Maphelane

At 183 metres Maphelane is the second highest vegetated sand dune in the world (only Fraser Island in Australia is taller) and stands a the southern limit of the iSimangaliso Wetlands Park. The dune forests are one of the five interlinked eco-systems in the south of the park which became South Africa's first world heritage conservation site in 1999.

The warm waters of the Indian Ocean and the seemingly endless sandy beaches make this a truly idyllic place. Many visitors mistakenly assume that the dark patches on the beaches are caused by pollution but they are in fact titanium deposits. The titanium is an important component in the eco-system as it helps the sand to retain a constant warmth which is vital for the incubation of the eggs of the thousands of turtles that come ashore during the summer.

The day after I took this shot I returned to England for a brief visit as my visa had expired. Whilst at home I bought a new laptop before heading back to St Lucia for another four months. Sadly that laptop and all my backup drives were stolen during a burglary of my cottage. This means that my blip record for 2014 will now have a huge gap until the end of June with only the occasional entry using shots that I gave to other people. I also lost every photo I took in 2012, a unique year which I spent almost entirely living on a game reserve. All I can say is back up often and back up off site as much as you can - hardware can be replaced, data and the memories it helps evoke cannot.