The Crane Sanctuary also houses a crane rescue and rehabilitation centre.
Click here to read about cranes
Nic & Sarah work on a poisoned blue crane that was brought to the Sanctuary. Any injured or poisoned birds are treated and released as soon as they are healthy.
Hlatikulu Crane & Wetland Sanctuary
The Hlatikulu Crane & Wetland Sanctuary is the base for Entabeni’s activities. The sanctuary is situated on the nationally important Hlatikulu wetland, bordering on the uKhahlamba-Drakensberg Park near Giant’s Castle, and is about 1000 hectares in size. In addition to the significant wetlands (of various types) the sanctuary also has indigenous afro-montane forest, stunning grasslands, and protea savannah.
History
The existence of San rock art on the sanctuary as well as a hornfelz tool-factory site shows that the area was well used by the original South Africans, the San or Bushmen. These late Stone Age hunter gathers were part of the now extinct /Xam-ka !ei and evidence suggests that they used the sandstone shelters and overhangs on the North-facing slope of the sanctuary and hunted eland and reedbuck in the mountains and wetlands. There are 5 shelters containing paintings at Hlatikulu with depictions of eland, other animals and a beautiful panel showing 4 therianthropes (transformed shamans).
It is not known when the first Nguni-speaking people arrived in the Hlatikulu valley but it is doubtful if there were any permanent settlements prior to the 1800s as the area can be very cold in winter, and the potential for agriculture is low due to the harsh Drakensberg climate. In 1873, Captain Durnford rode past the Hlatikulu valley in pursuit of Langalibalele, King of the amaHlubi. Langalibalele fled with his cattle over Bushman’s River pass and into Lesotho, where there was a small but pitched battle with Durnford’s forces. Langalibalele was later captured and stood trial in Pietermaritzburg before being sent to Robben Island as one of the first political prisoners to be housed there. The people of the local village of Insonge are some of the descendents of Langalibalele’s amaHlubi and there is an annual pilgrimage to the King’s grave in nearby Giant’s Castle Game Reserve.
Over the last 80 years the area now making up the Hlatikulu Crane & Wetland Sanctuary has been severely modified by agriculture, mostly related to the farming of cattle. The western most arm of the nationally-important Hlatikulu Vlei was drained using a combination of drainage channels and ridge & furrow ploughing
Wetland rehabilitation.
Over the last 15 years, there has been significant rehabilitation and reconstruction of the wetland system. Started by Mondi Forests and the SA Crane Foundation, the work has been continued by Entabeni and the government’s Working for Wetlands Programme. This innovative programme involves the use of Poverty Relief Fund monies to employ and train economically marginalised people to physically repair wetlands using spade and shovel.
The work is focused around simply undoing what has been done to drain the wetland. First, 3 shallow storage dams were constructed on the Insonge River. Then, in the low-lying area below the dams, 240 “damlets” were made in the furrows of the ridge & furrow system. This has the effect of trapping water that was moving down the furrows to simulate a natural wetland system. The damlets are about 3m in diameter and have since become well vegetated with typical wetland vegetation, such as sedges, restios and reeds. The next step was to block all of the drainage channels with appropriate structure and to stop a severe head-cut. Most of the structures in the channels are earthen walls or “plugs” working with spreader canals on each side, and some are concrete. The effect is that any water moving down the drains is stopped and forced to spread out across the wetland.
The wetland rehabilitation work on the Hlatikulu Crane & Wetland Sanctuary is probably the most ambitious project of this type in South Africa and has attracted academic interest from numerous universities. Apart from the formal research and monitoring that has been carried out there is a significant amount of ad hoc monitoring of the species found on the vlei. From being a maize field 15 years ago, the Hlatikulu Crane & Wetland Sanctuary is now home to nesting wild cranes, otters, flufftails and Great Bittern. Click here for the full biodiversity assessment of the Hlatikulu Vlei.
The Hlatikulu Crane Centre is home to all 3 of South Africa's crane species, where we provide rescue, rehabilitation and captive breeding.
The Sanctuary is bordered in the south by Mount Lebanon or eZangoma. Spectacular cliff lines dotted with waterfalls and shelters with fascinating San rock art.