Schuinsdraai Nature Reserve

About Schuinsdraai Nature Reserve

Two aspects make the Schuinsdraai Nature Reserve popular – the fishing, and the scenery - for by all accounts it is very beautiful here, and the fish include world-renowned carp.

Did you know? Visit the Debegeni Waterfall - Situated just outside Tzaneen, these falls lie in a protected nature reserve, surrounded by mountain countryside, and a perfect place to have a picnic or a braai under enormous trees.

Almostly 42 kilometres due north of Groblersdal, Schuinsdraai Nature Reserve surrounds the Flag Boshielo Dam (formerly known as Arabie Dam) in the Sekhukhune District of Limpopo.

The almost 9 200 hectare reserve was proclaimed in 1993 and incorporates central sandy bushveld (regarded as poorly protected in the country), savanna biome and plant species that need conservation. The reserve intends restoring a full distribution of the type of game that would historically have wandered these plains.

At last count there were over 3 300 different animals present in the reserve, including antelope, blue wildebeest, zebra, warthog, giraffe, baboons, caracal, black-backed jackal, and the endangered brown hyena.

Hippos too frequent the reserve, but they are not officially resident – they wander up the Olifants River, a critically endangered river dissected by the reserve. Eleven species of bird, listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, occur within the reserve. These include the African finfoot, Cape vulture, half-collared kingfisher, lanner falcon, lesser flamingo, martial eagle, red-billed oxpecker, secretary bird and tawny eagle.

Eighteen different amphibians live in Schuinsdraai, including the bushveld rain frog and painted reed frog. And there is a large group of crocodiles in the dam. Day visitors can picnic at sites, there is a slipway for boat access into the dam, there are a number of informal hiking trails, birding trails and mountain bike trails – none very well signposted as yet, but there for those who seek them.

There are plans afoot to improve the reserve by introducing water sports to the dam, constructing a bar, restaurant and swimming area, and extending the game fence.