FEBRUARY WALK
Hangklip Ecological Corridor with Allan Heydorn: Saturday 20 February
Tim Attwell
Conserved by vision, determination and generosity; hallowed by tragedy, tender memory and deep love for the vulnerable splendour of the natural environment, the Hangklip Ecological Corridor, or Hangklip Nature Reserve, is the most recent addition to the core zone of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve.
The weather forecast had been gloomy, but the clouds made for perfect walking conditions as eleven Botsoc walkers set off on the trail from Clarence Drive, a stone’s throw from the entrance to Pringle Bay, into the pristine fynbos of the Hangklip Nature Reserve, also known as the Hangklip Ecological Corridor. A short walk over the ridge had us spellbound by scenes of mountains and valleys, a coastal view that stretched as far as the eye could see, and Hangklip Sandstone Fynbos, including the charming Diastella fraterna or ‘Palmiet silkypuff’, a local endemic.
The primary objective was to visit the memorial plaques of two principle donors whose generosity had ensured the conservation in perpetuity of the area.
Arriving at the memorial to Bernard Brodie, Allan Heydorn, renowned conservationist and former CEO of the WWF-South Africa, told the story of how veteran Botsoc Kogelberg member, Ursula Huyssen, had alerted him to the likelihood of urban development in the area. Thanks to the generosity of the Brodie family, of Consol Glass fame, the first part of the Hangklip Ecological Corridor was bought through the good offices of Allan Heydorn and presented to the WWF-South Africa in honour of Bernard Brodie, whose memorial looks out across the valley that sweeps down to the sea at Betty’s Bay.
A short walk from the Bernard Brodie memorial brought us to the memorial of Simon Marais – a modest plaque bearing his name and the epitaph, ‘Hier het my droom begin’ (‘Here my dream began’). A successful fund manager, Simon Marais had dreamed of finishing what the Brodie family had begun: to complete the conservation of an ecological corridor between the mountains of the Kogelberg Nature Reserve and the coast between Pringle Bay, Cape Hangklip and Betty’s Bay, including the famed Hangklip Peak. Not long after Simon Marais had made a very large donation for the purchase of the land, he succumbed to cancer.
Conservation of priceless landscapes of astonishing beauty and rich biodiversity requires dedication, generosity and determination. We were deeply moved by the account Allan Heydorn gave us of how the Hangklip Nature Reserve came to be. The reserve belongs to the WWF-South Africa and is now incorporated within the core zone of the Kogelberg Biosphere Reserve, the Kogelberg Nature Reserve, and managed by Cape Nature. Take a picnic in your backpack and enjoy. The place is rich in fynbos, but there is more to it than meets the eye, as two memorials will tell you.
