Western Cape expands protected areas with Mount David Reserve
The Western Cape has welcomed its newest Provincial Nature Reserve, the Mount David Nature Reserve, an over 800-hectare stronghold of threatened ecosystems and endangered species.
After purchasing the property, then known as Diepgat, in 2008, Antony van Hoogstraten has spent the past 17 years rehabilitating the property. Once used for livestock and grain farming, Diepgat has undergone systematic alien clearing to restore the ecological integrity of the property. Today, it has thriving wetlands, seeps, and pristine fynbos that now dominates the area.
The site gained further conservation importance in 2010, surveys after a wildfire led to the discovery of a Critically Endangered Erica species previously thought to be nearly extinct.
The declaration of Mount David forms part of the Western Cape’s growing network of protected areas, helping to conserve biodiversity, restore degraded landscapes, and strengthen the province’s ecological services that our nature provides. These ecological services are critical to the wellbeing of the province’s people and economy and include basic services from clean water and healthy soils to more complicated aspects of climate regulation and strengthening ecological corridors.
CapeNature facilitates the legal administrative process to declare these sites as Protected Areas in terms of the National Environmental Management Protected Areas Act. The Nature Reserve was declared on 7 November 2025. The negotiation and facilitation of the process have been implemented by Bionerds for the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), with support from CapeNature. Bionerds wrote the Protected Area Management Plan for this property independently of this project, and it was signed off in 2023.
In 2020, after months of lockdown, conservationists from Bionerds surveyed the neighbouring Maanschynkop Nature Reserve in the Overstrand, in search of the elusive Moonlight Mountain Toadlet (Capensibufo selenophos), a species so poorly known it was listed as Data Deficient. Although the team found no trace of the toadlet there, a chance exploration of Diepgat’s upper slopes revealed a healthy, breeding population of the species thriving on the property.
Image: Moonlight Mountain Toadlet by Bionerds.
Alouise Lynch, Director of Bionerds, helped to facilitate the process of getting Mount David declared as a provincial nature reserve, along with the EWT.
Part of our project with the EWT was to work with landowners to find a formal mechanism to secure properties where we have found target frog species. We assessed Diepgat and presented on the biodiversity, ecological, and landscape importance of the property to CapeNature.
To have recorded a new breeding locality for the Moonlight Mountain Toadlet was a special addition to the ecological diversity of this property, and to have a landowner who has expressed such commitment to conservation through his actions, such that the ecosystems are in a near-pristine condition, is perhaps the greatest reward for anyone working with threatened species and habitats.
This discovery highlights the ecological integrity of Diepgat and the impact of years of restoration work. It also opened the door to protected area recognition. Leopard, Klipspringer and Grey Rhebok, Black Harrier, Verreaux’s Eagle and Blue Cranes have also been documented on the property.
Shortly after the discovery of the Moonlight Mountain Toadlet, Bionerds travelled to Hermanus to meet with the Van Hoogstraten family to discuss the possibility of making sure that their conservation efforts were secured through formal protection. The Van Hoogstraten family chose the name Mount David Nature Reserve for the area.
Landowners who are considering having their land formally protected can contact CapeNature’s Stewardship Team at wcpaes2025@capenature.co.za.
Related News
Picking a wildflower? Everyday choices can amount to biodiversity crime in Protected Areas
Biodiversity crime is often associated with poaching or illegal wildlife trafficking, but some of the most common offences threatening the Western Cape's environment stem from the everyday actions of ordinary visitors to Protected Areas. Entering Protected Areas without a valid permit, fishing without the required licence, leaving designated hiking trails, picking wildflowers, removing rocks or shells as souvenirs, or disturbing wildlife may seem harmless, but
CapeNature Cubs Club celebrates Kai's second birthday with a day of fun, friendship and recognition
CapeNature's Cubs Club celebrated the second birthday of its beloved mascot, Kai the Leopard Cub, on Thursday, 16 July 2026, at Helderberg Nature Reserve, bringing together children, families, and partners for a day of fun and environmental celebration. The special occasion welcomed children from three orphanages – Goeie Hoop, Hope & Light, and Heartlands Baby Sanctuary – who were given the opportunity to join in the festivities and experience a day
World Seabird Day calls attention to public role in responding to ongoing avian influenza threat affecting birds
As the world marks World Seabird Day today, members of the public are urged to remain vigilant as Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI), commonly known as bird flu, continues to affect birds across South Africa, including seabirds along the Western Cape coastline. HPAI is a serious disease affecting birds and can result in significant mortality, particularly among wild bird populations. Members of the public are
CapeNature’s marine conservation work showcased in new kykNET adventure series ‘Hey Skipper’
The beauty, biodiversity and conservation value of the Western Cape’s coastline will be shown to audiences across South Africa when CapeNature features in the new primetime Afrikaans series, Hey Skipper, premiering on DStv Channel 144 kykNET on Saturday, 4 July 2026 at 18:00. Produced and presented by adventurer, filmmaker and outdoor enthusiast Dewald Visser, Hey Skipper takes viewers on a journey across some of the world’s most
The perfect time for a family escape into nature
Winter in the Western Cape is often misunderstood. While many people think of it as a season best spent indoors, it is actually one of the most rewarding times to slow down, reconnect, and take a short break close to home. For domestic travellers, especially families planning around the school holidays, winter offers the ideal opportunity to step away from routine without the stress of long travel or high-season crowds. It is a chance to rediscover what is right on your doorstep.
Newly discovered species named after CapeNature Ecologist, Dr Martine Jordaan
A newly described Paradiplozoon species has been named after CapeNature Fauna Ecologist, Dr Martine Jordaan, in recognition of her knowledge and passion for the aquatic life of the Cape Fold Ecoregion, continuous enthusiasm to study the region's fishes and understanding their parasitofauna. The newly identified species – Paradiplozoon jordaanae – is named after Dr Jordaan.