One of the things that surprised me the most about Johannesburg was finding out there are many terrific nature reserves to visit, even within the city limits. I have already written about a few of them already: the Melville Koppies, Lonehill Nature Reserve and Norscot Koppies Nature Reserve. Whenever we need a quick nature fix close to home, we head to one of these. This past weekend we had the chance to discover another great little gem in the northern suburbs called Rietfontein Nature Reserve.

Rietfontein Nature Reserve

The reserve is located in Paulshof, just off of Witkoppen and next to the German Country Club. It is open every day from 6 am to 6 pm and there is no entry fee. Parking is free and inside the guarded entrance.

Nature Trail

The reserve features a scenic 2.5 kilometre walking trail with a slow, easy climb up the koppie for great views all over the area. It also hosts many bird and animal species so keep your eyes peeled and your camera ready.

Map of Rienfontein

Some of the birds and animals you may be lucky to come across in the reserve

The reserve also hosts an educational centre and there are signposts along the trail describing some of the animals found in the reserve.

Common Duiker Signpost

We were lucky to see a blesbok and he even posed so nicely for a photo op before he scampered off.

Blesbok

The views from the top of the koppie stretch from Midrand and the Turkish Mosque all the way to Sandton City and between. Unfortunately, there is a bit of traffic noise as the reserve sits just above the N1 but it doesn’t distract too much from the tranquility of the trail.

Views from above

More views

Trail

At the end of our walk, we discovered an adorable little duiker just chillin’ in the grass next to the education centre. While we were busy trying to sneak as close as possible to get a good photo of the duiker, two other small antelope went running past us and back into the reserve. I didn’t get a good look at them as they were really fast but the Frenchie thought they were Klipspringers.

Duiker

If you are looking to do an easy little walk and maybe do wildlife spotting, be sure to check out Rietfontein Nature Reserve, you will be sure to enjoy this.