Sibudu Cave overlooks the uTh ongathi River about 12 km from where it fl ows into the Indian Ocean, on the east coast of South Africa (Figure 4.1). Th e approximately 55 m × 18 m shelter was formed by erosion of Natal Group Sandstone and on the precipitous cliff s around the shelter and in the steep valleys nearby, inaccessible dense evergreen forest has been able to escape conversion into

farmland. Although categorized evergreen, the forest also has deciduous and semi-deciduous species, particularly along the forest margins. Similarly, along the perennial uTh ongathi River, there is evergreen and deciduous vegetation. It is likely that before the extensive replacement of natural vegetation by sugarcane and subsistence farmers, the vegetation in the area consisted of Typical Coast-belt Forest, as defi ned by Acocks (1988). Th is vegetation type comprises forest and thornveld, which consists of various stages in the succession between forest and grassveld, but only rarely open grassy savannah. Annual rainfall is in the vicinity of 1,000 mm per annum. Summers are wet and hot with mean temperatures of 22-25°C; winters are mild (15-17°C) and drier than the summers (Grant and Th omas 1998), although there is seldom a month without rain (Scott 2005). Th e shelter is well protected from the elements despite its southwesterly aspect.