Advise / Rules:

For your benefit and safety

• Strictly NO PETS allowed!

• Wear good walking shoes and a hat.

• Carry an adequate supply of water, particularly if you are hiking in the lower gorges in the heat of the day.

• Don’t swim in the rivers. Bilharzia may be present.

• Abide by opening and closing times. Persons whose vehicles are found in parking areas after dark are assumed lost and a search party is then organised. This is no fun, especially if the lost party is not really lost. If you are lost, do not try and find your way out in the dark. This may lead to serious injury. Stay where you are and wait for rescuers or daylight.

• The KKNR’s Interpretative Centre is a popular meeting and conference venue. To find out about this, and overnight hiking trails, telephone the Officer in Charge (031) 764 3515

History:

The KKNR was proclaimed in 1950. Land donations up until 1999 have brought the area under protection to 584 hectares.

Bushbuck, Blue and Red Duiker were released into the reserve in the years 1970 and 1971, the last named having become extinct in the vicinity of Durban by this time. Baboons were introduced in 1973, but were extirpated in 1980 after complaints from local residents.

Shards and other early Iron Age artifacts have been found in habitable rock shelters

Geology:

The KKNR’ s breathtaking scenery is the result of deep incisions of the Molweni and Nqutu Rivers - tributaries of the Umgeni - into the Kloof plateau. This plateau comprises erosion-resistant Natal Group sandstone, which forms the reserve’s orange-red, iron oxide stained cliffs.

River Sediments

The sediments which form the Natal Group sandstone were transported by river systems which flowed from an active mountain belt to the north, about 490 million years ago. At this time the earth lacked plant cover and the oceans were dominated by faunas such as trilobites (extinct arthropods), brachiopods (now mostly extinct clam-like creatures), echinoderms (ancestors of starfish and sea urchins) and corals.

Basement granites

Beneath the Natal Group sandstone are even older granite gneisses. These were formed in the roots of ancient mountains about a thousand million years ago at temperatures above 600 degrees centigrade, 10 to 20 kilometres beneath the earth’s surface. These mountain peaks, similar to those of the Alps or Himalayas of today, were gradually eroded until they were brought to the surface. Further erosion formed a flat surface onto which the Natal Group sandstone was deposited.

These granites are seen as huge dome-shaped boulders along the Molweni River bed and on hillsides above the river. They are coarse-grained crystalline rocks comprising the minerals, feldspar (which is milky pinkish-white), quartz (which looks glassy) and a few dark specs of a brown mica called biotite.

Dolerite intrusions

Between 300 and 180 million years ago a thick sequence of sediments (known as the Karoo Supergroup) was deposited on the Natal Group sandstone. This was followed by a massive upwelling of heat, known as a hot spot, from deep within the earth that melted rocks beneath the Gondwana supercontinent.

Molten rock (magma) forced its way through fissures in the earth’s crust and erupted as basalt lava flows on the surface. These fissures are known as dykes (if vertical) and sills (if horizontal).

Magma which crystallised more slowly in the dykes and sills is coarser grained than basalt and is known as dolerite. This is a blackish crystalline rock consisting of feldspar and pyroxene.

The numerous narrow and deep crevices that extend into the sides of the KKNR’s cliffs, often a few metres wide and up to 50 metres deep are dolerite dykes which have weathered and eroded from the more resistant sandstone.

Rifting

This hot spot heralded the break up of the Gondwana supercontinent. The first Indian Ocean opened as a rift between Antarctica and KwaZulu-Natal. Extensive faulting and fracturing occurred. One of the faults is visible in the Natal Group sandstone cliffs on the southern side of the Molweni valley. The new drainage system into the rift zone produced the young Drakensberg escarpment, which over 150 million years retreated to its present position. At the same time erosion removed the basalt lava and Karoo Supergroup sediments above the KKNR. The Indian Ocean widened and Antarctica drifted to its present position.

The KKNR is one of only one of a handful of Durban localities where the cries of the nocturnal Thick-tailed Bushbaby may still be heard.

The Tree Dassie has recently been found to occur. Other nocturnal mammals are Bushpig and the Large-spotted Genet, a small cat-like predator, which actually belongs to the family Viverridae.

The rivers are home to fresh water shrimps, the rare Red-tailed Minnow, and pairs of Long-tailed Wagtails.

The KKNR and Shongweni are Wahlberg’s Eagle’s most southern known breeding sites in Africa. KKNR is one of the best spots in KwaZulu-Natal to watch forest birds.

Knysna and Purple-crested Loeries are quite common. From September the hooting of Narina Trogons can be heard from many parts of the reserve.

