Groenkloof Nature Reserve, Protected area in Pretoria, South Africa

Groenkloof Nature Reserve is a protected area in Pretoria covering about 600 hectares of grassland and woodland that stretches through the Apies Valley. The landscape includes natural vegetation, native trees on hillsides and in valleys, plus trails and mountain biking routes through varying terrain.

The reserve was established in 1895 as the first game sanctuary in Africa, created specifically to protect oribi and other wildlife. This founding marked the beginning of formal wildlife protection on the continent.

The reserve takes its name from the Groenkloof valley where it lies. Beside traces of the homestead of the pioneer Cornelius (Lucas) Bronkhorst, who settled here around 1839, stands a memorial wall. The reserve is also home to the National Heritage Monument.

Day visitors are admitted from 05:30 to 19:00 in summer and 07:00 to 18:00 in winter. The reserve lies between Christina de Wit Avenue and Nelson Mandela Drive at Pretoria's southern entrance. Trails are colour-coded: red 1.3/3.5 km, white 3.7 km, yellow 10.5 km; a 20 km mountain-bike route and 14 km of 4x4 tracks start from the same area.

The reserve holds Gunning's rock scorpion and the golden-starburst baboon spider, and the violin spider Loxosceles speluncarum lives only in caves around Pretoria. The purse-web spider Calommata transvaalica is also found here and is severely threatened by urban spread in Gauteng.