The Magaliesberg mountains, which is our northern border, are among the oldest mountains in the world, almost 100 times older than Everest. They stretch for 120 km from Bronkhorstspruit Dam east of Pretoria to Rustenburg in the west and separate the high veldt grasslands to the south from the bush veldt savannah in the north. Our northern border is made up of sheer quartzite cliffs facing south, overlooking our wide valley and a smaller ridge similar in shape and structure to the Magaliesberg. Water runoff from the mountains has created deep gullies and wonderful cliffs, some more than 30 meters deep, with waterfalls and streams of crystal clear water spilling from the heart of the mountain during the rainy season. Today, much of the greater conservation area is a protected natural environment that deserves and requires the co-operation and care of every visitor who come to the valley to seek sanctuary from the stress of city life.

Geology

The ancient geological structure of our area is similar to what can be found for almost the Magaliesberg's entire length. Creation of these mountains began almost 2,300 million years ago, when Africa was part of what was then a large landmass called Gondawanaland and most of what is now known as Gauteng and the North West Province, was submerged under shallow water. This "sea" of salty water was surrounded by 3000 million year old granite from which fragments of white quartzite, pebbles, sand and silt were eroded and eventually created a layer of sedimentary rock on the bed of the sea.

Walk around our garden and have a look at the monstrous rocks and boulders - every one of them as old as our earth itself ! The Orient was build on this - the very foundations of the creation.

Another layer was added to this sea bed when algae developed in the saline water and combined with silica to produce a carbonate deposit which eventually compressed into layers of rock many kilometers thick. In some places it formed dolomite, a semi-soluble limestone, and in other places it formed chert.

Eventually the water dried up and other deposits were made on the seabed. These were quartzite, made from beach sand washed down from the shores onto the seabed and eventually crystallized into extremely hard, weatherproof rock. Today quartzite can still be picked up along the hiking trails of the Conservancy - some that even bears the ripple marks of the original ancient sandy seabed. Shale, found on the slopes of the mountain to the north of The Orient came from muddy silt that formed when there was more moisture and created layers between the quartzite. This process went on for more than 300 million years in four different stages.

Underground water sources

Over millions of years once the rock had solidified, water seeped in and dissolved parts of the dolomite leaving huge caves, some of which became underground reservoirs, and these are the source of may of the streams that flow through the region.

The Schurweberg and Krokodilberg range of hills in our area were formed where there was more chert than dolomite. The dolomite was deposited into the valleys and the chert remained to form the ridges of the hills surrounding The Orient.

The Bushveldt Complex

About 2000 million years ago a massive geological phenomenon occurred - deep beneath the surface of the earth molten magma began to build up pressure. In our valley, it formed a 65000 sq km reservoir of liquid rock and intruded between all the sedimentary layers of the area. As the magma seeped in, the weaker, older structures subsided and slabs of rocks, thousands of meters thick, tilted into the molten magma - forming jagged ranges of mountains around the basin. This magma intrusion resulted in a wide variety of igneous rocks that contain considerable mineral wealth. North of the mountains that can be seen from The Orient, may ores are found - manganese, vanadium, nickel, tin, chrome, vast quantities of iron ore and the richest platinum deposits in the world. Then came our own Ice Age...

Over the millennia the exposed edges of the tilted rocks were weathered by ice and the elements to form the mountains we see today. On our own mountain slopes, it broke out into parallel ridges, with the Magaliesberg to the north as the highest of them all.

The Flora

With its variety of habitats, the Francolin Conservation Area provides the ideal setting for over 100 species of trees, shrubs and grasses and a magnificent collection of flowers, ferns and fungi.

On the south facing slopes where the region is driest, most of the vegetation is concentrated in the valleys at the base of the cliffs. Many streams are evident after fierce summer storms. Here you will find the wild olive and false olive trees, the creamy white wild gardenia with its large trumpet flowers that blooms each January, wild raisin, white stinkwood and many other species.

At the crest are the giant mountain aloes which color the hillsides in winter with brightly colored spurs of orange and yellow flowers. Six of these giants can be seen just outside of our main entrance. Among the trees on the mountain plateaus are the bush willows with their winged pods and lower down the slopes you can even find wild plum trees and their sweet rich fruits prized by humans and animals alike.

In summer the bright orange Natal Gladiolus blooms across the veldt along with wild scabious that lures hundreds of butterflies with its pretty flower heads. The popular pineapple lily can be found sheltering among the rocks. Tall red hot pokers, delicate mauve harebells, ferns and wild herbs flourish in the region.

The Wildlife & Birds of Francolin

The Crocodile River Valley in which Francolin is situated, was once the home of huge elephant herds, rhino, buffalo, giraffe, big cats and many species of buck. Although many large species have been destroyed over the years, we are continuously re-introducing some back into our region. Of particular significance is our re-introduction during 2006 of Nyala to our conservation area.

Wildebeest, zebras, impala, blesbuck, steenbok and other species can be seen in the Conservancy. Porcupines, polecats, bush babies, dassies and weasels roam wild in the forest and at the foot of the mountain there are vervet monkeys, shy duiker and genets. If you sit very quietly at the edge of the forest, you may be fortunate enough to sight ground squirrels. Various different species of mongoose live on the slopes of the mountain and on the cliffs are dassies and troops of baboons that come down to the lower slopes to forage by day. Many other species live in this region, including leopards that prefer secret retreats in the dense vegetation of the cliffs. We can sometimes find their spoor at any one of the five dams in the Conservancy.

The Valley is a favorite place for birdwatchers who travel out from the city every weekend to catch a sight of some of the 280 species that have been recorded in our area. Cape vultures that nest in colonies on the south facing cliffs of the Magaliesberg can sometimes be seen circling high up in the air, along with the black eagle, jackal buzzard, falcons and swifts. In winter the aloes attract myriads of brilliantly colored sunbirds and in summer flocks of migrating storks can be seen in the fields. Cuckoos, starlings, robins, babblers, barbets, finches, owls and a multitude of other species are to be spotted here. In October the exquisite paradise flycatcher moves into the area to breed and rear its offspring before returning to the tropics for the winter.

Conservation

One of the objectives of the members of Francolin is to initiate and support actions towards protecting the natural beauty and wilderness character of our area under protection, and to promote effective conservation management. All the members have been instrumental in the proclamation of the Francolin Conservation Area and the public have access only as guests of The Orient, or Restaurant Mosaic. The management thereby shares this scarce wilderness resource with these guests exclusively, in an effort to preserve the area, so that it can remain this breathtaking wilderness for future generations.