This hack was attended by twenty hackers despite the Springbok vs All Black rugby match being televised live in the morning. This was the fourth hack at this site to remove thousands of rooikranz seedlings which have taken root since the fire in January 2024. Vehicle access into the Brodie Link Nature Reserve was once again arranged with Brenton Matinka, the Cape Nature Field Ranger who lives on the property. Lifts were arranged at the gate for those who didn’t want to risk taking their cars up the 800m vehicle track to the parking site adjacent to the hacking site.
Armed with medium and large poppers supplemented with those from the Pringle and Hangklip hacking groups we split into two groups to the hacking site across a stream and continued where we had left off after the previous hack. One group tackled an area lower down and the other an area higher up the slope. Lots of hand pulling of the smaller seedlings and popping of the larger ones was required. Jan Joubert did sterling work with his chainsaw, felling the larger spider gums and myrtles between the municipal house and the R44 fence, cutting them low and painting them blue.
The mid-morning break was taken back at the parking site at 10am. Thank you to Dave Mourant for providing all that was needed for a good cup of tea or coffee and to Mary Whitelaw and Lee Boyd for making the delicious sandwiches.
The hack continued after the break and was ended at 11.20am giving the weary hackers ten minutes to walk back to the parking site with their poppers for the most welcomed aftermath. During the early part of the hack Grant Immelman was jokingly asked to make sure he counted all the seedlings he pulled. This he did and reached his target of one thousand. With four hacks completed, we estimate that over 100 000 rooikranz aliens have been pulled out.
A very big thank you for another very productive and enjoyable hack. Thanks to Chris Geldenhuys and Tommy Mills for joining us from Pringle Bay and for their continued support.
As ever, on behalf of the Betty’s Bay Fynbos, thank you all for your efforts.
Rob Boyd