Wild Adventures Blog
Journey to the wild
Tygerberg Nature Reserve
After spending a lot of time around wetland areas, I decided to head out for a different photo-shoot. Tyberberg Nature Reserve is just around the corner from my house and I’ve delayed visiting this reserve for quite some time.
There are many hiking trails around Tygerberg Hill and the hike up to the top is worth the effort. The trails offer something from a casual walk to more strenuous trails. The main hike around the hill is around 10km. The reserve supports one of the last areas of the highly endangered Swartland Shale Renosterveld vegetation.
Tygerberg Nature has released a couple of Bontebok into the park a few years back. I remember seeing them from quite a distance away, but never from up close. This time I managed to see the beautiful antelope grazing right next to the road. They seem to have settled in and weren’t too concerned with me coming up rather close.
There is a thriving animal life inside the reserve. On most days you will be able to see some raptors flying overhead. I got a good glimpse of a Jackal Buzzard that soared past me on top of the hill.
While walking through the fynbos you’ll hear many different birds calling. I managed to get some photos of Cape Bulbuls, Fiscal Flycatchers, Sunbirds, Cape White-eyes and Cape Grassbirds. It was a very quiet birding morning for some reason.
Although the main flower season has passed, I did see some flowers that were still in bloom. I also saw some large Lichen patches on various rocks while taking a quick snack break.
The Nature Reserve had a controlled fire the week before I went there. Unfortunately some of the tortoises suffered due to the fire. The reserve managed to rescue a lot of them and kept them under a watchful eye in a secluded garden. I took a little rest in the garden hoping to see some more bird life. It was extremely quiet inside. I looked down at the path for about two minutes. Then all of a sudden I noticed that I had been staring at a tortoise the whole time and didn’t even see it. It was the first time that I had seen a Parrot Beaked Tortoise.
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Stunning
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Tygerberg looks like a place well worth visiting, and you came away with lovely photographs Cal!
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