About Rondebosch Common

Rondebosch Common is unusual - it is not state, municipal or regional council land. In fact it is a donation of private land by Cecil John Rhodes in his will to be left as a permanent open space for the people of Cape Town.

Did you know? Rondebosch Common is almost 40 hectares of open, critically endangered Cape Flats Sand Fynbos, which exists nowhere else in the world. It also has the odd patch of Renosterveld and a seasonal wetland – at least nine plant species are on the Red Data List.

It is also a National Monument and one of the best-known landmarks in the southern suburbs of Cape Town. It conserves one of the only remaining pockets of critically endangered Cape Flats Sand Fynbos, a type of fynbos that occurs only in Cape Town.

Rondebosch Common also preserves a few patches of Renosterveld and a seasonal wetland. There are hundreds of plant species that occur in Rondebosch Common, at least nine of which are on the Red Data List. Small mammals and over 110 species of bird are also protected by the common, despite its location in the midst of the suburbs.

The common borders Park Road, Milner Road, Klipfontein Road and Campground - the latter referring to the common's past use as a military camp. Troops were apparently regularly stationed on the common, even up until the Second World War.

Today the path around the Rondebosch common is popular for jogging, walking dogs and exercising. The local Rondebosch Run and Walk for Life branch regularly use the path. It is rather condusive to exercise with Table Mountain and the University of Cape Town as a backdrop.

In 2011 there was an unusual case of fire on the common and more recently it has made the news as the stage for a protest called 'Take back the Commons' where protesters felt that their arrest and the involvement of police action was both 'illegal' and 'overkill'.

Need to Know

WhereRondebosch Common, Rondebosch / Rosebank, Southern Suburbs, Cape Town, South Africa

WhenBest during daylight hours.

OvernightStay in Rondebosch Accommodation, Cape Town

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