Waterfalls Where Water Falls

In South Africa there are vast areas of plantations of trees which are used for the wood industry. These areas are divided more or less into huge squares. The paths that make up the boundaries of these squares are called fire breaks. They are made for the purpose of avoiding the spread of a fire from one square to another.  The maintenance for fire breaks is a very tiring job, because it’s necessary to keep them free of grass and weeds and any other growth. The work used to be done by hand and therefore it was very costly. It consisted of uprooting the weeds and filling the holes and trenches which were formed from soil erosion and caused by frequent rain storms.

The owners of these plantations had to spend a lot of money to clear the fire breaks. They put up with us motorbike riders, only because going up and down the fire-breaks we did a good job of keeping them clear of grass and weeds.

Tree Plantation - photo by rbairdpccam

One Saturday afternoon a few friends and I decided to go and have a swim in the lakes of Albert Falls. It was difficult to get there, because we had to cross some thick bush. These falls and the lakes are situated in green vegetation, decorated with many colored flowers, and so they are particularly beautiful.

We bikers took a short-cut that was a path running through the plantations using the fire breaks. We went at full speed over the pot-holes and took the corners sideways, mostly at full acceleration. The engines of our bikes roared and echoed throughout the valleys as we went along. Shortly we were at the top of the mountain where the river supplies water to Albert Falls’ start.

From there we could see what seemed paradise on earth. The beautiful green forest with its multi-colored flowers and the water on the first lake acted as a mirror reflecting the sun which shone high in the sky. Our nostrils smelt the odor of the many flowers. I don’t know for how long we sat there gazing at this wonderful enchanting view. The silence was disturbed only by the falling water that splashed and thundered onto the rocks far below, causing a very loud sound, something like a herd of running elephants.

Suddenly an engine roared into life and Bugs, one of my best friends, rode head first down a steep narrow path which led through thick bush to the lake. We all followed close behind him and we soon arrived at the first and biggest of the three lakes. The highest of the waterfalls derives from this lake, which drops down into the second lake.

We stripped off our clothes and dived in the cold and clear water. We didn’t resist very long so we got out of the water and lay in the sun to warm-up. Somebody soon started making bets on who would dive down the waterfall to the distant lake below.

Swimming at Albert Falls © OnsStories.com

As always on such occasions Tino always won, because he was the bravest and most daring of all of us put together. He dived through the wall of water and disappeared only to re-appear in the middle of the second lake waving his arms and calling us to join him. One by one we all jumped, some dived head first. Others jumped ass first and hit the water with a loud flop, nevertheless we all successfully reached the second lake. Not yet satisfied we jumped down into the last lake.

I liked to swim under the falling water of the falls, because it felt like the cold jet of a huge shower. As it usually happened in Natal during the summer time, the clear sky was within minutes covered with huge heavy grey clouds. Then after a few bolts of thunder and lightning it was as if all the clouds had simultaneously burst and the water came down in buckets. We were already wet, so the rain was no problem to us. The real problem was to get back up to the first lake where we had left our bikes and clothes.

I soon found a steep path which got me up to the first lake in a very short time. I was breathless when I got to the top. To my relief, I saw a flat rock nearby on which I sat to catch my breath. By this time it was no longer raining and the sun peeped out from behind a cloud and its rays drew a beautiful multi-colored rainbow in the sky, directly above my head.

According to legend on both ends of the rainbow you can find a big pot of gold coins, in other words a treasure. I have never found that treasure but I have another more precious treasure in my head. It consists of thousands of scenes and pictures of natural beauties that I keep jealously in the archives of my memory. I see everything clearly with the eyes of my mind and that brings peace to my heart.

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