Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve is an 18,000 ha reserve situated to the south west of

Harrismith Harrismith is a large town in the Free State (South African province), Free State province of South Africa. It was named for Sir Harry Smith, 1st Baronet, Sir Harry Smith, a 19th-century British governor and high commissioner of the Cape Colony. ...

, Free State,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

. The reserve is close to the Drakensberg Mountain nature reserve. The reserve offers campsites, hiking trails and a large variety of

fauna Fauna (: faunae or faunas) is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding terms for plants and fungi are ''flora'' and '' funga'', respectively. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively ...

and

flora Flora (: floras or florae) is all the plant life present in a particular region or time, generally the naturally occurring (indigenous (ecology), indigenous) native plant, native plants. The corresponding term for animals is ''fauna'', and for f ...

Fauna and flora

Antelope

* Oribi * Mountain reedbuck * Grey rhebuck

Birdlife

African fish eagle just caught fish.jpg,

African fish eagle The African fish eagle (''Icthyophaga vocifer'') or the African sea eagle is a large species of eagle found throughout sub-Saharan Africa wherever large bodies of open water with an abundant food supply occur. It is the national bird of Malawi, ...

Bartgeier Gypaetus barbatus front Richard Bartz.jpg,

Bearded vulture The bearded vulture (''Gypaetus barbatus''), also known as the lammergeier and ossifrage, is a very large bird of prey in the Monotypic taxon, monotypic genus ''Gypaetus''. The bearded vulture is the only known vertebrate whose diet consists of ...

Polemaetus bellicosus -Masai Mara-8.jpg,

Martial eagle The martial eagle (''Polemaetus bellicosus'') is a large eagle native to sub-Saharan Africa.Ferguson-Lees & Christie, ''Raptors of the World''. Houghton Mifflin Company (2001), . It is the only member of the genus ''Polemaetus''. A species of t ...

Gyps coprotheres1.jpg,

Cape vulture The Cape vulture (''Gyps coprotheres''), also known as Cape griffon and Kolbe's vulture, is an Old World vulture in the family Accipitridae. It is endemic to southern Africa, and lives mainly in South Africa, Lesotho, Botswana, and in some parts ...

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Verreaux's eagle Verreaux's eagle (''Aquila verreauxii'') is a large, mostly African, bird of prey. It is also called the black eagle, especially in southern Africa, not to be confused with the black eagle (''Ictinaetus malayensis'') of south and southeast Asia. ...

Black_eagle.jpg,

Black eagle The black eagle (''Ictinaetus malaiensis'') is a bird of prey. Like all eagles, it is in the family Accipitridae, and is the only member of the genus ''Ictinaetus''. They soar over forests in the hilly regions of tropical and subtropical South a ...

Trees

* Yellowwood * Wild peach * Koko tree * Silky bark

Grasses and bushes

*Wild myrtle *

Redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

rooihout (not to be confused with the

redwood Sequoioideae, commonly referred to as redwoods, is a subfamily of Pinophyta, coniferous trees within the family (biology), family Cupressaceae, that range in the Northern Hemisphere, northern hemisphere. It includes the List of superlative tree ...

tree) * Ouhout * Bush guarri * Highveld protea * Silver sugarbush *

Tree fern Tree ferns are arborescent (tree-like) ferns that grow with a trunk (botany), trunk elevating the fronds above ground level, making them trees. Many extant tree ferns are members of the order Cyatheales, to which belong the families Cyatheaceae ( ...

Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve Panorama

Gallery

Image:Sterkfonteindamcampsite.JPG, A campsite with chalets at the water's edge of the Sterkfontein Dam reservoir within the reserve. Note the dry conditions (conducive to bush fires) in the wintertime. Image:Sterkfontein Dam camping area.JPG, Camping area at the water's edge. Image:Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve 1.jpg, An early morning view of the Sterkfontein Dam reservoir and surroundings from the campsite in the nature reserve. Image:Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve 2.jpg, A view of the camping area by the shores of the reservoir in the Sterkfontein Dam Nature Reserve

Notes

This park will be included into the Maloti-Drakensberg Transfrontier Conservation Area, Peace Park.

References

{{Authority control Nature reserves in South Africa Protected areas of the Free State (province) Maluti-a-Phofung