We must say a big thank you to Luke Barnes for keeping the Writhlington School Orchid Project website up to date with our news from Durban. He is brilliant.

Aww, Thank-you Durban Team!

The first orchid we managed to spot was the Satyrium longicauda, this was growing on the edge of a stream, in boggy ground. Mr Pugh-Jones says this is the most dramatic terrestrial orchid he has ever seen growing in the wild. I was pretty impressed too! In the reserve we did not just see orchids. We saw lots of other plants that we recognised like Clivia, Palms, tree fern and a large number of the Daisy family including a wild species of Gerbera. We also saw so amazing animals: a wide range of birds, zebra, impala, wildebeast, Vervent monkeys and creepy crawlies like enormous black and red millipedes. South Africa is a fantastic place. In the evening we registered at the congress and already have new friends from all over the world, cool. Good night from Durban.

This is a close up of Polystachya Zambesiaca, when we found it we had to compare the flowers with the descriptions in a book called African Orchids in the Wild and Cultivation.It was quite tricky but a really good experience. 

My favourite of all the orchids we found was the population of Polystachya Zambesiaca on this tree. Before today I have never seen an orchid growing as an epiphyte up a tree in the wild. Now I have seen seven different species! I think i have learned alot about orchids as a gardener, by seeing them growing in the wild and surviving on trees.

Zoe P here, this morning we had an amazing trip to the Vernon Crook Nature Reserve. Here we are, exploring the grassland and woodland looking for orchids. I am really pleased as we found nine species of orchid and three were in flower.