Krantzkloof Nature Reserve: Get close to nature

Meander through the Kranstzkloof Nature Reserve and down to the Kloof falls.

Meander through the Kranstzkloof Nature Reserve and down to the Kloof falls.

There's more to Durban than the beach. Next time you're in town, explore a reserve hidden within the suburbs.

Krantzkloof 101

Where? 4 km from Kloof, about a 20-minute drive from Durban.
When? Guided trails: 1st and 3rd Sunday of every month (R30 per person). Meet at 8 am at the picnic site on Kloof Falls road. Or join Linda for an informal hike every Saturday at 2 pm.
Cost? Entrance fee R15 per person. Gates open 6 am to 6 pm daily.
Contact: Krantzkloof Nature Reserve Office 031 764 3515 or Linda Marsden-King 083 621 1687

Woman on a mission
Linda Marsden-King from the Mountain Backpackers Club is doing a headcount at the picnic site at the Krantzkloof Nature Reserve. She’s full of beans for 2 o’clock on a Saturday. I quickly
jump into line. “Nobody gets lost on my watch,” she says briskly before we set off at a military pace. In our group are four hiking gurus armed with trekking poles, three first-timers and two boys itching
to escape their mothers’s grasp. “I hike every Saturday, whether or not people join me. I just love it out here,” Linda tells me. “You can explore the reserve on your own but I advise people to go in groups for safety.’

A long way down
Today, we’re tackling a 7 km hike to Kloof Falls, which will take us down into the gorge and along the Molweni River. We should be done by 4.30 pm, in time for the rugby on TV, depending on whether or not we plan to swim in any of the rock pools along the way.

Don't get left behind
“It’s quite steep so stay behind me. I’ll go in front and catch the cobwebs. All right?” Linda says to the kids. The narrow trail hugs the cliff-side, so I keep as far to the right as possible and watch my step. Linda and the older hikers charge ahead, hardly breaking a sweat. I can barely keep up.

Creatures of the forest
“Can you smell that?” Linda stops in her tracks. I catch a whiff of sweaty horses. “Dassie!” she declares before forging ahead again. We stop at a clearing along the trail. Below us, the waterfall
tumbles down into the Molweni River. There’s a large crowned eagle’s nest high up in the canopy – apparently the eagles have been here for 40 years. I tip toe cautiously toward the edge to peer over the precipice but there’s no sign of the breeding pair. We retreat back into the forest and rest our legs next to a stream, and then suddenly we spot an eagle overhead, circling and screeching protectively over the nest. I watch as its broad wings flare out and wonder what it must be like to be the most powerful eagle in the sky.