DeMond

De Mond Nature Reserve is situated 26 km south-east of Bredasdorp on the south-western Cape coast.

 The reserve lies at the mouth of the Heuningnes River. De Mond is 954 ha in size, and comprises former sections of the farmland. It was proclaimed a nature reserve in 1986. This reserve is beautifull, well kept and extremely safe. :) There are places to have a picnic. Fishing is permitted in the river and I can definatelly recommend the hiking trail.

THE HIKE

The Sterna Trail traverses riverine vegetation, dune forest and stabilised dunes before following the coast to the river mouth and saltmarshes.

Distance:  7km

Area:  DeMond Reserve - Cape Nature
Difficulty: Easy

Cost:  R20

The start of the hike is across the rickety bridge. I insisted that we crossed one at a time even though I was told that it is actually a lot sturdier than it looks.

We did this hike early one winters morning. Nature gave us a gap in between two cold fronts. We waisted no time. This is the Heuninges River and today it looked very peacefull after the storm of the night before.

Once across the bridge it is a very short climb up to the lookout point giving you a beautifull view over DeMond. (DeMond is Dutch for River Mouth). The Heuningnes estuary is Africa's southernmost estuary. The estuary is bounded by the Indian Ocean in the south and agricultural lands in the north. It extends approximately 12 km across the coastal plain of the Zoetendals Valley.

Back on the trail I was surprised how many flowers we saw. This time of year, it being the middle of winter,  is not really known for its flowers. The soil is sandy and does not seem furtile at all. How wrong I was. :) Below is my feeble efforts of capturing some of the delicate flowers we saw. We even saw a pair of mushrooms growing right out of the sand.

Soon we turned our backes towards the heuninges river and headed along a jeep track hugging the fence of the reserve. The main farming activity in the area is Sheep and Canola.