Temperatures this past week (Week 11) have peaked at 35˚C in Betty’s Bay which is exceptionally hot for a coastal town anywhere in South Africa. I am reminded of how tough and resilient fynbos is because the plants have coped in this heat better than humans and their pets.
We held a Special AGM on Saturday 21 March and there were two items on the agenda namely:
- Resolution 1: To approve the dissolution of the Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society of South Africa as per the Constitution of the Branch.
- Resolution 2: To approve the adoption of the Constitution of the Hangklip Botanical Society Non-Profit Company (NPC).
- The supporting documentation for these two Resolutions was distributed to all Kogelberg Members of the Botanical Society of South Africa as well as all the Supporters of the Kogelberg Branch.
Our desire is to remain affiliated to the National Botanical Society of South Africa but as a totally independent Society. This has been communicated to National Council, and we are in the process of working out what the affiliation to National will look like. See notes under National Botanical Society of South Africa.
As per the previous newsletter, the Sugarbird Foundation’s pilot team is up and running and started work on Monday 9 March in the Buffels River above Pringle Bay. This is unbelievably good news and as per the previous newsletter, a big thank you to the team that put this together.
HAROLD PORTER NATIONAL BOTANICAL GARDENS (HPG)
We have tremendous support from the staff, and we thank them for doing outstanding work in truly difficult circumstances.
We try very hard to find out the magic formula of Chris Geldenhuys, Rob Boyd and Mike Christellis for getting over 40 volunteers to the monthly and weekly hacks and we as Friends of Harold Porter National Botanical Gardens struggle to get 5 to do much easier work, weeding in the gardens. We urge anyone who would like to help us do what we can to conserve the wonderful fynbos that we have in Harold Porter National Gardens, to join the Friends of the Harold Porter Botanical Gardens. We are asking for two +/-3hr sessions a month, or as often as you could make it. The Friends work in HPG on alternate Tuesdays and Thursdays.
On a positive note, Chris and Rob have agreed to help us remove dead trees in the Gardens and to clear a large area of overgrowth, particularly Keurbooms, on the western side of the gardens. This is very positive and we thank Wonga Komanisi, the Estate Manager, for his help in this regard.
We will be holding our annual Easter Plant Sales at HPG. Orders for over 1600 plants of great variety have been placed.
There will be no free entry for the plant sales this year but to counteract this, we as a branch have decided to refund the entry fee to anyone that purchases more than R500 worth of plants on the day of the plant sales.
SO PLEASE DIARISE EASTER PLANT SALES: FRIDAY 3 APRIL AND SATURDAY 4 APRIL.
NATIONAL BOTANICAL SOCIETY OF SOUTH AFRICA
The National Botanical Society of South Africa will be having a Special General Meeting towards the end of April for approval to register as a Non-Profit Company (NPC) with members and affiliated members. The Memorandum of Incorporation of the NPC has been approved in principle by the members of the National Botanical Society.
The National Botanical Society of South Africa will become a Non-Profit Company with all the benefits that a company structure gives one and should give funders of the Botanical Society greater security that their funds are being well managed and well looked after.
I believe we are 99% of the way to approving this new structure.
WEATHER
Just when we thought that we were easing into Autumn, Week 11 has been a shocker when it comes to heat, with temperatures in excess of 35˚C being recorded on Wednesday 11 March in Betty’s Bay. Added to this there was a major power outage to a large portion of Betty’s Bay, so no air conditioning or fans to help one in this heatwave!
Whether one believes in global warming or not, one thing for sure is that the world is getting warmer.
2024 is officially the hottest year on record exceeding 2023 to become the warmest in World Metrological Organization (WMO) data sets. Global temperatures in 2024 were approximately 1.55˚C above preindustrial levels driven by exceptional land and sea surface temperatures. The last eleven years (2015 to 2025) are the warmest on record. In 2025 alone, 388 weather stations with at least 40 years of data broke the all-time heat records.
