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De Hel Conservation Area<p>​De Hel Nature Area adjoins Table Mountain below Rhodes Drive, to the northeast of Constantia Nek. The upper reaches of the Spaanschemat River run through this 21-hectare natural area. A management partnership has been arranged between the municipality and the Friends of Constantia Valley Greenbelts (FOCVGB). The site has also been declared a Provincial Heritage Site. De Hel is densely covered in trees and its steep slopes run down to the riverbed. At the lower end of the reserve, a flat piece of land known as ‘the Meadow’ is still home to pockets of fruit trees and garden plants.</p><p>De Hel is linked to ancient cattle tracks originating from the Khoi-Khoi pastoralists in the Cape. The Dutch East India Company also established one of their four woodcutters’ posts in the area, and because of this and its associations with slave labour and slave runaways, De Hel is a heritage site of significance.</p>GP0|#754dde40-8789-4494-9113-50ac9121fd42;L0|#0754dde40-8789-4494-9113-50ac9121fd42|Nature appreciation;GTSet|#153637b8-411d-4bf7-8214-7237f5d775f0;GP0|#05fb5d88-5860-4a8a-866f-28c74794eaae;L0|#005fb5d88-5860-4a8a-866f-28c74794eaae|Walking and hiking<h4>General enquiries</h4><p> <em>Telephone: </em> <br> <em><a>021 689 9141</a>​</em></p><p>​21 hectares</p>GP0|#4059c200-d932-4fdc-acc0-4ef6e125bf4a;L0|#04059c200-d932-4fdc-acc0-4ef6e125bf4a|River access;GTSet|#4be4596d-cdfe-41f7-a569-9d9c4e16c716;GP0|#2ebd98bc-cc62-4ce0-a267-29e2121e5b6b;L0|#02ebd98bc-cc62-4ce0-a267-29e2121e5b6b|Walking pathways;GP0|#0d6ec212-bddb-480a-9ab5-b6392f736bc8;L0|#00d6ec212-bddb-480a-9ab5-b6392f736bc8|Animals allowed<span><div class="notification with-heading dark-copy light-blue bg-light-grey"><div class="graphic with-border"> <i class="info fastfact">​​</i></div><div class="desc"><h4>Fast fact</h4><p>A plant survey identified 250 plant species; a third of these being alien to the site. The indigenous vegetation is Afrotemperate forest and fynbos (i.e. species common to the mountains of Africa) and is home to the endangered silver tree (Leucadendron argenteum). Sixteen species of mammals have been observed, and a bird count yielded 72 species, with 17 reptiles and amphibians recorded. Notable endangered species include the Knysna warbler (Bradypterus sylvaticus) and the Western leopard toad (Amietophrynus pantherinus).</p></div></div></span>Between Southern Cross Drive and Constantia Nek Road, Constantia<img alt="" src="https://resource.capetown.gov.za/cityassets/PublishingImages/Biodiversity-Parks-Header.jpg" style="BORDER:0px solid;" />

 

 

 

 

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