Whistle-Stop Cottage at Toorwater

27/08/2026

👂listen...

Anyone know what this is? They make this sound before daybreak. As soon as it starts getting light they go silent. And only in spring/summer. My guess is an insect (hope I never get to meet it 'cos it sounds like one creepy gogga). My go-to insect expert doesn't know.

24/08/2026

👂 listen...

At Toorwater, the night comes alive with the call of nightjars and the background hum of a frog chorus down by the river!

14/08/2026

The Traka is still doing what rivers do. 3 months 10 days. No real sign of less water!

12/08/2026

20/07/2026

2 ½ months and still flowing steadily!!! Our beloved Traka 💙

10/07/2026

Friday BraaiDay!

Back in the days of slow-train-travel, throwing broken crockery out of the dining car window was obviously a common practice and discarding chipped or damaged items along isolated sections like Toorwaterpoort was an efficient way to clear tables! I made this plaque from broken pieces of SARailway crockery that I've collected from the bush and undergrowth along the railway line as a way to remember a piece of railway history and capture the romance of a bygone era of rail travel.

13/06/2026

And there's still a constant flow of water coming down!

11/06/2026

What an awesome start to the day 🧡

22/05/2026

Sunshine at last! A record 185mm of rain so far this month. The river has been flowing for almost 3 weeks, the ground is saturated, the veld is dewy, lush and green 💚. What more could we wish for!

20/05/2026

Still flowing strong!