The weekend before my Cape Town Christmas trip, my friend and I went up to Mount Moreland, Kwazulu Natal, South Africa.

Mount Moreland is about 15 kms from Umhlanga, and is best known for its Barn Swallows.

The public can view this awesome sight of the up to 3 million Barn Swallows descending on their roost.

This initiative is courtesy of Mount Moreland Conservancy

Visitors bring their own chairs, food, drinks, binoculars, and mosquito repellent.

The roosting time is about half an hour before sunset, but we went on the trip for the serenity and quite of the landscape.

A pathway leads from the top of the view point, down towards the marshlands

I begin descending, the only sound the wind whistling and rustling through the cane fields

The path rounds a bend, and a tunnel of foliage leads down to the marsh, igniting the imagination

The sparse clouds provide little relief from the midday sun, I head back up the path.

En route out of Mount Moreland, we crossed a bridge

Stopped to take photos, my friend noticed a Legavaan (or Rock Monitor) in the road behind us in the road

The Legavaan vanished as quickly as he had appeared, scampering back to the safety of the brush.

Further along our route back to Umhlanga, we came across the Dust Pit Tavern.

It is housed in a picturesque building, Cape Dutch style almost.

The road home