Kenilworth Racecourse Conservation Area

07/10/2026

The temperatures are rising, and it’s officially mating season for our local Parrot-beaked Tortoises! 💘 🐢

We’ve been spotting these usually secretive little reptiles much more often out in the field as they become more active in the warmer weather. They’re on the move, exploring the fynbos and, most importantly, looking for love. 🐢🌿

You know you’re looking at a male if you see a bright orange nasal scale during the mating season 🧡

So if you’re out exploring the field and spot a tortoise wandering around, give them plenty of space and let them get on with their very important springtime business.

The dating scene is wild out here. 💚


Photos: corriedt: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/395837101, luke-kemp: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/393445414, koosretief: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/379450665, jolo12: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/393155550

02/10/2026

🌼 What’s in Flower? | Slanting Froetang (Romulea obscura) 🌸

This little spring-flowering geophyte might be small, growing just 10–20 cm tall, but its flowers pack a punch 💛 Its yellow to apricot petals (sometimes even red!) are decorated with dark blotches around a greenish-yellow centre.

🌱 Native to the sandy flats of the Western and Southern Cape, this member of the iris family grows from an underground corm that helps it survive the dry summer months.
Keep an eye out for these colourful little blooms on your next walk through the fynbos! 🌿

Photos: lindile_masinyana: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/316491975

28/09/2026

Call for Nature Connect Small Grant Funding Applications – 2027

Nature Connect has been appointed as a facility to issue small grants on behalf of the Table Mountain Fund (TMF). These grants aim to support new grassroot...

Nature Connect has been appointed as a facility to issue small grants on behalf of the Table Mountain Fund (TMF). These grants aim to support new grassroots organisations and community groups to enter and participate in the conservation sector and green economy within the Cape Floristic Region. We a...

23/09/2026

With it’s violet-blue to purple flowers Geissorhiza aspera (Blue satin flower/Blousysie) is a striking sight. 🪻

The flowers sit on velvety stems which are usually branched. The flowers themselves are used to attract pollinators by means of their striking coloration which to insects like bees 🐝looks very different to how we see them due to the ability of the bees to see in ultraviolet as there are runways leading to the centre of the flower that guide the insects to the centre of the flower where the pollen and nectar are. These runways along with the centre of the flower are visible as dark lines under normal conditions but become highly visible, i.e. fluorescent, under a UV light source, e.g. a black light. The lighter coloured parts of flowers are also fluorescent under UV light. This fluorescence makes the flower highly attractive to insect pollinators.

By Duncan Baxter, KRCA volunteer

Photos- fayruzprins: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/185010332, https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/94918593, daryldbs: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/61703729

21/09/2026

Youth learners complete trail maintenance course in Calvinia

Conservation is often described in terms of protecting wildlife, but its real strength lies in connecting people with the natural world....

Conservation is often described in terms of protecting wildlife, but its real strength lies in connecting people with the natural world. Building skills on the ground Through the Youth in Nature learnership, learners in Calvinia completed a new trail maintenance course at Akkerendam Nature Reserve,....

21/09/2026

NC live+inline self-test (auto, ignore)

Automated inline-image + go-live test. Please ignore.

Automated inline-image + go-live test. Please ignore. On the trail A full-circle moment.

18/09/2026

🌸 In flower this week at KRCA | Geissorhiza imbricata
This week, we’re featuring Geissorhiza imbricata, a beautiful South African endemic in the Iridaceae family. 🌿

Found mainly across the southern and western coastal regions of South Africa, this corm-bearing species is well adapted to our winter rainfall climate. During the dry summer months, its underground corm acts as a storage organ, allowing the plant to survive until the rains return. 🌧️

The name Geissorhiza comes from the Greek words geisson (tile) and rhiza (root), referring to the distinctive tunic covering its corm. The layers overlap much like the tiles on a roof.

Geissorhiza imbricata naturally occurs from the Cape Peninsula through to Bredasdorp and the upper Breede River Valley, where it can be found growing in wet sandy flats, marshes and along stream banks.

By Tania Snyders, KRCA Senior Filed Ranger

Photos: lindile_masinyana: https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/400437648

16/09/2026

When you take time to look into the flowers you may spot these cool interactions !

🕷️The African Mask Spider (Synema limitatrix) belongs to the group of Crab Spiders, giving reference to the sideways walking just like crabs ! We often find them hanging out in the Arum Lily's, patiently waiting in ambush for a pollinator. And in this case, a bee.

They are able to camouflage well into plants and don't rely on spinning webs to capture prey, it's all stealth! They are able to strike fast enough to overpower pollinators and bite injecting venom with precision that leaves the insect helpless. 🧉The African Mask Spider then sucks out the fluid of the insect and discards the leftovers which may fall deep within the flower where other insects can feed on it.

Can you guess why they're called African Mask Spiders?
Have you spotted any yet? let us know in the comments !

By Rox Schilling, KRCA volunteer