| Rondevlei Nature Reserve | |
|---|---|
 View from one of the observation towers over Rondevlei towardsMuizenberg. | |
 Location of Rondevlei Nature Reserve | |
| Location | Cape Town,South Africa |
| Coordinates | 34°03′45″S18°30′00″E / 34.06250°S 18.50000°E /-34.06250; 18.50000 |
| Area | 290 ha (720 acres) |
| Established | 1952 |
  Rondevlei Nature Reserve (South Africa) Show map of South Africa Rondevlei Nature Reserve (Western Cape) Show map of Western Cape | |
TheRondevlei Nature Reserve is located inGrassy Park,Zeekoevlei and Lavenderhill,suburbs ofCape Town,South Africa. Thebirdsanctuary covers approximately 290 hectares (720 acres) of mostly permanentwetland and consists of a single largebrackishlagoon. Thenature reserve is among the most important wetlands for birds in South Africa despite being situated directly alongside theZeekoevlei. A number of islands on the vlei act as vitalbreeding sites. Rondevlei is home to about 230 birdspecies, a variety of small mammals and reptiles likecaracal,porcupine, Capefox, grysbuck, steenbuck andmongoose, as well as ahippopotamuspopulation which was re-introduced in 1981 as a means to control analiengrass species fromSouth America, which had covered theshoreline and was threatening to engulf the vlei itself. It boasts unusual and threatenedecosystems likestrandveld,sand plains fynbos,Cape lowland wetland vegetation andindigenous coastal fynbosvegetation with unique plants found nowhere else in the world.
In February 2004, a young hippocalf named Hugo or Houdini escaped from Rondevlei after it wasbullied by an olderdominant male and was on the run for 10 months until it was caught in December and moved to anEastern Cape private reserve.
The reserve was established in 1952 in cooperation with the Cape Divisional Council (now Cape Metropolitan Council), when the area was still used by locals to grazehorses andcattle, for woodcutting and flower picking. Originally it consisted of the vlei and about 1 square kilometre (0.39 sq mi) of land, which was extended in 1963 and 1987 by addingdunes and seasonal wetlands to the south of the vlei to the reserve. To preventflooding of the built-up areas, which contained then mainly sub-economic housing, adam at the south-eastern end of the vlei was built to permanently lower the level of Rondevlei. The management of the reserve was taken over by the South PeninsulaMunicipality in 1997 and it is now part of theCity of Cape Town.
The facilities in the reserve include an about 1 km (0.62 mi) long watersidetrail along theshoreline with six bird hides and two large wooden observation towers, aterrarium andaquarium, as well as the Leonard Gill museum and anenvironmental education centre with lecture theater and resource centre.Besidesbirdwatching visitors are offered guided tours, boat cruises, conference facilities and secluded overnight accommodation within the reserve which are organized by a community-based company, Imvubu Nature Tours, which was established in 2002 with the use of poverty relief funds, made available by the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism.
Media related toRondevlei Nature Reserve at Wikimedia Commons
