Melville Koppies recently won the prestigious Golden Shield Heritage Award for a ‘Preferred Heritage destination’. This competition was organised by the National Heritage Council, an agency of the Department of Sports, Arts and Culture.
Wendy Carstens, Chair of the Melville Koppies Management Committee, is pictured top left
The heritage preserved at Melville Koppies includes the Geology, flora and fauna and history of people from the Khoisan, early farmers and more recent gold prospectors – a truly embracing heritage of South Africa.
Melville Koppies has had an active, well-informed and committed volunteer involvement ever since its establishment as a Nature Reserve in 1959.
Covid restrictions introduced many people to the great outdoors. Here compulsory masks could be dropped if one was alone in an open natural space. Melville Koppies was one such haven where hikers could stride out, enjoying the exercise while absorbing the calming influence of nature.
The interest in hiking and exploring nature has continued. For instance, on Heritage Day this year, nearly 100 hikers enjoyed a guide-accompanied 8km hike through Melville Koppies Central and East. How could we do an 8km hike in a nature reserve just five minutes from the Johannesburg CBD? Well in the Grand Old Duke of York style, hikers were led up...
