Scenes from Mpumalanga

It’s the middle of winter, the grass is drab and brown, the trees are bare. It’s is bitingly cold.

(The famous Mama’s and Papa’s lyrics come to mind: “All the leaves are brown, and the sky is grey, I’ve been for a walk, on a winter’s day”)

The countryside is dotted with imposing looking power stations – their smoke slowly permeating into the blue sky.

The towns are small, working people towns, not quaint nor touristy, but busy and functional.

They don’t have chic side walk café’s, hipster coffee hangouts, or places to be seen, but they survive nonetheless.

If you look at anything with an open mind, it’s not hard to find uniqueness in it. And unique things can often be beautiful.

On a recent road trip from Joburg to Piet Retief (eMkhondo) and back, I managed to capture a couple of pics that show what that area is like. And although a lot of the scenery isn’t beautiful in the general sense, it is unique.

Somewhere off the N17. Stepping out the warm car to get this shot was like stepping into a freezer….

The hopeful glow of sunrise.

Ghost town in the morning light.

Roadside straw bales

The lines of farm lands

Wandering cattle

Placid water

The open road.

One of the most photogenic Willow trees I’ve ever seen

One of the many power stations in Mpumalanga.

Billowing smoke

Close up of the cooling towers – these things are huge.

Scary when you see what we as humans do to our planet.

A bit of colour in drab scenery

Inside one of the Sappi forests.

My favorite shot from the trip, we came over a rise and this was the scene that met our eyes.

Africa’s red soils

A big thanks to the two people who made this trip, photo’s and the memories possible.

I know you’re reading this and you know who you are. 🙂