SOCOTRA - The Recconnaissence 24/02/2010
Chris Gardner has now returned from his reconnaissence trip to the extraordinary island of Socotra, lying off the Horn of Africa. Below are extracts from his trip report. (Difficult to select extracts, it all sounded great!)
We will be running a tour to Socotra in 2011.
Today we drove east passing mainly along the coastline past a gorgeous turquoise ocean. Cutting inland we stopped to watch about twenty Greater Flamingo feeding in a shallow wetland and then there followed the first of many bizarre Bottle Trees Adenum obesum ssp sokotranum some sporting a few pink flowers. A little further along and a look at a freshwater stream produced big clumps of pretty blue-flowered Exacum affine. Sandy stretches were populated with large locks of Sooty and Lesser Black-backed Gulls that gathered alongside mixed groups of Swift, Lesser Crested and Sandwich Terns. We took lunch in he cool shade of large overhanging rock and almost immediately several Egyptian Vultures settled nearby in hope of scraps. These birds really are quite abundant on the island and are a constant sight, rising on thermals on hopping ungainly on the ground in search of food.
We returned a short distance along the coast more big gatherings of gulls and terns and then stopped by a small village where we picked up a local guide to take us into the hills. Our destination was Hoq Cave, a huge gaping hole in the just below the highest cliffs. Thankfully it was cloudy today make the walk up cooler and as we moved through the scrub of Jatropha and various other goat nibbled plants there were Socotra Sunbird singing from the top of bushes and a pair of Socotra Warbler. As we gained the height the first Sterculia africana appeared with wonderful lilac-grey bark marbled with cream patches. The branch structure was fantastically twisted and the whole tree quite wonderful. Growing among cracks in the stones were pretty blue-flowered Commelina forsskalei, white Asystasia gangetica and the mauve flowered Exacum affine. Reaching the cave itself after an hour (Chris speed) we switched on torches and headed on in past amazing stalactites and stalagmites and huge contorted stone structures like. One area contained a floor covered in crystal ‘flowers’ that is the wet season are submerged like a subterranean coral reef. We walked for some time and the guide told us that nobody had ever reached the end of the cave system yet! Returning to the entrance the song of Golden-winged Grosbeak echoed around the chamber, the bird sitting perched high on the cave wall.
I spent some time exploring around the amazing Sterculia africana trees finding the peculiar parasitic ‘scroph’ Striga gesneroides before we descended for a late lunch. The remainder of the afternoon was spent relaxing at protected marine area. We camped for the night watching the waves roll in.
...After gathering supplies we drove west along the flat coastal plain and then turned south quickly gaining height as we climbed onto the Dixam Plateau, an area of rugged limestone ridges that are peppered with stately Dragon Trees. However, nothing quite prepared me for the site that awaited me at our camp site overlooking a forest of thousands of the charismatic trees, perched high on the flanks of a spectacular plunging gorge, quite a place to spend the night.
The morning brought a fantastic sunrise with soft morning light on the stately DragonTrees. Nestled in among the limestone pavement were occasional spiny stems of Edithcolea grandis and a single plant of Aloe squarrosa. After breakfast we explored the plateau checking a few areas on the main road where there were flowering shrubs of pink Commicarpus simonyi and a fantastic slab of limestone pavement with the odd gem growing among the grikes such as deep blue Trichodesma microcalyx. Mid-morning saw us driving across an area of dark rubbley limestone with scattered clumps of Caralluma socotrana though none in flower and stands of the ever present Dracaena cinnabari. As we dropped down into Wadi Daerhu there were some very fine Bottle Trees in flower overlooking the plunging gorge of the wadi. In the wadi the scree covered slopes were populated with fine Cucumber Trees and there were stands of Date Palms perfect for a shady lunch as the occasional Bruce’s Green Pigeon flew past.
Letting the heat of the day pass I climbed up onto a plateau and wandered into a magnificent forest of Dragon Tress with hundreds of specimens of all shapes and sizes. There was little else but nothing else was needed the forest was quite superb and unique. Somali Starlings were buzzing around as ever as the late afternoon light filtered through the umbrella-like crowns around me and along the distant ridges beyond.
Climbing back out of the wadi and we reached the same rubbley limestone, only this time I saw a Carallum socotrana with a single perfect flower and many buds. Knowing that goats readily eat the flowers (along with children I’m told) we built a little shelter all around hoping to protect it until we came by again in a couple of days to get more pictures.
...The weather looked very promising this morning as we ate breakfast and indeed the sun shone all day with blue skies and little cloud whisps over the ragged Haiger Mountains. We headed up into Wadi Ayaft climbing into a well wooded valley with many superb old Sterculia Africana trees, Frankincense and gnarled old Tamarinds. There were tumbling masses of silvery-stemmed Sarcostemma viminale and big clumps of Caralluma socotrana with long seed pods on. However, a more interesting succulent followed when we found a fine colony of Edithcolea grandis.
Frustratingly the only two flowers we could find had gone over yesterday (!) and thorough searching found no more. Afterwards we spent an hour climbing higher into the woods where we found the attractive mauve-flowered shrub Ruellia insignis, tubular red flowered Ballochia amoena, Socotra Warbler, Socotra Sunbird and two Socotra Starlings as various butterflies glided around including a familiar one Two-tailed Pasha. The latter was seen very well again after lunch as we continued our search for more Edithcolea as we descended from the wadi with superb views of the mountains.
I decided it was worth spending more time at Dixam and also because the Dragon tree forest at Rokeb di Firmihin is simply stunning. It turned out to be well worthwhile as we saw a fine Caralluma socotrana in flower as we ascended, also stopping for a huge Bottle Tree and then below our campsite I spent the last hour of light exploring the limestone pavement finding none other than Edithcolea grandis in perfect flower, the maroon ‘starfish’ flower barred with creamy yellow, quite a sight.
A crescent moon and amazing stars graced a night sky free of light pollution.
...There was another glorious sunrise across the remarkable Dragon Tree forests. My morning wandering found more Caralluma socotrana in flower and then in an area of limestone pavement a deep crevice held a large clump of the orchid Eulophea petersii and the delicate little white flowers of Rhinacanthus scoparius delicately spotted with lilac. The adjacent wadi was home to Common and Green Sandpipers. We drove back across the clear plateau and down onto the coast road where we stopped by an impressive population of the statuesque Euphorbia arbuscula backed by blue skies and stunning turquoise sea. A fine stand of Cucumber Trees followed before we reached Hadibo and took a delicious lunch of fish, rice and fresh flatbreads.
Fine sunrise, breakfast and away from the sweeping sands of Delisha Beach by 6.45, passing Sirhen Lagoon with perfect reflections of the Hagier Mountains and flocks of Sooty Gulls on the beaches. Turning inland we drove a rough track to the foot of Wadi Manof. From here it was on foot and we climbed through a mixture of granite and limestone for an hour and a half passing some immense Sterculia africana trees before reaching a low pass studded with Dragon Trees. Scanning with binoculars revealed a number of pink spots and round green leaves in the granite crags a little higher up. Scrambling up through rough stone and scrub we reached the first lovely Begonia socotrana with attractive round leaves and bright pink flowers, far superior to any blousy florists’ begonia. A bit higher still and we found some perfect groups with begonias filling long cracks in the rock as Socotra Sunbirds flitted about. A fine flower to finish the trip on and all that was left was to descend and drive back to Hadibo for another excellent fish lunch.
