Seven Natural Wonders of Time

I am drawn to heights and places where time surrounds me. Spaces where time stretches away and spots where distant history rushes towards you. Places which serve as beacon of the power and grandiosity of nature. A spot to appreciate the speck of time we have on earth. Here are my seven South African natural wonders of time. 

Vredefort Dome

More than two billion years ago a giant meteorite hit planet earth, only an hour’s drive from where I live. The impact left a crater 300 km in circumference, called a dome as the rock layers were bent into a round shape. The meteorite is estimated to have been 10 km across and travelling at 36 000 km/h. What remains today is a central uplifted area where the meteorite collided with earth and traces of rock crusts pushed aside by the impact. Imprints on earth of collisions billions of years ago. Traversing the area leaves one in awe of the vastness of space and time. 

Amphitheatre, Drakensberg Mountains

The Drakensberg Mountains formed 180 million years ago. The heart of the “mountains of the dragon” is the Amphitheater. I have walked and climbed this particular part of the berg. I have sat on the top cliff in the crisp mountain air overlooking the enormous rounded cavern of space. A place so quiet and where the horizon stretches so far, time stands still, and thoughts disappear to make way for an awareness of majesty and insignificance.

Cradle of Humankind

Two million years ago Mrs Ples lived near to me. She was small, weighed about 38 kg and stood 1,3 meters tall. Her fingers were delicate and her arms strong for such a diminutive woman. She is the most complete skull yet found of Australopithecus Africanus, believed to be an early human ancestor. Mrs Ples is but one of the many remarkable fossil discoveries made in the Cradle of Humankind. The Cradle is a serendipitous crossing of geology, old-time mining, and intellectual power. It is home to 40% of the world’s human ancestor fossils making it the world's richest hominid site.

Kalahari Desert

Some 250 000 years ago flood plains on the southern part of Africa began to dry. The Kalahari Desert formed. There is nothing that compares against the sense of isolation in a desert.  In its barrenness time slows down, it renews the spirit and soothes the mind with the most silent of silences. Scorching hot during the day and icy cool at night - with its own unique life, sand dunes and sparse foliage, the Kalahari dresses earth in a different dimension. Grains of sand becomes grains of time in this almost forgotten part of earth.

God’s Window

God’s Window is descriptive of the view on a mountain top on the edge of the Highveld Plato overlooking the sub-tropical Lowveld. On some days you stand in warm sunshine above the clouds drifting by below your feet. On clear days the view stretches away some 100 kilometers in the distance. A glance over the cliff takes a second; taking in the full view takes hours. Walking the distance will take a few days and remembering it is for life.

Tugela Falls

It is officially the second tallest waterfall on earth. The Tugela Falls flow off the Drakensberg in five giant steps; twenty times the height of the Niagara Falls. This stream sheet of water starts atop the mountain in a gentle whisper to reach the bottom in thunderous avalanche 950 meters below. The mists, strands and waters fall down in space only to repeat the cycle through the earth’s natural rhythms.

Table Mountain

Overlooking Cape Town, standing atop Table Mountain I can see the modern history of the country. From the first arrival of the Dutch at the foot of the mountain, to Robben Island where Mandela was imprisoned 300 years later. Cape Town is a top travel destination, with reason. The incredible natural beauty, blue skies, scenic ocean roads and pearly white beaches makes it a haven for all around the world. Today it is the world in Africa.

I have traveled two billion years in seven natural wonders of time.