African Wildlife & Environment Issue 85

GOOD READS

South America as a geologist revealed other closely related and very similar looking species of giant kingfishers, oystercatchers, jacanas and other families of birds, as well as quintessentially ‘African’ trees on both sides side of the Atlantic. ‘Ah, Continental Drift’, thought he. Wrong, although not completely wrong in the case of various ancient trees, but certainly wrong in the case of modern birds.…and so he set off on a painstaking, Holmesian journey to unravel the mystery. The result is a book that is imminently readable and exceptionally educational, a history of several branches of science and famous scientists, and a very good layman’s guide to biogeography. In its pages you will meet and learn about the geologists and biologists who were pioneers in geology, the concept of ‘continental drift’ and the theory and evidence of evolution. There are fascinating vignettes about Wallace, Darwin, Mendel and many more besides. In 1912 the German Alfred Wegener, with a background in astronomy, meteorology, polar exploration and later geophysics, published (in German) his book on The Origin of Continents, in which he introduced the first ideas about, 'continental drift'. Now meet the father of South African geology, born in 1878 in the shadow of Table Mountain, emerging from the University of Cape Town with an Honours degree in Geology and acceptance at the Royal Technical College in Glasgow. Alex du Toit graduated in Mining Engineering, then spent two years in London before returning to Glasgow to teach Geology, Mining and Surveying. In 1903 he went home to Cape Town, joined the Geological Commission and started mapping the geology of the Cape Colony. From then until 1920 he contributed an impressive foundation of scientific knowledge, establishing the geological framework of South Africa by mapping an area of some 80,000 square kilometetres! He wrote a geography textbook and published numerous papers and maps. In 1921 he wrote a paper about the Karoo Supergroup, which attracted the attention of the international geological ‘establishment'. Du Toit was subsequently sponsored to do a geological assessment of South America and in 1927 he published the results of his work. Du Toit’s hypotheses about continental drift were

Nick is a geologist by training, and has written several excellent books that make the stonily boring subject of geology interesting and accessible to ordinary folks. These include Geological Journeys (2006) which captivated the public and became a best-seller as the first book to bring the geology of South Africa ‘to the people’. This was followed by The Extraordinary World of Diamonds (2008), Geology off the Beaten Track , (2013) and the autobiographical Going to Ground , about his geologist adventures in Africa and South America. He also produced a large format, well-illustrated book for eight to 12-year olds called Box of Rocks, to introduce children to the wonders of geology.

Cardinal Woodpecker (Photograph: Albert Froneman)

In cogitating about his next literary topic, Nick recalled his astonishment at seeing a woodpecker in Brazil that looked exactly like the familiar Cardinal Woodpecker from his birdwatching experience in South Africa. His various trips to

9 | African Wildlife & Environment | Issue 85 (2024)