often the mountain is barely in sight, when some fishing tale unfolds. It might be in the background at some obscure and seldom seen angle, or it might just be peeping over the horizon, its furrowed brow of wrinkled cliffs crowning the ridge, like some concerned Grandpa looking in. Like an elderly father figure, concerned for the way things might turn out. Its dome giving away its ever watchful presence from afar. The Inhlosane must have looked

14 March 2016

Midlands roundup

Sitting at home in Maritzburg, Durban, or wherever else one hails from, a flyfisherman is plagued with the problem of not knowing what the Trout waters up there in the hills are looking like. I am off to work soon, but had the good fortune of trundling around in the Kamberg area over the last few days. So here is an update for those of you lucky enough to still have some leave: We are still very much in the grip of drought, in that many dams are very low, and rivers have still not had a “spring flush”. The

3 January 2016

First rains

Oh September rain You drench my folded vale. Your cold and cheerless mist Like linen, soft and pale. But you seduce. You persist. And your verdant prize Is my Holy Grail. Gone be fawn and dust. Out with brown and drought! It is your sparkling stream for which I lust. And water for my Trout. Come grace us with your driving squalls, And saturate us in your dew. Oh how I have prayed for you! Explanation. August here in the KZN midlands is not a pretty time of year. At the end of a long winter, the

30 August 2013

A few lines on a cloudy winter morning

A cloudy winter dawn The first light of day brings honking geese Hinting at what lies beyond the drawn curtains, and out across the drab patchwork landscape: Low slung cloud, and dampened dust, Odours of dead wet kikuyu grass, and a wafting hint of silage, hanging in the still morning air. And farmyard sounds that carry in the silence Pervading morning memories of childhood on the farm. Nostalgia nestled in the moment, Like my sleepy being in this warm bed. Commentary/explanation

14 August 2013

Peeping Inhlosane

Midlands roundup

First rains

A few lines on a cloudy winter morning

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