We were at the tail-end of a bumpy, hour-long journey into rural Umbumbulu, south of Durban, but what lay at the end of it – one of the most breathtaking waterfalls just outside Durban – was worth the drive, for in the near future there may be nothing to see.
Meandering dirt roads, on which traditional rondavels were slowly being replaced by electrified council houses, were leading us further away from the city centre into what we were promised was a sight to behold.
It is not something found on tourist maps or documented in any other way but our guide for the day, Reverend Brian van Niekerk, led us unerringly to the spot.
Manoeuvring the sturdy Land Rover over rocky paths and through dongas, he said he feared that what he was about to show us may not be there in a couple of years’ time.
Nungwane Falls – a dramatic sheer drop of water, almost 100m high, giving way to a deep pool at the bottom with Easter Island-type rock formations, and an ancient indigenous forest teeming with rare creatures and plants, was what we had come to see.
Something of a local legend, little has been written about this breathtaking waterfall which is just as high as the more famous Howick Falls in the Midlands, but word has slowly leaked about this piece of paradise.
However, even before this serene place can become popular, an illegal gum tree population is threatening the water supply to this bio-diverse area.
Local nature enthusiast Van Niekerk, of the Amanzimtoti Presbyterian Church, is on a mission to save the waterfall and forest from the threat of the water-sucking alien trees.
“Nature is a wonderful gift God has given us and we must look after it,” said Van Niekerk.
He read about the waterfall in a local newspaper and tried to find the place on his own in 1998. Since then, he has started a website and online references to the falls.
One of the plants he spotted at the bottom of the forest includes a forest elephant’s foot, or skilpadknol, which is a threatened species. Other indigenous plants such as the dolls’s powderpuff and Streptocarpus prolixus which are endemic flower species to the region, and are also under threat.
A few years ago, however, Van Niekerk was distraught to see the beginnings of a gum tree (eucalyptus) plantation on an adjacent hilltop. Eucalyptus trees are an alien tree species and suck thousands of litres of water out of the soil.
He said the rainwater that would usually run off the top of the mountain to the forest below would now be used up by the trees.
“When the trees grow higher, there is no sun for any other plants to grow on the ground below,” he said.
Knowing the devastation that such a plantation could inflict on the environment, Van Niekerk began to create awareness about the waterfall and forest and stop the gum-tree plantation.
An official at the KwaZulu-Natal Water Affairs Department, who did not want to be named as he has received threats because of the nature of the work he carries out, said the owner of the plantation did not want to remove the trees.
“The trees are being grown unlawfully, there is no licence for it and the area is water scarce,” he said.
Letters of warning were sent to the property owner who did not respond to them, the official said.
“A directive was sent to the owner to remove the trees, if he does not we will get a contractor to remove the trees and send him the bill,” said the official.
The official explained that water scarcity in the area was due to the lack of big streams on the south coast, and no good sites to build dams.
Department of Water Affairs acting regional head Angela Masefield confirmed that the owner of the property on which the gum trees have been planted was a Mr Nzimande.
“The notice was sent out to Mr Nzimande on 24 February 2010 and the directive served on 1 July 2010,” she said. “The directive orders that the trees be cut down. However, he has not complied with the order.”
The Independent on Saturday tried to get hold off Nzimande, but was told by his daughter that he was away and would only be back next week. She said her father was unaware that he needed a licence to grow the trees.
Van Niekerk said many off-road bikers drive to the site at present, but it remained otherwise inaccessible to the public.
“Imagine how beautiful it would be to come here and have a picnic, but if we don’t care for the environment it would all be lost,” said van Niekerk. - The Independent on Saturday
For more information visit: nungwane.wordpress.com