February’s rainfall was unseasonally high at 191mm and March to date is 40mm. (Written on 11 March)
Betty’s Bay Rainfall 2015 to 2025 Harold Porter National Garden
HAROLD PORTER BOOK AND CRAFT SHOP
The shop continues to perform well, and while February results were not great at least, they were a few percentage points higher than the previous year.
Every week we add new lines into the shop and remove some, so come and have a browse as there are some beautiful items in the shop at present plus a very wide range of environmental books.
Book launches: On Saturday 21 March Tim Lundy launched his updated and revised version of his dad’s book, “Lundy’s Best Walks in the Cape Peninsula”. This has been a bestseller in the bookshop.
Saturday 11th April 2026 at 10h30 for 11am:
Eugene Moll will present Sappi Tree Spotting Cape – Coast to Kalahari. As a previous chairperson of the Botanical Society, it will be interesting to hear him tell us not only about the book that he co-authored, but also to hear some other perspectives from him.
Saturday 9 May 2026 at 10h30 for 11am:
Author Ian Glenn will tell us about his book; The First Safari This book tells us how for a quarter of a century a South African researcher searched for Levaillant’s Travel Notebooks and tried to solve the puzzles and mysteries of Levaillant’s life and times. Levaillant was our greatest naturalist. This book is not only intended for would-be researchers but also for people interested in the bush and birding.
FRIENDS OF THE HAROLD PORTER GARDENS
Viv and Jenny and their merry band of gardeners continue to do great work in Harold Porter Gardens despite the exceptionally hot weather at present. Their work is not without challenges, but they remain positive.
We appeal to anyone who has a great love for the Harold Porter National Gardens in the Kogelberg Biosphere to assist Viv and Jenny with the gardening activities.
The next gardening sessions are on:
Thursday 2 April at 8.30am with Viv von der Heyden and her team.
Tuesday 7 April at 8.30am with Jenny Pattinson and her team
If you would like to volunteer, all you need to do is pitch up at the Harold Porter Gardens at the designated times. We have the tools and protective clothing, we just desperately need your hands to help.
KOGELBERG GARDEN CIRCLE
In March the Garden Circle members enjoyed a visit to Luce and Leon Sieker’s garden in Jock’s Bay. The Siekers first acquired their property forty years ago, as a holiday home. The garden consisted of a soggy water-logged lawn, a few towering New Zealand Christmas trees and, now and then a modest flower bed, trying its best in the wind.
For decades, they lived with this status quo. Then in 2021, change began when Luce asked a simple question – what about designing a garden that incorporated the abundance of water, instead of “fighting” it? In a series of serendipitous events, the transformation began.
Five years in the making, the garden now follows the natural water contours, interspersed with ponds that catch the light and plants that feels both intentional and natural.
And it all started with simple question – what if the water is our friend?
Magriet Brink added to the knowledge of all with her talk titled “The Friends and Foes in our Garden.”
Convenor: Galia Manicom Cell: 082 963 3804
HACKS
Betty’s Bay Hack No. 74. See Rob’s report above. The next Betty’s Bay hack will be on Saturday 4 April. Convener: Rob Boyd 082 567 8858
Hangklip Hardcore Hackers (No. 73):
Chris Geldenhuys reported on the Hardcore Hackers February activities as follows:
“There were 6 hack opportunities in February with 197 man days. (Interesting to note the same amount of man days in January but one less hack opportunity in February. Well done team!). Chris goes on to report
“With the approach this year of addressing the pine infestation before it becomes uncontrollable, there is tension in keeping up the pace! Weather patterns do not help in this regard. While it was one of the wettest Februaries in a long time, I have tried to shuffle the hack days around the scheduled rain patterns, but this becomes very complicated. Then it was decided that in future we would stick to the scheduled hack days and if it is raining on the morning of the hack, we would postpone the hack for an hour and if it was still raining then the hack would be cancelled. The great news is the Sugar Bird Hangklip Work Team is up and running and they started work on Monday 9 March at the location of the OM Water Purification plant. This is really exciting news and will help us greatly in our control of alien vegetation.
