If you have an interest in the great outdoors then you will have a kind of repertoire of familiar landscapes in your head. You do not need to be able to describe the differences between beech trees and oak trees to be able to feel the differences between beech woods and oak woods. One of the great pleasures of "foreign parts" is that they often add to this repertoire. It is very stimulating to find yourself somewhere a bit different.
When you get right down to the south of France you can literally smell the difference. Many of the plants are specially adapted to the hot, dry, summers and exude perfumed oils - lavender is a good example. The plants themselves often have a greyish, hairy, look to them. The two things go together. The hairs trap the oily liquids and this helps avoid too much water loss. Once upon a time there would have been forests here, but centuries of agriculture have removed the original trees and a type of scrubland has developed. There are two types to be found, and while they are similar in many ways, they "feel" different. They are made up of different communities of plants, and are home to different sets of animals.
GARRIGUE
Where grazing animals such as goats still abound trees do not have a chance to establish themselves. The vegetation never develops beyond a sort of low, scrubby covering. The technical name for this environment is "garrigue" and it is most common near the coast on well-drained hillsides. It is a paradise for naturalists. Many of the plants have tough prickly bits (to deter goats) so you need good protection for your feet, but with good boots it is a pleasure to stroll through.
In addition to the wonderful culinary smells - this is where many of our herbs come from - there is a plethora of insect life. On a warm summer day the hillsides hum. Bees, beetles, and butterflies abound. With them, of course, you find the creatures that eat them. A good place to watch out for lizards, and a haven for small birds. And then there are the things that eat them! Snakes and big birds. Perhaps there are not really more animals about, maybe they are just easier to spot. Whichever is the case I strongly recommend gallivanting in the garrigue.
MAQUIS
I do not recommend strolling in the "maquis" quite as strongly - not unless you have time to get to know an area really well. Maquis smells just as good as garrigue, contains just as much wildlife, and looks great from a distance. It develops in areas where there is rather less grazing activity and unfortunately much of it is an impenetrable tangle of thorny things. It is very easy to get lost in. (This explains the origin of the nickname for the French resistance movement during World War II ).
One of the dominant plants is a type of rock-rose which exudes a fairly expensive sort of gum. It smells very nice and I've read somewhere that shepherds collect it from their goats' beards to make their beer money. If you see someone sniffing his goat, or combing its beard, you'll know what he's doing! (Either that or he just likes goats).
Because there is much more shelter it is more difficult to see the wildlife. You are more likely to hear things thrashing around in the middle of clumps of bushes and if you have a vivid imagination this can be a little scary! It is very easy to lose your sense of direction, and when you're surrounded by clumps of bushes one place looks very much like another. Add these two things together and you can get into exciting situations. If you have the time and patience you will be able to find routes through the clumps of vegetation, and then you will be able to relax a bit and develop some interesting routes. Once you have done that it becomes very rewarding.
Be careful - both "garrigue" and "maquis" are adapted to the Mediterranean climate. You are probably not. Dehydration can be very unpleasant, and sunstroke is no fun at all. Neither environment provides much in the way of shade, so a hat is a good idea. Carrying plenty of water is essential if you intend to wander the hillsides for long. The way to get round the problem of excessive heat is to do your walking early in the morning. If you can bring yourself to getting out of bed at dawn then you will see a lot more, be much more comfortable, and have that wonderful self-righteous feeling when you return home to wake the rest of the family. You will also have earned your siesta and can take it at the same time as the animals you were watching earlier in the day.
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