Oregon = forests. Timber industry history shaped many a town and family tree. Ted’s great grandpa was a logger, and we know our beautiful canopies and leaves and bark and needles (almost) like the back of our hands. (Though that whole “Oregon Pine” thing left us a bit flummoxed at first.)
South Africa’s forests and woodcutters, on the other hand? We drove down the N2 highway through the Garden Route’s “Knysna Forests” and didn’t understand what we were seeing. Our foreign eyes couldn’t make out the distinctions and our shallow knowledge of South African history left us without context. Four hours (guided! thankfully not lost in the woods) changed all that…
Ted and I met Dennis, our guide, at the Harkerville filling station off the N2, just beyond the city of Knysna, climbed into his trusty Toyota 4×4, and set off for a visit to a beautiful patch of remaining indigenous forests. Continue Reading…