Rating the Trails with my Jimny and my boys: Groenkloof Nature Reserve

Groenkloof Nature Reserve Trails

This beautiful hike is situated just 5 km from the heart of Pretoria. Its history dates back to more than 100 years to 1895 when Paul Kruger proclaimed the area as a game sanctuary, the first in Africa!

Back in 1994 the reserve came under the authority of the nature conservation department of the Tshwane municipality.

Since then small game has been introduced and a programme of alien plant eradication has also been undertaken. walking through the reserve, you can really appreciate the amount of work that has been done and the big task still ahead. if you hike through early enough you will not only treated to a beautiful sunrise but you will encounter the wild life fairly close up. especially the stunning zebra!

Parking is close to the entrance under enormous tall trees and the stunning area provided a great place to come back to after your walk for a braai or picnic with you family or mates. The reserve is also a popular destination for mountain bikers who can challenge the 20km MBT trail.

You will find 3 main trails that network on the reserve: the White Trail (4km); Red Trail (4.7km); and Yellow Trail (10.5km). all the trails begin from the parking area.Our favorite trail is the Yellow trail. We normally pack our packs with weights for some condition training.

how do you get there: Groenkloof is reached via the entrance to the Fountains Valley Resort. Follow the R21 (Nelson Mandela Drive) to the Fountains Circle, take the Fountains / Centurion turn-off onto Christian de Wit Avenue. About 500m further, turn left at the entrance to the Fountains Valley Resort.

Over weekends and on public holidays, visitors use the alternative entrance gate 2 800m from the Fountain Valley Resort main entrance gate along the M18.

if you are coming from Johannesburg, like we do, we take the Eerfus offramp from the Ben Schoeman (JHB to PTA) highway. At the robot turn left and keep straight and as you drive under the bridge you will drive directly into the Fountains Valley Resort entrance. OR turn right and continue for about 500m and on your left side is the Weekend/public holidays entrance to the reserve.

GPS co-ords: Entrance to the reserve: S25 47 379 E28 11 764

Weekends and Public Holidays: S25 46 531 E28 11 361

hiking here is safe and we have never had any problems, infact I hike alone here and it is a real treat and I can go mad with my camera, my other passion, photography without the moaning of my sons "enough already Mom!!"

The trails are easy to moderate and the Yellow trail can present a challenge for unfit people or non-regular hikers and with a loaded/weighted pack it will add great trail training for your adventures.

As mentioned the reserve was first proclaimed a game sanctuary in February 1895 by President Paul kruger. In 1910 parts of the reserve were rented out to grow timber to help alleviate shortages for the production of paper and various wood products. Then in the 1950's the reserve came under the ownership of the city council and again things changed and in 1994 the Department of Nature Conservation took over. The reserve has seen major transformation to eradicate alien species and the introduction of wildlife.

You will find a variety of mammals like giraffe, zebra, blue wildebeest, blesbok, jackla and sable antelope. birdlife is in abundance, including ostrich and different types of eagles.

There are overnight hiking huts available for up to 12 people, which will be our next adventure at the reserve. The ablution blocks are spotless, the grounds around the parking and the kiosk is very clean and tidy. The 20km mountain bike route looks quiet challenging and a lot of fun, which is next on our list as we have 2 mountain bikes!! Another adventure we will tackle with my little Suzuki Jimny 4x4 is the 14km interpretive 4x4 route. There are some stunning horse trails available which are guided and the horses are in really great condition. An environmental education centre which can accommodate up to 60 people is also close by.

The Trails:

WHITE TRAIL:

4km long and take your along a beautiful meaner in the direction of the main gate. its a relatively easy trail, one that you should complete in around 1 1/2 to 2 hours. You will pass a small cave in which a family of dassies live. it does smell a bit LOL!! then you continue passing thick indigenous bush then through some tall trees and white stinkwoods (one of my favorite trees!!) the path then follows a brief descent to cross a non-perennial stream before it turns southwards and trace a route though dense bush back to your starting point.

RED TRAIL:

this trail begins where the White Trail ends and if your follow the longest route it's 4.7 km and will take you around 2 hours to complete. You will climb to a ridge and follow for some distance in an easterly and then continue in a more south-easterly direction.

This route will run close to the R21 highway. at the southernmost point the trail will descend into a wide valley where plenty of wildlife can usually be seen. The path soon crosses the valley and then ascends to meet the final section of the yellow Trail and eventually to the parking area as you pass the stables.

YELLOW TRAIL;

Our favorite!! a 10.5km trail that is considered the most difficult of the three and should take around 4 hours to complete. My sons and I completed this trail in 3 hours with heavy backpacks (condition training) and with me stopping to take hundreds of photographs!!. The yellow trails starts near the stables and from the side of the overnight hut. it ascends quite steeply along a rugged path and then at the you have the option to turn left and continue along the path until you find the main Johannesburg-Pretoria road on your right.

The huge Voortrekker Monument stands boldly on the hills to your right and you will also see panoramic views of the surrounding aresa of Pretoria, this path continues for about 2 km then the does become easier as you enter the grassy plains where much of the local animal life grazers.

You will then descent at around the 5km mark through a kloof to the edge of the reserve. Once you pass the 6km mark the trail will turn to take you north east and then follows an easy contour until the 9 km mark when you now begin yours descent and ascent back to the starting point. this last bit is very pretty with stunning rock formations and patterns, through some dense forest like trails. just when you think you should be going down you go up again! You will find a tap at the end of the trail just before the overnight huts.

remember to take a minimum of 2 litres of water ( we take 3), a hat (a large part of the trail is out in the open so you will get burnt so plaster yourself with sunscreen. I like to take along my trekking/walking poles for the first and last bits of the trail.