Table Bay Nature Reserve

About Table Bay Nature Reserve

Cape Town has so many little (and not so little) gems lying inside its borders; ranging from malls to mountains and everything in-between. The Table Bay Nature Reserve is one of the most beautiful and diverse of these treasures, and is conveniently situated in Milnerton, just minutes away from the City Bowl.

Did you know? The Table Bay Nature Reserve is the link between the city centre of Cape Town and the Cape West Coast Biosphere Reserve. It protects vast tracts of land and wetlands, right in the heart of the Mother City.

The Table Bay Nature Reserve covers a total area of 880 hectares and is made up of seven smaller reserves, which were amalgamated in 2012 to improve the management of the unique biodiversity that can be found within each of them. These are the:

1. Rietvlei Wetland Reserve
2. Milnerton Lagoon
3. Milnerton Beach
4. Milnerton Racecourse Nature Reserve
5. Zoarvlei Wetlands
6. Diep River Fynbos Corridor
7. Parklands Fynbos Corridor

The reserve as a whole is home to an impressive variety of animal species. These include mongooses, steenbok, grysbok, Cape fox, porcupine, Cape clawless otter, honey badger, Cape genet and small-spotted genet; and a variety of snakes, lizards, frogs, toads, and geckos.

It is also a hotspot for keen birders; who should keep an eye out for ducks, geese, herons, egrets, nightjars, kingfishers, plovers, storks and cuckoos (amongst many others). Highlights include the blue crane, African black oystercatcher, flamingos (greater and lesser), greater painted snipe; and a collection of raptors (like owls, buzzards, kites, and eagles). There are boardwalks and bird hides in Rietvlei, which offer unrivalled opportunities to see many brag-worthy species.

The freshwater lake, river, estuarine lagoon, and marshes are home to many fish species (including mullet, tilapia, steenbras, and carp).

Of course, this locale means that the reserve showcases some of the most beautiful endemic fynbos in the Cape. There are also coastal dunes, floodplains, reed beds, and salt marshes within the Table Bay Nature Reserve. These all provide a variety of different habitats, which are perfect for the array of animals that live here.

Visit the various reserves of the greater Table Bay Nature Reserve for a really special, memorable day out. Milnerton is about 20 minutes from the Cape Town International Airport in one direction, and the V & A Waterfront in the opposite.