INFORMATION ON KLOOFENDAL NATURE RESERVE

The Kloofendal Nature Reserve is an ideal place for trail walking bird watching and general enjoyment of a natural area.

The Reserve consists of pristine Highveld with quartzite and shale koppies, the associated vegetation with its whole ecology, game, a dam and bird hide, good paths and is 110 hectares in size. The first payable gold on the Witwatersrand was found and mined in the Confidence Reef, which is inside the Reserve and is a national monument.  FroK takes 

We have provided maps of the Reserve which includes paths, streams and contours.

Mountain reedbuck, duiker, dassies and scrubhare are found in the reserve, also many species of birds with the Wailing cisticola and Black sparrow hawk being special to Kloofendal. The Friends of Kloofendal offer 2-hour guided nature walks with qualified guides over weekends. These walks provide information on flora, fauna, geology and gold mining in the reserve.

FroK runs environmental education outings for schools.

Picnic facilities are present, so hikers and families can enjoy a picnic in the beautiful surrounds after their walk. Please ensure that no mess is left behind? There are dustbins.  The by-laws prohibit electronic music and alcohol.

The reserve is fenced and there is a security guard on duty, generally at the entrance only.  The Reserve is as safe as any open area in Johannesburg: we are not aware of any personal incident in the Reserve.  Do care care not to leave valuables visible in your car.

Clean toilets are available in the Amphitheatre.

Stampmill in the Kloofendal Nature Reserve since May 2009

The Sandy Croft Stamp mill on the left was most probably the one that was was brought in by Harry & Fred Struben from England in December 1884 and it came to stand on the bank of the stream adjacent to the present Christiaan de Wet Road, where it crushed gold bearing rock mined by the Struben brothers initially and later on rock from other mines as well.

The construction of Christiaan de Wet Road would have destroyed the mill as it stood in the way of the construction. Luckily Elizabeth Viljoen, curator of the Roodepoort Museum at the time, had the Stamp mill moved to corner Goldman and Seventh Streets, Florida where it has been standing for many years and certainly in the last ten years has not been receiving any attention despite the fact that the dept of Arts, Culture and Heritage had the mill refurbished in 2006

Thank you to Vanguard Rigging and Shango Solutions for making the move possible.  For guided walks into the mine, please contact Karin Spottiswoode cell 079-693-5608, tel 011-674-2980

Further information at STEAM ENGINE AT CONFIDENCE


The steam engine behind the stamp mills is a 1910 Ruston Portable Steam Machine and is similar to those that would have been used in mining in the 1880s. In days of old, steam power was used with a stamp battery to crush ore, as part of the gold extraction process.

It had been on display in Roodepoort for 15 years before it was taken to the James Hall Museum of Transport for safekeeping. The machine is not complete and has had a number of its parts removed over the years, so it would be difficult to restore without reasonable funding.

Yet this makes it ideal for a static outdoor display. For its part, the Transport Museum has other similar engines in its collection in better condition.

Source STEAM ENGINE AT CONFIDENCE 

Wooded valley 

Orchid 

Dassie

Black ducks 
 

Make a free website with Yola