KKNR Trail Map

Beacon Trail - ± 6 hours

This is a circular route through the Reserve.

Follow the yellow trail from the Kloof Falls picnic site. After crossing the weir on the Ronalds Kloof stream look out for a path turning to your right. The trail from here is easy to follow and will bring you to an open grassland with a trigonometric beacon.

Further down the hill the path splits. If you turn to the left you will go to a view site well worth the time ±10 minutes, or turn right to continue the trail.

At the top of the hill after, crossing the small stream, you will see a stone cairn. At this point you must turn left as a right turn will take you to the Uve Road car park. Follow the sign to Splash Rock. You are now back on the yellow trail, which will take you to the bottom of the gorge. After spending some time at Splash Rock you need to retrace your steps up the path a little way, until another path joins from the right. Taking this path, carry on until you come to a fork, which is signposted. This will either take you to the base of the Kloof Falls or directly back to the Kloof Falls picnic site. If walking to the bottom of the falls, this section of path is a dead end,and you will need to retrace your steps to the fork.

This trail will take ± 6 hours at an easy pace.

Impiti Trail (Black) - ± 45 minutes

The black trail will take you on a circular route to the Impiti Falls. There is some moderate uphill climbing but this should not prove to be too strenuous.

Nkutu Falls Trail (Red) - ± 3hours

This trail will take you to two waterfalls on the Nkutu River. To descend to the base of the first waterfall, near the Nkutu picnic site, branch off to your right ±1 km from the start.

You will then need to retrace your footsteps up to the main path, where you should take a right turn and follow this path to a fork. The right hand fork will take you to the base of the second falls. For the less energetic the waterfall trails should be avoided. The left fork of the path continues along the cliff face, from where spectacular views into the lower gorge may be seen. This route is mostly through open grasslands and is therefore very hot.

Allow ±1,5 hours and at least 3 hours if visiting both falls.

Longshadows Trail (Blue) - ± 2 hours

This trail is part of a longer overnight trail, which is conducted by the Wildlife and Environmental Society. You can however follow this trail for as long as you wish and then return via the same route. To walk to the tar road at Acutts Drive and return will take ±2 hours.

This trail follows the Molweni River and wanders through very dense forest, which makes it cool and level.

Molweni Trail (Yellow) - ± 5 hours

You can either start or end the yellow trail at any of the following 3 points: Kloof Falls Road picnic site; Uve Road car park or Nkutu picnic site, off Valley Drive.

All routes are strenuous and will take you to the bottom of the gorge at ±137 metres above sea level and out again to ±487 metres above sea level. Sufficient water should therefore be carried for this 5 hour walk (easy walking).

If you are not returning to your starting point, it is important to arrange with someone else to leave a vehicle or to meet you at your destination.

The yellow trail also provides the only access to the bottom of the Kloof Falls. The section of path to the falls is a dead end. Therefore you will need to retrace your steps as any attempts to climb the falls is both dangerous and forbidden.

Walking downstream of the point known as "Splash Rock", is not advisable due to the troublesome behaviour of residents outside the reserve. Small groups and unsupervised groups of young children should also not walk this area. Late afternoon and early morning walks in this area should be avoided.

Ntombeni Trail (Green) - ± 45 minutes

This trail will take you to a spot called "The Crack", which offers spectacular vistas of the lower gorge. This is a level trail which passes through open grassland and can therefore be very hot.

Points of Interest

A Tabernaemontana ventricosa - Forest toad tree

This is usually a smaller tree of the forest understorey. It has opposite leaves, sticky white sap, and sweetly smelling, white star-shaped flowers that often fall to the forest floor. The conspicuous toad-like fruit appears from February to July.

B Rauvolfia caffra - Quinine Tree

This is one of the tallest forest trees. Leaves have translucent veins and are arranged in fours. Milky latex exudes from broken off leaves and twigs. The bark contains the drug reserpine, which is used as a tranquiliser and to treat high blood pressure.

C Dichrostachys cinerea - Sickle bush

A common small tree or shrub of bushveld, in summer it has beautiful pink and yellow flowers. It is heavily used for magical and medicinal purposes throughout Africa.

D Commiphora harveyi - Bronze paper commiphora

This small to medium size tree is usually associated with valley bush and rock outcrops. It is instantly recognisable by its smooth, dark green bark, peeling off in thin, reddish-bronze sheets.

E Ferns

The fern that you see here is a species of Nephrolepis, which has escaped from local gardens and become a problem in many parts of the reserve, as it displaces indigenous vegetation. Other problem plants are Lantana camara, Chromelaena odorata and Solanum mauritianum.

F Cycads

Occurring in rocky, forested parts of the reserve is the Forest Cycad Encephalartos villosus. The leaves are rigid, palm-like and 1 to 2,5 metres long. The leaflets are toothed. At certain times of the year male and female plants produce cones. The female cone ripens yellow-orange, where it is conspicuous in forest shade. Hornbills and loeries eat the bright red seeds.

The Natal Cycad Encephalartos natalensis, with a stem of up to 3 or 4 metres, grows only on inaccessible rock faces, where it is safe from thieves. Specimens of the Natal Cycad have also been planted at the gate entrance to the Interpretative Centre, opposite the Bridle Road picnic site.

