Sandstone Beast

by Mike Rossi
 
I’ve been informed by UCT Geology department, the sandstone koppies in the Eastern Free State are 20 million years old. Many have San rock paintings of comets, elephant, giraffe and Mormyrid fish, sometimes called ‘elephant fish’. Soapstone dishes and marine shells tell you a lot about the San Bushmen travels and observations.
 
The roadside grass is tall, easily passing waist-length. From dried out beige to Omo white, the farmers call it Climax Grass. Craggy rock formations, etched by the persevering wind, hide secrets of conflict between the Boer and the British.
 
This is the land of coffee cups and teacups. Over the hill and to the mountains beyond, lies the Kingdom of Lesotho. Most people in the area are quite hospitable. Farmers next to the Lesotho border unfortunately are not very friendly. You can’t blame them, as marauding cattle thieves from Lesotho cross the border, constantly stealing their animals. Wild west tales of posse’s pursuing cattle bandits are common.
 
This Sunday morning church bells started early in Fouriesburg. The smell of lemons and peaches drifted from an orchard behind me. I had waited five days for Nimbus to arrive. And on the sixth morning, the clouds spilled all the way down to the horizon, 360 degrees like an evolving mushroom. The thunderclouds ranged from pitch black to pearly grey. Tones of pepper, swirl like a smoking braai drift below.
 
I waited until the sandstone hues of beiges and browns to darken. The koppie’s naked body lay stretched out gleaming. My eyes scanned over her craggy breast. I was mesmerised. Every few minutes the sun flicked its magic light through narrow openings. Then ‘click’, said the camera. I stayed there, paralysed, watching for the next thirty minutes. Then the sun dipped below the horizon.
 
Part of the "Shadows Over Stones" Photographic Art Collection. Available as “Custom Finish & Bespoke” Fine Art and Photo Prints, framed or unframed. Photography created as beautiful pieces of Wall Art for you to invest and enjoy, from OPENPHOTO-STUDIO.