Essential to my childhood was enjoying the stories of Rudyard Kipling, from the Just So Stories to that epic tale, The Jungle Book.

A memorable line in the story of The Elephant’s Child was of “the great, grey-green greasy Limpopo River, all set about with fever-trees.” It is Fever trees that are the subject of this column.

My friend Neal Roberts, unofficial mayor of Umhlali, is a great nature lover and, while passionate about birds, also professes a lifelong interest in trees.

Being an accountant, he also has a strong sense of place. Something either belongs or it doesn’t.

And one thing he cannot abide is the profusion of Fever trees on the Dolphin Coast.

“Everywhere you go around Umhlali and Ballito, all the new plantings on the verges alongside new buildings and shopping centres are endless Fever trees. They do not occur naturally in the area, nor do they make good pavement trees because they are messy and grow very big.”

The furthest south Fever trees occur naturally, Neal believes, is around Lake Sibaya and Mkuze game reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal. They flourish in a hot climate close to fresh water – with their feet in the water, so to speak.

So, what other trees would be suited to our area? Neal has a few favourites: the Flatcrown (acacia adianthifolia), Waterberry (Syzygium cordatum) and Lala Palm (Hyphaene coriacea).

The Flatcrown is one of Africa’s iconic trees. It is beautifully shaped, grows fast, attracts butterflies and has many uses in traditional medicine.

The Waterberry, known locally as the umDoni, produces a fruit loved by monkeys, bushpigs and bushbabies. Its wood has a beautiful grain and has uses in furniture-making and in traditional medicine. The Lala Palm attracts the Palm Nut Vulture, which feeds exclusively on them.

But in reality, the list can go on and on. Others such as the Wild Plum, Coral Tree and Umzimbeet come to mind.

So, a point well made – why limit ourselves to a boring diet of one species when there are so many attractive alternatives.

An example of a well-forested area, Neal points out, is to be found on the northern on-ramp of the Salt Rock N2 interchange. There is a sign indicating the forest was created by Belton Mwali, a man who worked for Claremont Farms. So let’s see if anybody takes note of what Neal is suggesting.

Enough about trees. I want to talk about road running. I spent a fascinating Saturday listening in on the first online annual general meeting of the Comrades Marathon Association (CMA).

The CMA has been through a turbulent last couple of years, brought about by the chronic South African disease of corruption and hands in the till.

Comrades is so much a part of KZN life that it has become like the wallpaper you don’t notice any more. It is bigger than KZN, bigger than South Africa.

The 97-year-old ultra marathon is the biggest ultra in the world! More than 17 000 people took part in this year’s event and it brings in heaps of money to the province.

It is also everything that you can hope for our country. On the day, colour, gender, status mean absolutely nothing. Everyone on that road is celebrating the journey of life.

It has a budget of many millions, so it’s a big deal. Thousands of people give of their time and expertise, free, to make this great race happen, but the amounts of money involved are also a magnet for light fingers.

The AGM took more than seven hours – longer than some speedy people take to run the race – not helped by glitches from the online voting process.

But the new board elected on Saturday has a clear mandate – to ensure the organisation whittles out any underhand dealing and restores confidence of the public and sponsors.

Everyone, I am sure, wants the best for Comrades going forward.

Eager young man to his girl: “Do you like Kipling?”

She: “Ooh yes, I kipple whenever I can!”

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