Show and Tell Friday – African Sand

Welcome to “Show and Tell Friday!” Do you have something special to share with us? It could be a trinket from grade school, a piece of jewelry, or a treasured collection. Look around your closet if you have to share! Share photos and the story that goes with your special item.
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South Africa is huge! It is 5 times bigger than Great Britain, and it is a beautiful country! From north to south, east to west we find all kinds of landscapes! Luxurious vegetation to semi-desert, mountain ranges to magnificent beaches.

Today, I am going to share some African Sand with you!

I have mentioned the Amphitheatre in the Drakensberg before! Well, to get to the little hotel we normally stay at, one has to go through an area called Qwaqwa! The drive through Qwaqwa is stunning. Little villages and homesteads all brightly painted with colourful murals. Children stand on the side of the road selling bottles of sand which they have so carefully made landscape designs in. This is one that we bought on our way home from Witsieshoek.


Coming back from the Drakensberg, (depending of course on the route you take) you can go past Sterkfontein Dam.
The Sterkfontein Dam is very popular with visitors to this area. Nearly 200 species of birds have been recorded at the reserve. There are a number of wonderful trails here hikers can enjoy fresh air, open veld (flat grasslands) as well as forested ravines. The wildlife is not huge, but one should be able to find the odd antelope. Local children take sand from the river and very gently mould and shape animals with the wet sand which they allow to dry before painting with paints made from the sand and coloured with natural ingredients. They are VERY fragile and break in a breath. Of course they cannot get wet, or they melt away like cotton candy. Stacey bought me this giraffe on her last trip to Champagne castle at Easter time. Isn’t he beautiful?

“Desert Rose” is the local name given to a rosette formation of sand chrystals. These rosettes occur when chrystals form in sandy, desert conditions. They are VERY rare and VERY fragile. Some of them are quite intricate and they cost of lot of money to buy! On his last trip to Namibia, P bought me this little one which I keep in my cabinet, along with the sand bottle and sandstone giraffe!

These are a little blurred, I just could not get them clearer :(

A little bit of Africa in sand! I think these are pretty special!