I moved to Crowthorne when I was just 4 weeks old, and lived on a plot until I got married, 26 years later.
I have been visiting this Bird Sanctuary since 1990. It has been around longer than that, but I remember before then, there were no buildings or bird hides. It used to be called the "Witpoort Bird Sanctuary", but when the area "Beaulieu" was established, they changed the name to the "Beaulieu Bird Sanctuary". Although now it seems as if the area is being referred to as "Witpoort" again. All the plots surrounding this area used to be veld. According to my Dad, Mr Papenfus, a wealthy Greek fellow, used to own the land surrounding the bird sanctuary. When he passed away, the land was subdivided and sold to create the new suburb/area called Beaulieu.
Interestingly, the name Beaulieu has a Scottish connection, even though it sounds so "French". From the website: http://www.rampantscotland.com/placenames/placename_johannesburg.htm (Scottish Place Names in Johannesburg) "Beaulieu - within the British Isles this French-sounding name is found only in England and Wales. However, the origin of the name of this suburb in the far north of Johannesburg is actually Scottish according to advice received from a local citizen. Its correct pronunciation is 'Bewley'. (The little town of Beauly to the west of Inverness in the Scottish Highlands is similarly pronounced 'Bewley'.)"
Directly translated from the French "beau" meaning "beautiful" and "lieu" meaning "place", this really is a beautiful place. Over the years I have seen prolific bird life, from owls to many species of water fowl. On the website of "BIRP - Birds In Reserves Project - http://birp.adu.org.za/site_summary.php?site=25592804, there is an extensive list of the birds that have been sighted at this particular bird sanctuary, including the frequency!
Bring along the family and a picnic. Bring along your binos and don your comfortable walking shoes and enjoy this little haven of nature.
Please be CAREFUL when retrieving and replacing this cache. The caretakers's family at the buildings at the entrance, has a clear view of this spot. So please ensure to face the buildings and take photos, while someone else retrieves the cache behind you. If you are on your own, keep a watch and take photos until they have lost interest in you.