A Stellenbosch wine farm is opening its mountain trails to hikers and runners to raise funds for leopard conservation in the Cape Winelands.
Delheim Wine Estate will host the inaugural Walk for the Wild on 9 May, with proceeds supporting the Cape Leopard Trust and the Greater Simonsberg Conservancy.
Nora Thiel, executive director of Delheim and chair of the Greater Simonsberg Conservancy, said conservation is integrated into how the farm operates.
“Being part of the Greater Simonsberg Conservancy allows us to contribute to conservation beyond our farm boundaries,” Thiel said. “We are custodians for the region’s future farmers.”
The conservancy includes several wine estates in the area, including Boschendal and Plaisir. In 2025, it donated R50 000 to the Cape Leopard Trust, raised at the Absa Cape Epic mountain bike event.
Leopard population monitored
Cape leopards are smaller than their savannah counterparts and are adapted to the rocky terrain and dense fynbos of mountain ranges in the Western, Eastern and Northern Cape. They face threats from habitat loss, human-wildlife conflict and illegal snaring.
The Cape Leopard Trust conducted the first large-scale survey of leopards in the Boland Mountain Complex between 2010 and 2012, covering some 2 500 square kilometres. A recent re-survey confirmed leopards are still present in the area, with their territories overlapping farm boundaries, hiking trails and wine estates.
Camera traps deployed on estates including Boschendal, Plaisir and Delheim captured photographic evidence of leopards along the Simonsberg slopes. The trust has monitored multiple leopards whose territories overlap with conservancy landholdings over the past 15 years.
Conservation initiatives
The Cape Leopard Trust launched a Snare Free Hotline in 2023 and runs awareness workshops for conservancy members to address illegal snaring, one of the most pressing threats to leopards in the region.
The trust’s education team runs eco-club lessons, school presentations and educational outings in the area.
In 2025, Boschendal became the first test site for the Mobi-kraal project, which develops affordable, mobile predator-proof livestock enclosures to reduce retaliatory killing of leopards.
Fundraising hike
The Walk for the Wild will offer a 10km route through Delheim’s mountain trails, with elevated sections providing views over the Stellenbosch valley.
Trail runners must start at 08:00, while hikers have a rolling start between 08:00 and 10:00. Tickets cost R450 per person and can be booked via Quicket.
Participants will learn about leopard conservation while walking through the animals’ natural habitat.
ALSO READ: Leopard photographed in West Coast National Park for first time in 170 years
You must be logged in to post a comment.