Kogelberg Nature Reserve is a nature reserve of 3,000 ha (7,400 acres) comprising the Kogelberg Mountain Range , to the east of Cape Town , South Africa .
17-539: The Harold Porter National Botanical Garden covers almost 200 ha between mountain and sea, in the heart of the Cape Fynbos region within the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve to the east of Cape Town , South Africa , specifically near Betty's Bay along Clarence Drive (R44). With about 1,600 plant species, the area contains a floral diversity per unit area that is greater than anywhere else in
34-555: A 99-year management agreement with SANBI . 34°21′06″S 18°55′37″E / 34.35167°S 18.92694°E / -34.35167; 18.92694 Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve With about 1600 plant species, it contains a floral diversity per unit area that is greater than anywhere else in the world. Located in the Kogelberg Mountains , along the mountainous coast on the eastern edge of Cape Town , this 3,000-hectare (7,400-acre) nature reserve protects
51-468: A huge influence on South Africa's fruit industry. They divided up and donated most of their farming enterprise, to be distributed to, and used for the benefit of, Elgin farm workers. After his death, the younger brother Harry left the remainder as a trust fund that continues their charitable work to this day. The two brothers had long had an interest in building the agricultural export industry of southern Africa; in fact, their father had conducted one of
68-543: A significant portion of Kogelberg Sandstone Fynbos . Among the enormous range of plants in this local vegetation type are hundreds of species of Erica , a wide range of Protea species and a great many plant families which are endemic . The Kogelberg mountains are known as the heart of the Fynbos , and have a floral diversity per unit area that is greater than anywhere else in the world. In addition to its unique mountain fynbos, other ecosystems include wetlands , as well as
85-617: The Kogelberg mountains were the San hunter-gatherers and the Khoi herders, whose shell-middens and burial areas can still be found. During the early colonial era, explorers occasionally penetrated the mountains and reported on the area's unusual beauty and teeming wildlife, however no permanent settlements were made, as the landscape was considered far too extreme and inaccessible for farming. The Kogelberg region therefore remained almost pristine. In
102-475: The 1950s after Edward's death. Their farming enterprise was broken up and ceased to exist, but its name, Elgin, came to refer to the whole region . This area is today one of the more intensively farmed districts of South Africa and produces 60% of the national apple crop. A body that seeks to support education, cultural institutions and environmental causes in Southern Africa, in terms of the will of
119-464: The arts and the environment in the Cape (Both brothers were extremely well read, appreciators of music and the arts, and were deeply concerned about the natural environment). At the height of their success, the brothers took the unusual move of ordering that their network of farms was to be divided up and returned "...to Elgin's farmworkers and inhabitants for their own use." This process accelerated in
136-518: The construction of new visitors facilities in 2012, as well as the steady expansion of the surrounding "biosphere reserve". The 1,000-square-kilometre (390 sq mi) Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve includes the nature reserve as part of its "core conservation area". As such, the nature reserve is surrounded by buffer zones of natural vegetation and environmentally friendly recreational areas, as well as transitional zones of environmentally aware farms and towns. The Kogelberg Nature Reserve itself, as
153-769: The core conservation area, is exceptionally untouched. The mountain slopes are closed to the public and strictly protected. However, there is a portion that is open for hiking, along the valleys and waterfalls of the Steenbras River Gorge. The R44 road is a scenic road that skirts the mountainous coast of the Kogelberg reserve. Whales and dolphins can also frequently be seen from this road. The Molteno Brothers The Molteno Brothers , Edward (1877-1950) and Harry (1880-1969) Molteno, were sons of Cape Prime Minister John Molteno by his third wife Sobella Maria. Pioneering and successful exporters, they had
170-559: The decade, his dream was finally realised when his financial grant secured the establishment of the Kogelberg preserve, comprising the land lying south of the N2 and west of the Palmiet River - with necessary infrastructure, fencing and biological surveys. In 1987, this conservation area was transferred to Cape Nature Conservation , and formally became a nature reserve by the more specific standards of that body. Later developments include
187-521: The early 19th century the whole area was designated "Crown Land" by the government of the Cape Colony , and over a hundred years later, in 1935, the rugged area finally became accessible, when a road was built. This brought about rapid change, as the Department of Forestry took over the region in 1937 and declared its intention of using the area for state timber plantations. The idea of turning
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#1732776672086204-621: The entire valley and what is now the largest single export fruit producing area in Southern Africa . They restructured the South African fruit farming industry along scientific lines , pioneering new farming and cold storage practices and were influential in the development and uplifting of rural communities in the area. They also founded the Cape Tercentenary Foundation in 1950 to promote and support
221-520: The first experimental mass exports of South African fruit (chartering the Brig Comet to Australia, in 1841). The brothers first invested in the Palmiet area in 1903. They may have been influenced by the purchase of some land in the area by their older brothers, Percy and Frank Molteno . From modest beginnings farming vegetables, they eventually built up a vast farming enterprise that spanned
238-642: The land between Rooi-Els and the Palmiet River . After Porter's death, the land was passed to the South African National Biodiversity Institute (SANBI). The local municipality later added adjacent land to the garden. In 2022, the garden was expanded by 1.15 ha after the addition of a neighbouring erf , purchased in 2018 by the World Wide Fund for Nature South Africa (WWF-SA). In 2019 the WWF-SA entered into
255-518: The region into a nature reserve was first brought up by local landowner Harry Molteno , who put the proposal to his Cape Tercentenary Foundation board on 18 April 1951. A passionate fynbos enthusiast, he advocated for this vast stretch of mountain range to be returned to its natural state, for which he secured the vital support of the Cape Western Conservancy and Professor Harold Compton of Kirstenbosch Botanical Gardens . Later in
272-411: The riparian vegetation of the Palmiet River , which is the most untouched in the south western Cape and are home to forests of indigenous trees such as Wild almond , Butter-spoon , Rapanea and Yellowwoods. Shady montane forests exist in several spots - like Louwsbos, Platbos and Oudebos - where relic Southern Afrotemperate Forests grow in the ravines and river valleys. The aboriginal inhabitants of
289-413: The world. The Garden consists of 10 hectares of cultivated gardens and 190.5 hectares of pristine natural fynbos . In addition, 60 species of birds can be found there, as well as porcupines , genets , skunks , hyraxes , baboons , and snakes . Foot trails reach cliffs, ravines, heaths, forests, streams, and mountain pools. In 1939, Harold Nixon Porter, Jack Clarence, and Arthur Youldon, purchased
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