Another poem-and-painting combination: my late mom’s poetry in Afrikaans and my waterpaint cosmos flowers.

A special card
Click here to view all my AFRIKAANSE Kaartjies
(Afrikaans cards)

The Cosmos Route in South Africa comes alive in autumn when the flowers it is named for dance at the roadside. You could simply revel in oceans of cerise, pink and white.

The roadsides of the south-eastern Highveld come alive with them every year. The heart of the Cosmos Route in South Africa is Secunda, famous for the oil-from-coal Sasol Synfuels plant. Below Sasol is a network of 5 coal-mines that form the largest underground mining complex in the world.

Not far away is the Kinross Gold Mine at Evander. This is the only place in the world where coal and gold are mined side by side. This rich mining land is lushly green in summer, and towering banks of purple clouds rise most afternoons before the inevitable dramatic thunderstorm.

But if you’re on a flower tour of Mpumalanga, come here to photograph or paint cosmos flowers in the dramatic light of the Highveld. They are graceful subjects, whether nodding in the breeze at the roadside, or clustered in a jar.

And maybe it’s the flat terrain, or the good weather, but the Cosmos Route in South Africa sports no less than 5 highly-rated golf courses within a 40-kilometre radius. There’s a Mississippi-styled casino at Secunda. And nature reserves around Kinross, Bethal and Kriel are stocked with small game. They’re also a bird lover’s paradise.

Major roads traverse Cosmos country. But take some time to slip off them and enjoy the riches of this area: the riches beneath the ground, the richness growing from the fertile soil, and the rich autumn colours of the Cosmos Route.