We kicked off our recent “summer in the bush” holidays with a two night stay at Chelmsford Nature Reserve near the town of Newcastle, in the north-west of Kwazulu-Natal Province. Chelmsford may be a tiny reserve as far as African game parks go, but it is a very important piece of conservation estate, conserving South Africa’s largest population of locally endangered oribi antelope.

We stayed in one of the comfortable two-bedroom self-catering chalets at Leokop Camp, right on the banks of the Ntshingwayo Dam. The reserve was busy with holidaymakers coming to enjoy the great watersport opportunities and picnics at the water’s edge, while others, like the de Wets, enjoyed the reserve’s more natural attractions.

Chelmsford Nature Reserve, December 2014

Zebra and black wildebeest at ease while visitors picnic in the background

After unpacking, we were off to explore the wonders of this special little reserve that’s crept so deep into our hearts. These plains zebra entertained us with the running of the Chelmsford Derby…

The Chelmsford Derby

The Chelmsford Derby

The Chelmsford Derby

Chelmsford 13122014

The Chelmsford Derby

The Chelmsford Derby

Being a grassland reserve, Chelmsford hosts large populations of plains game, including the already mentioned oribi and zebra, black wildebeest, blesbuck, and springbok, one of our national emblems. There’s no large predators at Chelmsford, but smaller carnivores like yellow mongoose and cape fox are well represented and frequently encountered.

Plains zebra

Yellow mongoose

Plains zebra foal

Blesbuck

Blesbuck lambs

Zebra foal

Plains zebra

Springbok

Springbok, showing off

Cape Fox

Oribi ram

The reserve is surrounded by farmland, and this fence-jumping cow was an unexpected find during one of our drives.

Because there’s no dangerous man-eating predators lurking in Chelmsford’s grasslands, visitors are free to explore the reserve on foot, making it easier to appreciate its smaller, less obvious, inhabitants.

Wild flowers at Chelmsford

Wild flowers at Chelmsford

Yellow Pansy butterfly

Wild flowers at Chelmsford

Clothes Moth on a window pane

Wild flowers at Chelmsford

Bird-watching is another pastime to revel in at Chelmsford, especially as the reserve is home to several special bird species, like the blue crane (our national bird).

Long-tailed widowbird

Anteating chats

Blue cranes

Blue crane

Blue cranes

Diederik Cuckoo

Bokmakierie

For such a small piece of land, Chelmsford offers an amazing variety of scenery. Leokop-hill is an ever-present element, as is the dam, making for dramatic vistas at sunrise and sunset over the wide-open spaces.

Chelmsford sunset 14122014

Leokop and a lone paperbark tree in Chelmsford Nature Reserve

Ntshingwayo sunrise

Ntshingwayo sunrise

Ntshingwayo sunrise

Ntshingwayo sunrise

Ntshingwayo sunrise

Chelmsford sunrise

Chelmsford may only be a small reserve without any of the charismatic Big-5 African animals, but to those that take the time to get to know it better there’s a chest of treasures waiting to be unearthed and savored. We’ll be back, that’s for sure.