Drie Kuilen Nature Nature Reserve Pty. Ltd is a private Nature Reserve owned by a family that is passionate about nature and wildlife. The Reserve is managed on the ground by conservationist Stefan Short who leads a team of four to maintain and take care of the place. Stefan and his wife Elena live on the ground all year around and truly put their whole hearts into conservation. There are two families living and working on the ground that have roots over many generations on the property.

Our goal is to create a sustainable environment for human and animal, protect regional flora and fauna and support ongoing conservation. To protect nature worldwide it is mandatory to educate people, therefore we are happy about visitors all age to see, feel and learn.

We are pleased to have Universities doing studies and research projects on our fields and we’re committed to collaboratively work with students and scientists to ensure the biodiversity integrity of the Reserve is maintained. Drie Kuilen Nature Reserves unique features, makes it an important part of South Africa’s heritage, and as such should be protected for future generations.

Drie Kuilen is a proclaimed Nature Reserve and a recommended Stewardship site.  It was first proclaimed as a private nature reserve on 28 September 2001, following the publication of the Provincial Notice 295/2001, and issued with a Certificate of Adequate Enclosure by CapeNature.  The Reserve has conservation value in that it contributes significantly to conserving land worthy of conservation in the Western Cape.

Species worthy of conservation such as the rare Cape Mountain Zebra and Bontebok are also found on the reserve. Additionally, Drie Kuilen Nature Reserve also contributes to biodiversity landscape by serving as an example of conservation as viable land use option at a time, and in a place where conservation has not been seen as a land use option.

Drie Kuilen Nature Reserve has three unique and notable vegetation types:

• Matjiesfontein Shale Renosterveld
• North Langeberg Sandstone Fynbos
• South Langeberg Sandstone Fynbos

There are also good examples of heuweltjies – a class of soil surface feature that occurs widely in the south-western Cape of South Africa.

One theory is that heuweltjies are fossil termite mounds. Within this hypothesis, there are two conflicting opinions on the origins of heuweltjies, one maintaining that heuweltjies were built by the harvester termite (Microhodotermes viator), the other that heuweltjies were built by a now possibly extinct termite species. The earliest radiocarbon dates on heuweltjies suggest an age of about 30,000 or even 40,000 B.P.

Another theory is that heuweltjies are created by burrowing (fossorial) animals. Variants of this hypothesis are that the animals are mole-rats in the families Bathyergidae and Rhizomyinae; termites; or a combination of mole-rats and termites. A further theory is that heuweltjies are caused by differential erosion in places where the availability of water limits the growth of vegetation, creating natural patterns such as tiger bush. Scientists note that heuweltjies contain at least ten times more soil than any termite nests in South Africa, and that they can occur on bedrock, which termites could not be tunnelling through to move soil upwards. Further, the heuweltjies had the same spatial distribution as bush-clumps, patches of woody vegetation forming patterns. They suggest that heuweltjies formed from bush-clumps as these protected the soil from eroding away, producing calcrete hardpans.

Drie Kuilen hosts a variety of game while we pay highest attention to only introduce regional species. All our species are indigenous to the area and roam freely on our reserve.
We do not interact with wild mammals, nor do we feed them. We ensure a permanent availability of water and keep our veld healthy.

Our most common sightings:

• Gemsbok
• Cape Mountain Zebra
• Bontebok
• Eland
• Black Wildebeest
• Springbok
• Red Hartebeest
• Ostrich
• Baboon
• Dassie or Rock Hyrax

Less common to rare sightings:

• Duiker
• Klipspringer
• Steenbok
• Grey Rhebok
• Porcupine
• Aardvark
• Cape Clawless Otter
• Black-Backed Jackal
• Honey Badger
• Caracal / Rooikat
• Cape Mountain Leopard
• African Wild Cat
• Bat-eared Fox

Our smaller animals:

• Birds (raptors, large birds, water birds and various small species)
• Rodents  (hares, rats, mice and porcupine)
• Reptiles (tortoises, snakes and lizards)
• Arachnids (scorpions and spiders)
• Amphibians (frogs)
• Insects (bees ‘n bugs)

We have many different bird species on the reserve, from big raptors on the mountain to a range of waterbirds. Following is a list of birds we usually can find on the property.

African Harrier-Hawk, African Hoopoe, African Fish Eagle, African Sacred Ibis, African Spoonbill, Barn Swallow, Black Harrier, Black Stork, Black-chested Snake Eagle, Black-headed Canary, Black-headed Heron, Black-winged Kite, Blacksmith Lapwing, Blue Crane, Bokmakierie, Booted Eagle, Cape Bulbul, Cape Bunting, Cape Clapper Lark, Cape Crow, Cape Eagle-Owl, Cape Robin-Chat, Cape Siskin, Cape Sparrow, Cape Spurfowl, Cape Sugarbird, Cape Turtle Dove, Cape Weaver, Common Buzzard, Common Ostrich, Common Quail, Common Waxbill, Crowned Lapwing, Familiar Chat, Fynbos Buttonquail, Giant Kingfisher, Greater Striped Swallow, Grey Heron, Grey-backed Sparrow-Lark, Ground Woodpecker, Hadeda Ibis, Hamerkop, Helmet Guineafowl, House Sparrow, Jackal Buzzard, Karoo Chat, Karoo Lark, Karoo Prinia, Karoo Scrub Robin, Laughing Dove, Little Bittern, Ludwig’s Bustard, Maccoa Duck, Malachite Kingfisher, Malachite Sunbird, Namaqua Dove, Orange-breasted Sunbird, Pale Chanting Goshawk, Peregrine Falcon, Pied Crow, Pied Starling, Pin-tailed Wydah, Protea Canary, Red-faced Mousebird, Red-knobbed Coot, Red-winged Starling, Rock Dove, Rock Kestrel, Rufous-breasted Sparrowhawk, Rufous-cheeked Nightjar, Sentinel Rock Thrush, South African Shelduck, Southern Black Korhaan, Southern Double-collared Sunbird, Southern Fiscal, Southern Masked Weaver, Southern Red Bishop, Speckled Mousebird, Speckled Pigeon, Spotted Eagle-Owl, Spotted thick-knee, Verreaux’s Eagle, Water thick-knee, Wattled Starling, Western Barn Owl, Western Cattle Egret, White-backed Mousebird, White-necked Raven, Yellow-billed Duck, Yellow Bishop, Yellow Canary