Having thoroughly enjoyed our March 2021 hack on the west side of the Bergfontein river in the Langeberg mountains inland of Albertinia, we were eager to get to the east side where plenty more of the aggressive Australian invader, hakea sericea, awaited us. Our opportunity arrived on Saturday 5 June with the next Bergfontein hack kindly hosted by Adam van Nieuwenhuizen on the Bergfontein farm, where the evening before we set up camp in wonderful setting around the Bergfontein farm house.
We had another great turnout (21 volunteers) including 12 MCSA members, our host Adam, as well two neighbouring landowners, Chris Davies and Theresa Assad from the previous hack, together with family and friends from Romanskraal. Also joining us were Roderick Juba from the Water Research Commission, Adrian Fortuin of Cape Nature and Heidi and Halcyone Muller from nearby Herbertsdale. Halcyone represents the Gourtiz Cluster Biosphere Reserve (GCBR) who kindly sponsored some new saws and blades to help us hack at peak efficiency!

Post-hack celebrations with part of the team at our Bergfontein farm base camp. The rest of the team were snoozing/reclining or otherwise enjoying some well-deserved post-hack rest

A conservative estimate is that we cleared at least 2 900 mainly young hakea trees from an area of about 108 hectares. A lot of our time was spent hunting for the widely scattered hakea individual trees and tree clusters across the steep valley-and-ridge terrain, sometimes through tall, dense fynbos vegetation. So, there was plenty of good cardio-vascualr work-out opportunities to be had for those up to the challenge.

LEFT: Area cleared in the March 2021 hack.  RIGHT: Area cleared in the June 2021 hack

Andrew and Tristen from Romanskraal with the fruit of their labours – a significant cluster of young hakea trees now cut and stacked

A cluster of profusely-flowering young hakea about to be cut to the ground (and denied any chance of producing seeds) by Ed, who is also busy taking his personal hakea tally for the hack to well over 300 trees!

On Sunday, several of the group walked the Witblits trail to the head of the beautiful Bergfontein valley, where we were rewarded with a wonderful view onto the Klein Karoo to the North. This also allowed us to catch a few more hakea outliers on the way and to identify hakea-infested slopes deeper within the mountains of the Bergfontein valley which we will include in the next hack for the area (watch this space!).

As the MCSA South Cape Section, our medium-term goal is to assist local landowners and Cape Nature complete a full sweep and clearing of hakea throughout the upper Bergfontein River catchment, which is in a strategically important location between some large hakea infestations to the east and extensive areas to the west which are largely free of hakea.


The Witblits trail ascent


A slope lying deep within the Bergfontein valley, now infested with scattered patches of hakea, but destined for clearing in our next hack!

A few hakea encountered just over the top of the Witblits trail while admiring the northerly view of the Klein Karoo reminded us not to be complacent about hakea on the northern slopes of the Langeberge.

Meet Leader ~ Donovan Kotze