Kogelberg Nature Reserve

Kogelberg is usually described as the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom, and the number behind that is roughly 1,600 plant species in a compact mountain reserve - a density of plant life that has few parallels anywhere. It is the core zone of a UNESCO biosphere reserve, and it has been kept deliberately undeveloped: a capped number of day permits, a handful of trails, no roads through the middle. The Palmiet River runs through the reserve in a series of tannin-brown pools between rock slabs, and the Palmiet trail follows it; the Oudebosch huts are the only accommodation. Marsh rose, a protea so rare it is counted individually, grows here and nowhere else in quantity. The mountains are steep and the fynbos is head-high in places, so walking is slower than the distances suggest, and the reserve closes trails in high fire danger.

History

San hunter-gatherers and Khoi herders were the first people of these mountains, and their shell middens and burial places can still be found; early colonial explorers praised the area's beauty and wildlife, but it was too rugged for farming and stayed almost pristine. The Cape Colony made it Crown land early in the 19th century, a road reached it only in 1935, and in 1937 the Department of Forestry took it over with plans for state timber plantations. On 18 April 1951 the local landowner Harry Molteno, a fynbos enthusiast, proposed a nature reserve to his Cape Tercentenary Foundation, with the backing of the Cape Western Conservancy and Professor Harold Compton of Kirstenbosch, and later that decade his grant established it on the land south of the N2 and west of the Palmiet River; it passed to Cape Nature Conservation in 1987, and new visitor facilities were built in 2012 (Wikipedia, Kogelberg Nature Reserve).

What's there

• The species density - about 1,600 plants in one reserve, many found nowhere else.
• The Palmiet River - brown pools between rock slabs along the main trail.
• The permit cap - a limited number of walkers admitted each day.
• The marsh rose - a protea so rare its individual plants are counted.

When to go

August to November for flowering. A day. Permits are capped, so arrive early or book.

Things to know

Day permits are limited and can run out. Trails close in fire season without notice. There is no shade and no water on the ridges. Fynbos is head-high on some paths and progress is slow. Swimming in the river pools is at your own risk.

Nearby

Kleinmond and the Palmiet mouth are below; Betty's Bay is along the coast.

Key facts