We have not proceeded to Phase 2 of the Pine Hack yet. Currently we have obtained permission from Rene to eradicate the pines on his smallholding. Once we have cleared that plot, we have closed the perimeter between the small holdings and the core of the Biosphere. Then we should be ready to cross the R44 and proceed with Phase 2 of the Pine Hack Project.
So, we have gained momentum in February to fulfill our overall goal, which is to prevent the influx of aliens into the precious Biosphere/Reserve. Convener: Chris Geldenhuys 082 900 8299.
Pringle Bay Hack:
Chris Geldenhuys reported on the Pringle Bay Hack No. 219 held on 28 February 2026.
41 hackers reported for duty and were prepared to address the Rooikrants and Myrtle invasion on the verges of Peak and Buffels Roads.
“The hack might not have been as enjoyable as a one-place hack, but this is also necessary. Aliens are steadily creeping in over vast areas and if this is not addressed soon, they will take over the whole village. We are just happy that we can do something about it. One of these days we will once again take on the Rooikrans challenge in the Hangklip Valley.
I want to express my sincere appreciation to all hackers who are always available to commit in the day’s work once a month. I know it is not always so much fun and easy, but we all know it is necessary. Besides the fact that we owe it to nature, the mere existence of the aliens in our area is due to human intervention. It is also good for us in terms of the fresh air and a good workout! Thank you for everyone’s commitment!
The next Pringle Bay hack will be on Saturday 25 April. Convener: Chris Geldenhuys: 082 900 8299
Rooi Els Hack:
The Rooi Els Hack takes place on the second Saturday of every month, led by Mike Christelis. I will be reporting on the success of the Rooiels March Hack in the April Newsletter.
Next hack will be on Saturday 11 April. Convenor: Mike Christelis 082 467 2795
CREW
The Kogelberg Crew Team continues to do wonderful work in searching for endangered or near endangered species, recording the numbers and locations, which all helps with conservation of the fynbos in the Kogelberg Biosphere.
One of the sad facts of life is that Crew cannot report on where they have found endangered species or even species of concerned status as within days of them reporting where they found these plants then they are stolen. A truly sad state of affairs.
To Gerda Theron and her team, thank you very much. Keep up the good work.
MONTHLY TALKS
Step online into the Kleinmond Biosphere and experience the remarkable wealth of our fynbos diversity in its natural environment. At the March monthly talk Vic Brink presented a newly launched website dedicated to the Kleinmond Biosphere which invites nature lovers to discover the extraordinary diversity of the fynbos in our region. Whether you are a botanist, a weekend walker or simply someone who appreciates the beauty of nature, the site offers valuable insights and inspiration.
KOGELBERG BRANCH MONTHLY WALK
On Saturday 21 March Tim Atwell led a group of enthusiasts along the Silversands and Doornbaai beaches to the coastal path in Sea Farm to see the blooming of the Brunsvigia Orientalis and Haemanthus Coccinea, a most enjoyable outing.
CONCLUSION
The financial year end of Kogelberg Branch of the Botanical Society of South Africa is 31 March. We look back with great satisfaction on what has been achieved this past year. We have truly remarkable volunteers in the Hangklip Region that give freely of their time and expertise to promote the cause of conserving the fynbos in the Kogelberg Biosphere. To all of you, a big, big thank you. We truly appreciate your involvement and your leadership.
When we started the bookshop 4.5 years ago, I don’t think any of us realized what a tiger we were releasing and while we do seem to have the tiger by its tail now and it seems to be in a very good place, it has become a multi-million business with all the challenges that this brings. However, the bookshop has also been able to fund over R200 000 of conservation projects this past year, and it has truly enabled us to help conserve the fynbos wherever we can. To Paddy Dall, Janet Meyer and all the other wonderful volunteers that work in the bookshop, a big thank you.
Peter Dall
082 784 4326