FRASERBURG DOLERITE

The road to the Fraserburg escarpment rises through Theekloof Pass, leaving behind the broad openness of the Karoo veld and climbing into darker, more severe country. Dolerite rock lines the route, while reed grass and willows move with the ascent.

At the summit the landscape opened onto a plateau scattered with koppies, wind pumps and heavy silence. Low black Nimbus clouds hung so close to the ground that parts of the escarpment seemed already swallowed by shadow.

Then the sky broke for a moment. Sunlight, the colour of dried autumn leaves, poured through onto the dolerite outcrops, making them glitter across the arid land. The wind pump stood lit against the darkened plateau, and for an instant the entire scene seemed prehistoric, as though it belonged to another age altogether.