Rondevlei Nature Reserve, Nature reserve with wetlands in Cape Town, South Africa.

Rondevlei Nature Reserve is a roughly 290-hectare protected area in Grassy Park, Zeekoevlei and Lavender Hill, Cape Town, centred on a single large brackish lagoon with islands used by breeding birds. It holds strandveld, sand plain fynbos and Cape lowland wetland vegetation, and about 230 bird species have been recorded.

The reserve was established in 1952 to protect Western Cape's wetlands from development and land conversion. This early conservation effort secured one of the region's most important habitats for migratory and resident birds.

Guided tours, boat cruises and overnight stays in the reserve are run by Imvubu Nature Tours, a community-based company set up in 2002 with poverty relief funds from the Department of Environmental Affairs and Tourism. The reserve also keeps a small museum named after ornithologist Leonard Gill and an environmental education centre with a lecture theatre.

Two observation towers offer elevated viewing points throughout the reserve where you can spot animals from a distance. Walking paths are marked and well-maintained, though bringing sun protection, water, and sturdy shoes is advised for comfort.

Hippos were brought to Rondevlei in 1981 to eat an invasive South American grass that had covered the shoreline and threatened to engulf the vlei. In February 2004 a young calf named Hugo, or Houdini, escaped after being bullied by the dominant male and stayed on the run for ten months before being caught in December and moved to a private reserve in the Eastern Cape.