The Cavern is a founding member of the 6500ha Northern Drakensberg Nature Reserve, gazetted on the 18th April 2024, KZN’s newest Nature Reserve.
The establishment of the NDNR is a truly collaborative effort, representing the sweat and toil of various actors, ranging from small private landowners all the way to the World Wildlife Fund. It also represents a giant leap ahead in the consolidation of various tracts of the Drakensberg into a single conservation corridor, linking Sterkfontein Nature Reserve in the Free State with the uKhahlamba/Maloti Drakensberg Park in KwaZulu-Natal, the latter also being a World Heritage Site.
Broadly speaking, the purposes of the NDNR are to (i) conserve animal species and habitats, (ii) enhance regional water security, (iii) preserve the area’s rich cultural heritage, and (iv) further socio-economic upliftment in the local community.
The Cavern is a significant site of conservation because of its:-
Landscape:
The Cave Sandstone cliffs represent a desert period when this whole area was part of the prehistoric super-continent Gondwana.
Natural communities:
The Fern Forest is a very good example of Afromontane forest that spread here from the highlands of East Africa during the wetter periods in the last million years. It is exceptionally rich in trees, with over 60 species noted so far. Thirty-five of these are endemic to South Africa, showing that speciation has occurred since the parent forest retreated back to East Africa.
Protea woodland is very well represented, and is the only habitat that supports the endemic Gurney’s Sugarbird. Proteas are also Gondwana relics, with near relatives in Australia and South America.
Rare species:
Among the rare birds are the Halfcollared Kingfisher, Bald Ibis, Black Stork, Secretary Bird, Martial Eagle, Lammergeyer and Cape Vulture; mammals include the Mountain Reedbuck, Vaal Rhebuck, Brown Hyaena and Serval. Four rare flowers are found here; Scilla natalensis, Disperis fanniniae, Eucomis autumnalis and Protea dracomontana. The Berg Bamboo is another very rare plant, found in only a few places in the Drakensberg.
Endemic species:
Endemics are those species found only in South Africa, sometimes only in the Drakensberg. More than 20 birds are endemic, including the Fiscal Flycatcher, Bush Blackcap, Chorister Robin, Cape Rock Thrush, Bokmakierie, Swee Waxbill, Forest Canary, Cape Weaver, Cape white-eye, Cape Batis, Southern Boubou, and the Greater and Lesser Doublecollared Sunbirds, all of which can be seen in the garden. The most important endemic animal is the Drakensberg Dwarf Chamaeleon, common here, yet confined entirely to the Drakensberg.
Many of the endemics present are typical of the uplands, emphasising the “island” role in speciation and endemism.
The NDNR is established for the benefit of those not only within the reserve but also beyond its borders. As a major tourist destination in the area, members of the NDNR constitute key actors in employment and socio-economic upliftment for an otherwise poor part of the country. Members of the local community can look forward not only to jobs and incomes, but also to being part of a collaborative conservation initiative, having the opportunity to provide input which will filter into the management and running of the reserve itself.