Hikers are now welcome at the Fernkloof Nature Reserve.
At a meeting held by the Safety and Security Group on Friday, 20 December 2024, decided to reopen all the paths of the Fernkloof Nature Reserve to hikers.
The decision to reopen the paths was made possible by the addition of extra resources and volunteers who will assist with patrols, as well as inform and assist hikers.
The reserve will be open from 07:00 to 19:00, after which all hikers must exit the reserve.
Hikers are requested to record their name, contact details, and intended route in the visitors’ book available at the Visitor Centre at the top entrance of the reserve. Before entering, please scan the QR code visible on the glass pane of the Visitor Centre to quickly access emergency numbers.
It is also advisable that hikers walk in groups of more than four people.
Northern Drakensberg Nature Reserve
South Africa’s Drakensberg mountains have a new 6,500 hectare nature reserve.
Wits Associate Professor Catlin Laser Mapitsa
said the uniqueness of this newly proclaimed reserve, is its work with communities.
It will also preserve ancient rock art, vital grasslands and water sources for millions of people.
It connects a neighbouring world heritage site to another nature reserve, expanding a huge transnational protected area from South Africa to neighbouring Lesotho.
Most importantly, it will open a new and important wildlife migration corridor. Migratory animal populations will be able to recover as they’ll no longer be isolated and fragmented.
It took six years for landowners and conservationists to get the new park formally declared, much faster than it usually takes to have land declared protected. It was only possible due to a high degree of consensus among landowners that a commitment to conservation was the best way to manage their land for future generations.
So far, only 9.2% of South Africa’s land is under protection, and biodiversity loss is increasing. This is why strategic additions to protected areas are particularly important.
Nearly 20% of water in the Vaal river system originates in the Northern Drakensberg – in other words, the Northern Drakensberg supplies water for about four million people.
Pictures: Wits & Overstrand Municipality