Mount Anderson Water Reserve

Description

Mount Anderson Water Reserve is a unique and exclusive getaway set in the dramatic landscape of the mountains above the town of Mashishing (Lydenburg) in the Mpumalanga Province. It is an idyllic retreat for families and small groups seeking refuge from the rigors of everyday city life – offering the perfect opportunity to relax and unwind in one of South Africa’s most unique private nature reserves.

The property offers spectacular scenery and breathtaking views and carries rare and endangered wildlife as well as some of the most unique vegetation in the country. The property is also steeped in history. It has been owned by Michael and Norma Rattray for some years and now that they have disposed of the famous MalaMala Game Reserve, they are giving their full attention to the operation of this extraordinary property.

​Mount Anderson has an enormous variety of species of plants, wildflowers and trees – too plentiful to mention. Here you will find anything from two species of Protea – the Common Sugarbush and the Transvaal Silverleaf, Wild Orchids, Red Fuchsia, Cape Holly, St John’s Wort, Aloes, Gladioli, Pineapple Flowers, Hard Fern, and a variety of indigenous trees including Oudehout, several Rhus species, Paresley Trees, Buddleja, the Common Sugarbush and the Transvaal Silverleaf – to mention a mere few.

Always passionately dedicated to wildlife, land and water conservation in the country, Michael Rattray purchased the reserve in the 1980s in an attempt to restore it from domestic overgrazing to its original ecological splendor. Successfully proclaimed in 1990 as South Africa’s first-ever private water catchment reserve, Mount Anderson is a classic conservation story and today protects some of the major river catchments that are the lifeblood of the Kruger National Park and all the local communities.

Walking along the grassy slopes is rewarding for lovers of birds and wild flowers. The grassland is undisturbed with a predominance of the palatable Rooigras. It is on the upper grassland slopes that one may see herds of grey rhebok, mountain reedbuck, jackals, black wildebeest, zebra, eland and blesbuck

At the higher altitudes, where water seeps from sponges or between rock fissures, the resultant marshes host their own unique ecosystems. Here you will find vegetation that has adapted to living in permanent wetland, and the dominant greenery consists of sedges – grass-like plants with characteristic inflorescent crowns on tall straight stems. This is a popular habitat for frogs and toads, as well as shrews and moles. Dragonflies and the less sedentary Damselflies can be seen on warm days.