Bracken Nature Reserve

 The Bracken Nature Reserve has a great diversity of wildlife. This 36-hectare reserve consists mainly of the critically endangered Swartland granite renosterveld and Cape Flats sand fynbos vegetation types, which, in general, are poorly conserved. To date, more than 10 endemic and threatened plant species have been confirmed at Bracken Nature Reserve. The Reserve has a rich and unique diversity of succulents, geophytes, orchids, mosses and lichens. In spring, the reserve is usually covered
with a beautiful blanket of flowers

In the 1700s, the hill overlooking Brackenfell was known as Kanonkop because the cannon stationed there was used to signal the farmers of ships arriving in the harbour, to which they could sell their produce. A granite quarry was excavated into the hill between 1950 and the early 1970s, after which it was closed down and turned into a landfill site. Bracken Nature Reserve was later earmarked as a core botanical site. In 2013, a ‘6-pounder’ cannon was donated to Bracken by Tygerberg Nature Reserve. Visitors are encouraged to visit the site and learn more about its history.

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2 Reservoir Street, Brackenfell South,

GPS -33.878326 S, 18.708431 E