But by 1969 the Garden was in dire financial trouble, and the Pietermaritzburg Botanic Society readily transferred it to the expanding umbrella of the National Botanic Gardens. Peter Law, the first Curator appointed by NBG to the Garden, immediately set about eradicating invasive species that had infested much of the natural area of the Garden. By his retirement in 1979, most of the worst invasive trees had been removed, with many trees and shrubs indigenous to the region taking their place. Poor shallow soils and cold winters have made the re-establishment of the original vegetation – indigenous Southern Mistbelt Forest and Ngongoni Grassveld – a slow and difficult task. Alien invasive species find the habitat ideal, and the fight to control their infestations is endless, sapping the energies and resources of successive curators and staff.
Kirstenbosch Hunting Trips Photo Gallery
Transforming the original colonial garden into an indigenous garden has also been problematic, its old bones’ proving difficult to disguise. Many of the rigid, geometrically patterned plantings of trees remain, including some fine specimens of Camphor Cinnamomum camphora, Swamp Cypress Taxodium distichum and Moreton Bay Fig Ficus macrocarpa – indications of the Garden’s Victorian heritage. Despite the best efforts of its curators, the problems resulting from a long and changing history continue: the Garden lacks the spirit of place’ that each of the other NBGs offers.
As SANBI’s mandate requires increasing attention to biodiversity rather than to plants in isolation, the Garden offers some compensation for its other shortcomings. It is a haven for birds (182 species), butterflies (126 species), dragonflies (26 species) and damselflies (15 species). The butterfly fauna alone represents 29 per cent of the province’s butterfly diversity, in an area totalling less than 0.0005 A pair of Verreaux s Eagles has nested on the cliffs next to the waterfall; they are jealously protected as icons of the Garden.
The centrepiece of the Garden, hidden from the entrance and unfolding as one advances along the main circular walkway, is the spectacular Witpoortjie Waterfall, a 70-metre-high natural feature tumbling over a cliff that reveals the area’s rich geological history. Nesting high on the cliff face adjacent to the waterfall is a breeding pair of majestic Verreaux’s Eagles – an image of which species is the Garden’s much-treasured icon.
A small central area of the Garden had been used for agriculture during the first half of the 20th century. The task of removing the many retaining walls, cottages and farm buildings, and that of establishing the hard landscaping and basic infrastructure of the Garden, was completed in less than five years by the Garden’s first Curator, Peter Chaplin. The framework put in place has matured into a superb asset for the region, so that it is repeatedly voted the best ecotourist destination in Gauteng.
The first wave of infrastructural development was achieved through fund-raising among the many large industrial and mining houses of the region. A wetland was established, with a bird-watchers’ hide, using funding from Sasol; an Environmental Education Centre was funded by Nestle; and the main circular walkway was donated by Anglovaal.