G Species of Streptocarpus

This plant is described in the introductory chapter. It flowers in December and January.

H Rock dassie shelter

The common dassie in the reserve is the Rock Dassie. Their strong smelling communal latrines are often found along the base of the gorges.

I Tragelaphus scriptus - Bushbuck

The male of this handsome stands 80 cm at the shoulder and is 40 kg in mass. Females are smaller and lack horns.

Both sexes utter a loud, dog-like bark as an alarm call, though the bark of the male is louder. They are shy and retiring, and so are not often seen.

In dry winter months they occur close to water and have a home range of less than half a hectare. This increases to about 6 hectares in the summer.

J Philantomba monticola - Blue Duiker

This is the smallest of the African antelopes. It stands at 30 cm at the shoulder and has a mass of only about 4 kg. It occurs only in dense forest and is rare in South Africa.

Both sexes have tiny spike-like horns. Their coats are a dark, smoky-grey with a bluish sheen, hence the common name.

Like Bushbuck, the Blue Duiker is a browser. It feeds on low-growing shoots, leaves and fallen fruit.

K Cephalophus natalensis - Red Duiker

Standing at 43 cm at the shoulder, and with a mass of about 14kg, the Red Duiker is another rare forest antelope, which has disappeared from most of its former range in southern KwaZulu-Natal.

Both sexes have short straight horns and are deep chestnut in colour. Their feeding habits are similar to those of Blue Duiker.

L Sylvicarpa grimmia - Common Duiker

Standing about 50 cm at the shoulder and with a mass of 15-20 kg, the Common Duiker occurs in a wide range of habitats, from long grass to scrub and edge of forest. Like the Red Duiker it is a browser.

The males have short, straight horns.

M Atilax paludinosus - Water Mongoose

These small predators are about 85 cm long and have a mass of 3,4 kg. They are mainly active in the hours after dawn and before dusk.

They have fine elongated toes on each foot, and their spoor is often seen in the mud alongside streams and rivers.

Frogs and crabs are favourite foods, but they also eat fish, rodents and insects.

N Open grassland

Containing by far the greatest number of plant species are the grasslands on the gorge plateau. These are mere fragments of what existed before suburbia. In the late summer, hundreds of purple-flowering Watsonia are an unforgettable sight.

The grasslands are managed to maintain diversity and prevent scrub and forest encroachment. The reserve is therefore divided into blocks that are burnt on a rotational basis.

O Spiders

Along this section of the trail one is likely to find the unusual looking kite spider. They come in various bright, shiny colours with sharp projections to protect themselves from birds.

P Antlions.

In this soft sandy area look out for a number of conical indentations in the soil. Those are the lairs of the antlion larvae.

The antlion conceals itself in the bottom of the cone and waits for passing insects to fall in the hole. The soft sides make it difficult for an insect to escape and it is soon drawn underground to be devoured.

The mature antlion resembles a dragonfly except that it is not as brightly coloured, has long prominent antennae and is a poor flier. Spend some time here and see if you can witness a "kill".

Q Lichens

ichens are plants that consist of an alga and a fungus. The fungus forms the structure of the lichen and its rhizoids (primitive root-like structures) attach the lichen to the rock surface. The alga provides food by photosynthesis, while the fungus provides shelter, minerals and water.

Acid produced by lichens plays an important part in breaking rocks down. Lichens grow very slowly in arid environments, less than one millimetre a year. Some are thousands of years old and rival the oldest plants.

Because litchens take in minerals from the air they are highly vulnerable to pollutants such as sulphur dioxide, which kills all but hardy species. The number and type of lichens in an area therefore give a good indication of air quality.

R Crowned Eagles

This majestic raptor is unmistakable in flight with its short broad wings and long tail, both heavily barred. If flying low enough, its rufous underwing coverts can be seen. It has an occipital crest which is only seen if raised when the eagle is excited, or by wind. When perched it can be easily overlooked as its dark blotched body provides perfect camouflage in the dappled light of its forest habitat. It is very vocal, particularly when performing its undulating display flight high above the forest.

The Crowned Eagle is the most powerful of the African eagles. It is able to subdue prey many times its own weight, using the very powerful talons.

Their main diet consists of dassies, antelope and monkeys. A search below one nest in the KKNR revealed the skulls of 18 dassies and 2 mongooses.

There are at least two pairs present in the KKNR and they are able to breed annually. A well known nest in the reserve has been occupied by crowned eagles for about 40 years, and has been rebuilt many times.

S Equus burchelli - Burchell’s Zebra

The Zebra found in this reserve can be easily distinguished from the other two species found in South Africa by the yellow to greyish coloured shadow stripes between the black stripes.

The zebra will normally be seen in a group which will consist of a dominant male, the females and their young. The adults will defend the young by kicking and biting and will move between the perceived threat and the juveniles.These animals are grazers and prefer areas with short grass.The reason for the zebra’s stripes has been debated for a long time. One theory is that the stripes are good for camouflage in certain light conditions, another is that the mass of stripes when the herd is fleeing an attack will confuse the predator. These theories are not totally satisfactory.

Just like the fingerprints on your finger, no two zebra’s stripes are ever the same and can be used as a system of identification.