Harold Johnson Nature Reserve

Nature Reserve situated north of Ballito in the Dolphin Coast

Description

Spread across the banks of the Tugela River just off the N2, the Harold Johnson Nature Reserve was once the site of an important British military camp and is now one of a chain of reserves protecting and preserving KwaZulu Natal’s indigenous floral habitats.

With its well-preserved coastal bush, steep cliffs and gullies, the Harold Johnson Nature Reserve is a fine place to come for a day's visit or an overnight camp. The 104 ha reserve consists of scrubland, valley bushveld, and coastal vegetation with indigenous inhabitants such as blue, red and grey duiker, bushbuck, bushpig, impala, zebra, crocodile. It also includes a rich variety of bird life and butterflies, which makes hiking and bird-spotting a pleasure.

For day-trippers, facilities include a picnic and braai area where firewood can be bought from the ranger. Limited camping facilities are available and bookings have to be made well in advance. At the main picnic site and parking area, there is a cultural museum housed in huts and featuring displays of Zulu beadwork and aspects of Zulu society. Visitors can also take themselves on various self-guided trails including the 9-km Bushbuck Trail. The highlight, however, is the fascinating Remedies and Rituals Trail. At under 2 km, the trail is not exactly an arduous physical challenge, but rather an absorbing educational meander that can be comfortably be completed in under an hour. The trail has been planned to introduce visitors to those plants which were important medically or spiritually (or both) to the early inhabitants of this region, both the white settlers and he Zulu.

Within the reserve are two historical monuments dating back to the Anglo-Zulu wars. On a hill overlooking the the Tugela is the site of Fort Pearson. The unrest resulting from the power struggle for succession when Cetshwayo defeated and killed his brother Mbulazi caused a nervous Natal government to build seven forts along the Tugela to protect their northern border. One of these, Fort Williamson, was replaced by Fort Pearson. It was from here that the British marched into Zululand at the start of the Anglo-Zulu war.

Today, little remains of Fort Pearson apart from the outer trenches. There is a small picnic area, a stone cairn, various plaques and some naval graves.

Immediately below Fort Pearson at the old pont site on the right bank of the Tugela is another national monument, the Ultimatum Tree. It was in the shade of this sycamore fig on 11 December 1878 that representatives of the British Governor, Sir Bartle Frere, met a Zulu delegation led by King Chetshwayo and presented them with an ultimatum. Part of the ultimatum required the Zulus to demobilize their standing army. The British used his non-compliance as an excuse to attack the Zulus and crush their independence. The original tree was all but demolished in a cyclone in 1987.

A photograph of the actual delivery of the ultimatum and the two delegations under the tree can be seen in the Durban Museum. A steep path from the marker at Fort Pearson leads to the Ultimatum Tree. It can also be approached by road. The area surrounding the tree is fenced off, but it can still be entered to read the plaque and to gaze across the Tugela to absorb the historical atmosphere.

Directions