thesecond-largestestuaryin SouthAfrica,
iSimangalisothelargest.
Wemarvelat panoramicviewsofthe
approachingKnysnaHeadsandThesenIsland.
AttheFeatherbedjetty,wemakeourwayup
thehillto twoUnimogseachwitha trailer,
whichtransportsustherestofthewayto the
sandstonecliffsoftheWesternHead.
Thename‘Featherbed’datesbackto when
Britishshipswouldsailalongthecoastlinefor
tradepurposes.Knysna’splentifulsupplyof
woodnecessitateda stop,yetthemouthofthe
estuaryat TheHeadsprovedtreacherousto
manya hardenedseafarer.
Inroughweather,shipsoftenhadto
waitoutsidethemouthfordaysbeforethe
conditionswouldallowsafeentry.When
theydidmanageto getthroughthemouth
unscathed,theyreferredto thebaywherethey
anchoredinsidetheestuaryassocalmand
protectedit was‘likesleepingona featherbed’.
Thenamestuck.
Afterthe 2017 Knysnafire,horticulturist
MartinHatchuelwasaskedto helpwiththe
rehabilitationofthereserve.Martinand
I starttheleisurelytwo-kilometrewalkback
to thejetty,andhetellsmeaboutthework
theFeatherbedCompanyhasputintoits
rehabilitation.
“Thefynboshadbecomeverywoodyand
thickin parts,butthefiresolvedthatproblem.
Although 95 percentoftherooikranswas
destroyedin theblaze,manynewseedlings
begansprouting.Andwiththedevastation
oftheplantlifecamea uniqueopportunity
to removethealienvegetation,particularly
rooikrans,aswellasotherinvasivespecies
suchasPortJackson,blackwattle,manatoka,
khakibosandmalpitte.”
In1835,rooikranswasintroducedto South
AfricafromAustralia,andwasplantedin the
Capeto stabilisesanddunes,andto prevent
sandblowingontocrops.Rooikransproduces
a hugeamountofseedthatis extremelyhardy
andcanliedormantin soilforyears.
Facedwithnewrooikransandotheralien
seedlings,thereservewasbrokenupinto
900m²blocksto whichvariousmembersof
thenewlyemployedAliensTeamof 15 were
assigned.It wasextremelylabour-intensive,
andthefullteamworkedeachblockuntilit
wascleared,andthenmovedonto thenext“Thiswasthe‘silverlining’ofthefire– thefactthat
almosteverythingwasreducedtoashes.Wehave
puta hugeeffortintotherehabilitationproject
ultimatelyinanefforttorestorethe biodiversityLEFT: Our tour guides Craig Salter and Mark Edwards
entertain us with their insight of the area. ABOVE:
Nicole Tunmer, sales and marketing manager for
the Featherbed Company at the Waterfront, fills me
in on events surrounding the devastating 2017 fires.
BELOW: Horticulturist Martin Hatchuel points out
various plant species to us. BOTTOM: Martin pulls
out a rooikrans seedling, one of many thousands that
have sprouted after the fire.http://www.countrylife.co.za 063