Near Stellenbosch

Fast-flowing streams through fynbos on steep slopes provide very different ecological propositions for participant species than large, slow rivers. It is presto agitato on rock over languorous flow that rarely intensifies across flats, dumping slow tonnes of fertile accumulation on growing banks.

The cold, clear swell and shrink of stream energy over the seasons make everyone and everything that habitually hang out here adapt lifestyles to cope with demands and the occasional dangers.

Strips of accompanying riparian forest may surprise in their biodiversity, as well as the size of well-preserved species watered continuously in narrow corridors determined by gravity.

Numerous specialised organisms are adapted to flourish here, at the interface between land and water where life is both beautiful and hard. All add value to each other in a myriad of obvious and imperceptible ways, as prosperous cities sustain citizens famous and feeble but respecting their resources and counting their blessings.