Zuurberg Area
The Zuurberg mountains consists of four high chains running parallel, but separated by very deep rugged kloofs. As you ascend between the kloofs to the mountain summit, cycads Encephalartos altensteinii (darker green leaves) and the Encephalartos Lehmannii (light grayish leaves), the Aloe pluridens gracefully contrast themselves out against the harsh background of the typical East Cape shrubs, and red rocks of the conglomeritic Enon Formation.
The fynbos on the peaks (where the climates are colder, and windier), and the sour grasses, with hardy succulents, interspersed with Proteas and Plegaroniums, and other wild flowers, like ostrich eyes, “Struthiola”, survive.
As you get to the top of the mountain, and go over the ridge, to descend down the other side, the shock one gets as a result of the contrast from one side of the mountain to the other is quite sensational. It is like Mother Nature has taken her powers and created a new arid world here, for different soils, different plants, different animals.