Albert Falls Dam Nature Reserve

Albert Falls Dam Nature Reserve

The source of the uMngeni River lies in the uMngeni Vlei area, an ancient wetland bounded by hills. From here it meanders eastward through undulating pastoral countryside until just before Midmar Dam, where it is joined by the Lions River.

Below Midmar Dam the river plunges some 111 metres down the Howick Falls and into the uMngeni Valley where it is joined by the Karkloof tributary before flowing into Albert Falls Dam, rated as one of the best bass fishing dams in the world. The area around the Albert Falls Dam is filled with secluded nature trails and picnic spots, which form part of the Albert Falls Nature Reserve, established in 1975. It is an area only a half-hour’s drive from both Durban and Pietermaritzburg that offers wonderful game viewing, boating, fishing and rock climbing opportunities.

The land here is given over to tracts of mixed woodland, open grassland and small marsh areas, and in the wet seasons birdlife is abundant and includes widows, weavers, waxbills and cisticolas. Wildlife in the reserve includes zebra, numerous buck such as the springbok, the red hartebeest, and oribi, rhino and giraffe. The Albert Falls Amble has aptly chosen as its emblem the Fish Eagle, whose unique cry punctuates the area, and is an arts and crafts route that extends from Albert Falls to Wartburg, Dalton and New Hanover. It has a wonderful selection of crafts, pubs and a number of private game reserves.