Day 15 (Wednesday Sept. 20th )

The Rubidge Museum, Lootsberg Pass, and Graaff-Reinet

In the morning, we woke up to the beautiful sight of the Karoo covered over with the clouds that burned off in the morning as the sun rose up higher in the sky. A sight for which there are no words to describe, one that can never be captured by photographs, but one that will be etched in the memory forever.

After a breakfast served at the large farmhouse midst dogs, sheep, geese, and ducklings we saw the Rubidge collection of fossils. Any book that is worth the paper it's printed on that emphasizes the importance of South African fossils extensively mentions the Rubidge collection. Opening the door the sight of a fascinating and yet terrifying Dinogorgon Rubidge was breathtaking. The amazing thing was that the crown jewels of fossils in South Africa were sitting in cases, lined up as if for inspection.

Whenever a new species is discovered the paleo-ontologist that finds it must designate a type specimen. That is the best specimen that has been found of that species. If there are any other fossils of that type found they must be compared to the type specimen to see if they are truly the same species. For many species there is only the type specimen, there huge number of species that have lived and died with little or no record of they existence. The type specimen may be the only proof that organisms we will never see have ever existed. These are things that are generally never seen by the public, if they are lost then a replacement must be found, often a difficult or impossible task. They are nearly invaluable. So to see one is amazing. The Rubidge collection had over fifty on display and over one hundred in the collection.

The largest collection of mammal like reptiles was on the other side of a thin piece of glass. There was the first evidence for differentiation of teeth as you saw that the reptile teeth, which only change in size, move into more recent reptiles (in the geological sense) that had teeth that changed size and shape. The first evidence that binocular vision existed in animals was sitting one foot away from where I was standing. The sheer number of specimens which are important for the most fundamental understanding of the evolution of land animals from their humble beginnings are located in a building by a large farm house where sheep are raised. It would be like finding the Queen of England living in a middle class home in Fargo, North Dakota. (Curtis).

Graaff-Reinet. Weary from the long drives of the previous week, the group decided to spend this evening in the local town, Graaff-Reinet.

Graaff-Reinet is a small town (the fourth oldest European town in SA) in a picturesque valley, which has the feeling of a small Western European village, partly due to the extensive influence of Cape-Dutch architecture in the municipal building and some of the smaller churches. The centerpiece of the town is a large neo-Gothic church, restored in the late 1800's using local sandstone. A lot of the town, away from the main street, has retained the appearance it probably had two hundred years ago (the city was built in 1786). The main street boasts numerous restaurants, shops, and museums, including the Old Library Museum, which has an extensive display of San (Bushmen) artifacts.

The group arrived at about 13:00, and as there were no scheduled activities, we broke up for lunch. About half of us went to a small pub & grill where we partook of ostrich burgers and other light fare. After lunch, some of the group hiked the Drie Koppe trail in the surrounding hills, while the rest split their time between walking through the city and sleeping off the fatigue and illness of the last few days. At 18:30 we regrouped for dinner at the historic Drostdy Hotel, where we ate what most people would say was the best meal of the trip (among the specials were kudu and ostrich steaks). (Gilead)

During the day several of us took a hike through the Drie Koppe trail, near the region known as the 'Valley of Desolation'. We drove out to a spot at the entrance, which was just outside the town. It was amazingly refreshing to stretch out our legs after the long periods of sitting in the vans. The trail led us past some spectacular scenery. While we stopped at a convenient spot to drink some water we were fortunate to see some wildlife in the distance. We first saw some impala grazing quietly in the distance then we noticed a large dark animal nearby. We had binoculars but it was quite a distance away so we couldn't decide whether it was a water buffalo or a wildebeest. My guess is it was a wildebeest but the desire to see a water buffalo was strong and others wanted it to be true. At this point it was coming close to dinnertime and we started back. One last oddity of this trip was the tick-like insect that attacked the group; it leaped from person to person seemingly immune to all attempts to swat/crush/kill it.

Later that night we had one of the highlights (for me) of the entire trip. We took a night drive out of the town of Graaff-Reinet up onto a nearby mountain with the goal of getting a clear view of the southern night sky. The road up was an experience in itself, twisting and narrow with frequent sheer drops on one side it made for some interesting driving in the dark. We saw some animals on the road including a giant Kudoo hiding in the hedge on the roadside, we creeped by slowly so as not to alarm it. At the summit we were lucky to be shielded from the town light, the moon was rising close to midnight at this stage of the trip, which also helped the darkness of the sky. Antonin proceeded to give us a great tour of the southern night sky. The Milky Way as splashed impressively across the sky almost directly overhead and our two satellite galaxies, the Magellenic Clouds, where clearly visible. Other gems of the southern sky, which us northerners never see, include Alpha-Centauri (the closest star in space to the Sun) and the Southern Cross. The southern sky is one of the most enjoyable and enduring memories that I'll take away from this trip (including seeing some of the northern constellations turned upside down), it was magnificent to see in such a great site and with Antonin's descriptions. On the return journey we saw the same Kudoo skulking around the same hedgerow. One depressing thing about the evening was the view of Graaff-Reinet and the neighboring township. The township was illuminated by prison camp style floodlights on 50-meter high poles. It served as a stark reminder of how far South Africa has left to come is terms of post apartheid social recovery. (Shane)

Written by Curtis, Gilead and Shane
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