Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, Kleinmond

Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve is situated in the Western Cape Province, within 40 km from Cape Town. This first South African biosphere reserve covers 103,629 hectares, where more than 80% consist of mountainous landscape with high mountain peaks and deep valleys to gentle hills and lower mountain slopes. The remaining area is made up of a gently rolling coastal plain as well as a marine part that covers some 24,500 hectares. The coastline is mostly rocky with some sandy beaches and estuaries. It is the floristic heart of the smallest of the world’s floral kingdoms (Cape floral kingdom) and it provides habitat for approximately 1,600 plant taxa of which an estimated 150 taxa are endemic to the area and characteristic of the Fynbos biome. The marine environment is part of the warm temperate south coast, and is subject to nutrient- upwelling events that support a highly productive and diverse marine community. Main economic activities in the area include deciduous fruit farming, wine production, flower production, fruit processing, commercial plantations of pines, and tourism. Tourism, specifically eco-tourism, has the potential of becoming one of the major economic activities in the region, with some 60,000 people visiting the area during the holiday season. Environmental education for school children and students is provided in the region. A private non-profit company, that is steered by a board of directors, manages the biosphere reserve. All stakeholders in the region can become members of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve Company and thus have an input into the actions of the company. Kogelberg Nature Reserve is considered by many to be the most beautiful of CapeNature’s protected areas. Its exceptional diversity and quality of fynbos means it is also considered the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom! Considered by many to be the most beautiful of Cape Nature’s protected areas, Kogelberg Nature Reserve earns that reputation largely to the fact that it occupies an area with minimal human interference. Its exceptional diversity and quality of fynbos means it is considered the heart of the Cape Floral Kingdom. The reserve presents perhaps the finest example of mountain fynbos in the Western Cape and is a world-renowned World Heritage Site. At Kogelberg, a sensitive core of 18 000 ha of the reserve has been kept pristine and wild. Here there is much biological diversity and conservation is the priority. Only activities which do not adversely affect natural processes and wildlife are allowed! If you have driven along the R44 between Rooiels and Kleinmond, you would have marveled at the beauty of the Kogelberg. The reserve’s pristine beauty abounds all year round – during the blazing heat of summer when green is not what you expect, or in rains and mists of winter when torrents of water cascade down rock faces that were bone dry only weeks before. The whole area is inspirational and one of more than 400 biosphere reserves worldwide. Kogelberg was South Africa’s first registered biosphere reserve and it encompasses the entire coastal area from Gordon’s Bay to the Bot River vlei, and inland to Grabouw and the Groenland Mountain.