Notwithstanding the sharp ascent so characteristic of Nkandhla ridges and spurs, comparatively few stones or boulders are to be found. The ground is covered with damp, decaying substances, such as leaves and branches; here and there, especially along the beds of streams, are to be seen moss-covered, slippery rocks, ferns and monkey-ropes, all tending to give an impression of the immense antiquity and majesty of the forest. Beautiful glades, varying in size and shape, are suddenly come upon in parts, with all the freshness and evenness of some lowland meadow. A look-out must be kept for snakes, such as rocky cobras, _mambas_ and puff-adders. Leopards are also to be found. Of birds, lories, red-necked partridges and eagles will frequently be seen. And superstitious people will be interested to know that ghosts have, for generations, haunted and are said still to haunt the dense, precipitous forest Eziwojeni, immediately below Sigananda's kraal "Enhlweni." Above and at the rear of the Mome waterfall (which has a drop of fifty feet) is a natural stronghold, the one used by Cetshwayo in 1883. Owing, however, to a feeling of insecurity, especially on account of the presence of artillery, the rebels did not use it in 1906, they preferred to take refuge in the Mome gorge and the adjoining forest-covered valleys. A favourite, though unhealthy hiding-place, is in the vicinity of Manzipambana (a tributary of the Nkunzana), which never issues into open daylight. The peculiar vagaries of its course, which, in parts, seems to proceed one way and then in exactly opposite direction, are ascribed to perverse and occult powers emanating from the still and sombre forest depths. The Mome gorge, to be often referred to later, takes its name from a stream that flows through it. It is about one and a half miles long, with great mountain walls on either side. At the head of the valley is the waterfall already referred to. Near the fall, the ground rises on either side to an altitude of over 3,000 feet, but at the mouth of the valley drops away with remarkable suddenness. Within a radius of 200 to 300 yards of the fall, the earth is covered with a dense forest which, extending outwards on either side, connects with the various other forests referred to above, especially on the east. A couple of isolated forests are to be seen within the valley, particularly the Dobo or 'pear-shaped' one on the west near the mouth. So steep are the sides of the gorge, like the letter V, that the sun in the morning and afternoon is shut out to such an extent that the day appears to be considerably shorter than it is.