The Helderberg Nature Reserve is set to reopen on Monday 1 August.

The popular hiking trail and reserve have been closed to the public for just over a month after a wildfire in the area. With the reserve closed to the public, the City of Cape Town was able to do some much-needed maintenance. The Biodiversity team had an opportunity to attend to the most urgent erosion work and to make the infrastructure, such as the fences and picnic area, safe for public use.

Deputy Mayor and Mayoral Committee Member for Spatial Planning and Environment, Alderman Eddie Andrews said: “We thank residents for their understanding while our staff undertook the most urgent reinstatement work.”

He added: “We have scheduled the reopening of the reserve for 1 August as we believe our teams would be able to get the area to a point where the public can be safely permitted to access certain sections of the mountain by then. We would also like to thank the Friends of Helderberg members who have contributed many hours and helping hands to assist with the various clean-up and restoration tasks that were needed.”

While the Helderberg Nature Reserve is set to reopen, work at the reserve is not yet completed. The post-fire clean-up, restoration of eroded areas after the heavy rainfalls, and the rebuilding of burned-out trails will continue, there will be a number of routes open from 1 August 2022, which visitors will be able to use immediately.

Vistors must take note that temporary trail markers have been placed along routes, which have been deemed safe for public use. These routes have been cleared of debris and burned-out infrastructure.

Andrews said: “‘We urge visitors to only walk the trails identified for use and not wander on to old exposed trails into the veld. Keeping off popular trails that will still be closed when the reserve reopens will allow our teams to continue to work on these routes uninterrupted so that they can be available for everyone to enjoy safely once ready