About Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve
The hills to the west of the town of Heidelberg, in Gauteng province, provide the setting for the Suikerbosrand Nature Reserve. The reserve incorporates 134 square kilometres of stunning scenery.
The reserve is within easy reach from Johannesburg with virtually all of the route being on the N3 highway.
There are a number of ways to take in the beautiful scenery. One can walk the hiking trails or go mountain biking. The best way to get an all-round look at the reserve is to take the tarred loop road. Take note that this is a narrow one-way route of over 60 km so allow time to complete it.
The reserve is named after the Transvaal Sugar-bush which is a species of protea. This, however, wasn’t always the case. The Great Trek leader Hendrik Potgieter found that the indigenous tribes were growing a lot of a species of sweet sorghum and that subsequently gave rise to the name of the reserve.
The reserve is home to a number of larger mammals including Plains Zebra. Other mammals include Eland, Chacma Baboon, Black Wildebeest, Kudu, Blesbok, Springbok and more. Don’t let the long list of mammals that have been recorded fool you. This is not the best place to see game.
