SANDSTONE NECKLACE

About twenty kilometres north of Ladybrand, my Pajero failed. The power steering went and I discovered the cam belt had gone with it. It was the worst possible timing, because the cloud build-up towards Clocolan was magnificent and Caesar Head lay somewhere beyond, unreachable.

While I waited for help, I looked out across the veld at a sandstone koppie wrapped by a pale band of rock like a necklace around the throat. Sheep moved down its slope, dassies worked the stone, and the scent of newly turned earth drifted from a nearby ploughed field. It was an unexpectedly gentle landscape for a breakdown.

Then Nimbus began to gather. The first cloud settled over the koppie like a crown, then others joined it until the whole form stood under a darkening halo. The light was stolen from the day, shadows fell into the rock, and the koppie became both regal and industrial in character, part queen, part steam locomotive. The shutter released almost by accident, and moments later the tow truck arrived.