The pictures shown in this photo gallery were taken on a 14-day botanical tour of the Eastern Cape of South Africa led by the incomparable Cameron McMaster. The itinerary ranged from Port Elizabeth north to the Drakensberg Mts and the border of Lesotho, and then to the Indian Ocean community of Kei Mouth. The scenery was fantastic, Cameron's skills as a botanist, photographer and tour guide are in my opinion unrivalled, and our small group mostly from the UK was totally compatible and absolutely wild for flora. The diversity of South Africa, especially that of the East Cape, the West Cape and Namaqualand, is staggering, and the pitifully few species represented here only hint at its extent. The taxonomy that is reflected on these pages follows that of the Plants of Southern Africa Checklist maintained by the South Africa National Botanic Institute and may not agree with other sources. Since so many of these species have no common names, I have dispensed with those for this series of pages. I have also broken with tradition and included a few pictures taken by Cameron McMaster in place of ones of mine that didn't turn out well. They are all clearly credited to him, and I wish to express my deep gratitude for his generous permission to use them. All other photos are by me. I am greatly looking forward to another botanical excursion with Cameron, this time to the West Cape, in the summer of 2010.

Ammocharis coranica
Amaryllidaceae

The Photographer

Grewia occidentalis
Malvaceae