It is baby season on Naval Hill, which means that Bloemfontein’s most popular tourist attraction now has much more to offer visitors than just an excellent view of the city and a visit to the Nelson Mandela statue.
Bloemfontein Courant visited Naval Hill and spotted a few new additions to its wildlife family. According to Rhulani Shivambu (56), manager for nature conservation on Naval Hill and surrounding areas, Naval Hill has welcomed a lot of new young to its wildlife and many babies are still on their way. “The Nyalas have babies at the moment and some of the zebras and wildebeest are expected to give birth in the next two months,” said Shivambu.
So make sure next time you go for a run or to get a view of the city lights, to look out for the new additions to the Franklin Game Reserve family.
Naval Hill forms part of the Franklin Game Reserve that is known for being a popular place for joggers, tourists and indigenous flora and fauna. The reserve attracts visitors from all over Central South Africa. Wildlife, including giraffe, zebra, wildebeest, ostrich and buck as well as abundant bird life can be seen on the hill.
Naval Hill is listed as number 5 of 37 things to do on Trip Advisor South Africa. According to South Africa History Online, the Franklin Game Reserve is currently the only nature reserve in the world to be located in the middle of a city. The reserve was established in 1930 and encompasses an area of 250 hectares.
PIERCE VAN HEERDEN
pierce@mahareng.co.za
