Be social with the butterflies this Easter

If traffic down to the coast and busy shopping malls is not on your agenda this Easter weekend, perhaps a trip to the Kloofendal Nature reserve will give you the opportunity for you and your family to reconnect with nature with an Easter Butterfly walk.

The Friends of Kloofendal (FroK) will host the walk in the reserve on 27 March, Easter Sunday, from 9am to 11am. This event is suitable for ages from five years upwards.

The guide, Grant Egen is FroK’s butterfly expert. Egen will hand out butterfly nets and sample jars, and take the participants around to find butterflies and moths. He will show the participants how to catch butterflies and how to put them into jars, without damaging them, which requires quite a skill. Once in the jars, Egen will identify them and share his extensive knowledge on butterflies.

Participants are to meet at the FroK Environmental Education Centre. Bookings are to be made with Karin Spottiswoode on 079 693 5608 or 011 674 2980. The group is limited to 20 people so interested individuals are encouraged to book soon. The walk costs R60 per adult, R50 for pensioners and R40 for children.

Participants are advised to wear a hat, walking shoes and to bring something to drink, maybe a snack and a camera for close-up pictures of the butterflies.

If butterflies do not interest you, or you want to return to the reserve for more experience with nature, here is a list of the upcoming events at the reserve for the first weekend of April:

• A walking introduction to Kloofendal Reserve presented by Hartmann Potgieter is scheduled for 2 April from 8am to 10am and will cost R30 for adults and R20 for children
• Nocturnal Scorpions – a presentation and walk in search of scorpions under the expert guidance of Jonathan Leeming, author of Scorpions in Southern Africa. The walk is planned for 2 April between 6pm and 8pm and costs R70 for adults, R60 for pensioners and R50 for children. There is an additional cost of R10 per car
• On 3 April between 8am and 11am a grasses course will be hosted by FroK member, Karin Spottiswoode and is based on the book by Frits van Oudtshoorn, a Guide to grasses of Southern Africa. This course costs R120 per person and participants are advised to bring snacks and refreshments
• Learn about history of West Rand Gold mining with a visit into Confidence Reef and see how the stamp mills operate in the Goldmine Tour on 3 April between 2pm and 4pm. The tour is lead by historian, Rod Kruger and costs R60 for adults, R50 for pensioners and R40 for children.

For other FroK events in the Kloofendal Reserve, which includes scouts and school groups, visit the Kloofendal website.

Details: Kloofendal Nature Reserve, 011 674 2980.

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