The Brown Robin is a shy, seldom seen resident. If you listen very carefully in the early mornings and towards evenings you may hear its thin, beautiful song, always from dense forest. Glades often hide Green Twinspots, which are often heard but seldom seen. While walking in the forest, listen for the high pitched song of Forest Canaries, the sibilant call of the Grey Cuckooshrike, the ascending trill of the Scaly-throated Honeyguide, and the whit-whit, whit-whit call of the Olive Woodpecker.

The African Broadbill is rare within these gorges, and Krantzkloof and the Shongweni Resources Reserve are the only Durban localities from which this threatened species has been recorded. The southern nominate race of this bird has been recorded from only a handful of other localities in KwaZulu-Natal, these being the Umtamvuna Gorge, Oribi Gorge and the Vernon Crookes Nature Reserve. The Spotted Thrush is a seldom seen but regular winter visitor.

The Cape Rock Thrush, Striped Pipit and Mocking Chat are vocal residents of the rocky hillsides, while the Croaking Cisticola, Rufousnaped Lark and Yellow-throated Longclaw are often seen or heard in the grasslands.

The crying of Trumpeter Hornbills and melodious whistles of Red-winged Starlings are characteristic and familiar sounds of these gorges. As the sun sets, there are few sounds more evocative of Africa than the lilting, four-syllable whistle of the Molweni valley’s itinerant Shelley’s Francolin.

Contrasting aspects and disjunct moisture regimes make Krantzkloof an area of exceptional botanical diversity. It is impossible to do justice to this large and diverse flora in a short space.

Much of the reserve is densely forested. The oldest and most interesting forest in the reserve is found in gullies and the very steep parts, which have historically provided a refuge from fire and the axe.

Krantzkloof is home to one of South Africa’s rarest trees, Dahlgrenodendron natalense. It is endemic to the sandstone region of Pondoland and southern Natal, and known from only a handful of scattered localities where it occurs in very small numbers or as single specimens. Unusual trees of the old forest are Faurea macnaughtonii, a tall, scarce member of the Protea family, the Green Witch-hazel Trichocladus grandiflorus, the Natal Rose-apple Memecylon natalense and Pondo Rose-apple Memecylon bachmannii. This last small tree may reach the northernmost limit of its distribution in these gorges.

Along the ridges are many trees typical of the coastal krantzes of Pondoland-Natal. These include newly discovered species of Eugenia; the Rock Ash, Ekebergia pterophylla; Tarwood Loxostylis alata; Olea capensis subspecies enervis; the Krantz Quar; Psydrax locuples and Broad-leaved Camphor Bush Tarchonanthus trilobus.

An unusual plant, which hangs from the rock face, is the orange Gladiolus cruentis, which is endemic to the Durban hinterland.

Growing amongst damp rocks in forest are species of purple-flowering Streptocarpus. One of these, Streptocarpus molweniensis, is named after the reserve’s Molweni River.

On dry north facing hillsides bushveld mixes with valley bush elements. Within the reserve are some fine examples of Protea woodland, and groves of Transvaal Beech, Faurea saligna.

On one steep southwest-facing slope grows what may be Durban’s last, badly fire-damaged specimen of a scarce tree, Alberta magna, the aptly named Natal Flame Bush. Winter is the time of Ericas, as pink carpets of Erica cubica and patches of red Erica cerinthoides transform the veld. Here, one also finds the unusual occurrence of a high altitude shrub, Myrsine africana.

Common forest trees: Camwood Baphia racemosa; Wild Poplar Macaranga capensis; the Mitzeerie Bridelia micrantha; Onionwood Cassipourea gummiflua; the Forest Bushwillow Combretum krausii; Tree Fuschisa or Notsung Halleria lucida; Red Beech Protorhus longifolia; Quinine Tree, Rauvolfia caffra; the Umdoni or Waterberry Syzyguim cordatum, and African Dog-rose Xylotheca kraussiana.

Common understorey constituents are the Spike-thorn Gymnosporia mossambicensis; Poison Olive Peddia africana; Englerophytum natalense; Black Bird-berry Psychotria capensis, Tricalysia species, and the False Bride’s Bush Tarenna pavettoides.

Bushveld: Trees of dry hillsides are Acacias karoo and nilotica; Combretum molle; Commiphora harveyi; Wild Pear Dombeya rotundifolia; Rubber Hedge Euphorbia Euphorbia tirucalli; Mountain Rock Fig Ficus glumosa; and Lavender Tree Heteropyxis natalenis. The famous Marula Sclerocarya birrea is fairly common, as are the Weeping Boer-bean Schotia brachpetala, species of Rhus, and Wild Medlar Vangueria infausta.