Photographed by Matilda It seems strange that a bird of between 104 and 110 cm tall and with a wingspan of up to 200 cm can perch in a tree! I suppose it helps that they weigh not more than 4 kg. They are also the only cranes able to do this because of a long hind toe that allows them to grasp. All this I gleaned from the internet after having had the pleasure of the company of a pair of Grey Crowned Crane - Balearica regulorum regulorum (South African) and also called Mahems because of the sound they make- coming to roost in a tree close to our cottage in Wakkerstroom every evening. I also learned that the "crowned crane is the most primitive of the living Gruidae. Primitive species of crowned cranes date back in the fossil record to the Eocene period." http://www.savingcranes.org/grey-crowned-crane.html The photo I took was the closest I could get to them and it doesn't do them justice at all. But I knew they came calling for a reason when I first saw them...
The Restory is a Retreat Centre nestled against Tafelkop, a singular mountain head near Wakkerstroom, South Africa. Here we live a simple life as contemplatives. It is a place of re-connection: with ourselves, people, Nature, Silence and Creativity. Our retreats are aimed at this. Our conversations, writing and art centre around the univocity of life. We need a place that reminds us that we are all one. The Restory hopes to be such a place and space.