Oori Nature Reserve

Set along the western part of the Rhensoterspruit Nature Conservancy, The Oori (Oori is Tswana for Crocodile) Nature Reserve is a reserve owned, funded and maintained by the residents and landowners of the area, including farms Riverside Estates, Rhenostespruit, and Vlakfontein. The game in the Oori belongs to the residents, and is managed by a Game Committee. The reserve is ideally positioned in the beautiful Crocodile River Valley is only a 40 minute drive from Johannesburg, just to the south of the Magaliesberg Mountains.

The reserve lies in a transitional zone between grassland and bushveld with rolling countryside and rocky ridges, principally dolomite, where the trees are able to find some protection during the occasional fires which sweep through the area. The area between grassland and bushveld is commonly known as Bankenveld. Both the southern and eastern borders of the reserve are formed by the Crocodile River, once known as the Oori River by the Tswana people.

The reserve covers a total area of almost 750 hectares and is made up of about 40 different properties, all of which have done away with internal fencing in order to live in harmony with nature. The commonly held belief is that human habitation has almost always been at the expense of the environment and the conservancy is attempting to change this and return the area to what it was. In aiming to do this the owners are trying to reintroduce every native game species, every type of indigenous tree, and every endemic bird species. As part of this initiative the reserve has already reintroduced 52 animals and residents are slowly planting indigenous trees, replacing those exotics mainly around dwellings, striving to keep existing eco-systems intact. Entrance to the Oori Nature Reserve is along the Winsome Valley Road from the Lanseria road (R512), and there is a boom gate which controls access. Visitors in the reserve are asked to please extreme caution and slowly within the Oori. April 2012 saw the birth of a new giraffe. The Giraffe family need space - Please do not get too close and please not to disturb them.