Marakele National Park

The Marakele National Park in the heart of the Waterberg Mountains, as its Tswana name suggests, has become a 'place of sanctuary' for an impressive variety of wildlife due to its location in the transitional zone between the dry western and moister eastern regions of South Africa. Contrasting majestic mountain landscapes, grass-clad hills and deep valleys characterize the park. Rare finds of yellowwood and cedar trees, five metre high cycads and tree ferns, are some of the plant species found here. All the large game species from elephant and rhino to the big cats as well as an amazing variety of birds including what's probably the largest colony of endangered Cape vultures (more than 800 breeding pairs) in the world, have settled here.

Marakele National Park is currently divided into two parts (namely the +/- 2500 ha 'Kwaggasvlakte' section and the Greater Marakele National Park), by a public gravel road (the Hoopdal Road). Most parts of the park are only accessible by 4x4.

Areas of Special Interest

A narrow tar road takes visitors up to the top of the Waterberg massif. Views and scenery are spectacular. One is also in the proximity of the vulture colony and these large birds will soar past at close quarters.

5 Things to Seek

Cape Vulture – the park hosts one of the world's largest breeding colonies of this endangered species. While birds may be seen in the air catching thermals anywhere in the park, the drive up to the Sentech Towers is nearest to the colony and close encounters with these enormous birds will leave visitors breathless.
African Elephant – while some elephant had been previously reintroduced into the park, it was the release of the Tuli elephants in 1999 that captured the public's and media's imagination.
Rhino – Marakele has a high density of both rhino species and most visitors should see these animals, particularly the more gregarious and diurnal white rhinoceros.
Kudu – as browsers these antelope are in their element at Marakele. Look out for the bulls with their magnificent spiral horns.
The not-so-often-seen-elsewhere antelope species such as reedbuck, mountain reedbuck, eland and tsessebe can be found here.

The Marakele National Park is a new game reserve under the management of South Africa's Nature Conservation and National Parks Board. The reserve lies about 250 km north of Johannesberg in the heart of the Waterberg, a pristine mountain range rich in game. The parks starts north of the town Thabazimbi and ends south of the Lalapala river.

The vegetation in the valleys of the Marakele Park comprises innumerable species. Even the rare yellowwood trees can be found here, huge cedars and up to 5 metre high cycads.
The game stock comprises all big predators, elephants, black and white rhinos, giraffes, buffaloes, hippos, kudus, waterbuck and eland antelopes. And there are numerous bird species. Spectacular are the Cape vultures which are threatened by extinction. More than 800 breeding pairs live in the park, the biggest population of this vulture species in South Africa.

Kruger National Park

Where nearly 2 million hectares of unrivalled diversity of life forms fuses with historical and archaeological sights – this is real Africa.

The world-renowned Kruger National Park offers a wildlife experience that ranks with the best in Africa. Established in 1898 to protect the wildlife of the South African Lowveld, this national park of nearly 2 million hectares, SANParks - Kruger National Park is unrivalled in the diversity of its life forms and a world leader in advanced environmental management techniques and policies.

Truly the flagship of the South African national parks, Kruger is home to an impressive number of species: 336 trees, 49 fish, 34 amphibians, 114 reptiles, 507 birds and 147 mammals. Man's interaction with the Lowveld environment over many centuries - from bushman rock paintings to majestic archaeological sites like Masorini and Thulamela - is very evident in the Kruger National Park. These treasures represent the cultures, persons and events that played a role in the history of the Kruger National Park and are conserved along with the park's natural assets.

This enormous and magnificent park is one of the most popular public-entry game parks in the world. Its density of permanent game is unrivalled with hundreds of different species; 507 birds, 336 trees, 147 mammals, 114 reptiles, 49 fish and 34 amphibians!

Few visitors leave South Africa without visiting the Kruger National Park or one of the private reserves along its borders but it is also frequented by locals in their own vehicles, as you can drive yourself around and stay overnight in one of the many public restcamps. There are also a few exclusive private lodges that have been granted concessions within the Kruger National Park.

The far north of the park is the wildest and most difficult area to access and because of this, it has alluring qualities for the real adventurer.

With greater ecological co-operation across African borders, several countries bordering South Africa have agreed to take down some fences, and those between Kruger and Mozambique's Limpopo National Park and Zimbabwe's Gonarezhou, have been demolished to create the Greater Limpopo Transfrontier Park. This unique political innovation is creating a colossal wilderness area.

Seasons

Rainy Season:

The subtropical climate has hot rainy summers starting in October and ending around March. The summer rains transform the arid park into a lush flowering paradise, but the increased foliage does make animals harder to see.

Dry Season:

The winter months from April to September are extremely pleasant with warm dry days and cold nights. Traditionally, the best game viewing is in the winter as the vegetation becomes sparse and water is restricted to rivers and water holes.

Pilanesberg National Park

The Pilanesberg National Park borders on the entertainment complex of Sun City. The park is 55.000 hectares in extent. It is almost perfectly circular because it comprises the area of a 1200 million years old volcano crater with a small lake in the centre. This very scenic terrain lies in the transition zone between Kalahari and Lowveld, and both types of vegetation are found here.
The Pilanesberg National Park was opened in 1979. In the "Operation Genesis", the largest game resettlement project in the history of South Africa, in the early eighties more than 6,000 animals from other parks were settled here. In 1993 lions from the Etosha National Park (Namibia) were introduced to the park, despite grave concerns of the surrounding communities. Since, the lions have been thriving and nicely multiplying in the park. A similar action with cheetahs from Namibia unfortunately failed.

n the Pilanesberg National Park today live virtually all the animal species of southern Africa, including, lions, elephants, white and black rhinos, buffaloes, leopards, zebras, hyenas, giraffes, hippos and crocodiles. Over 300 bird species were counted.

The roads in the park (some 200 kilometres) are not tarred, but very well maintained and can be travelled with a normal vehicle.

There are various types of accommodation available in the park: two restcamps with chalets, three restcamps with safari tents and some luxurious lodges and hotels.

The park offers a number of wonderful picnic spots, numerous hides for game watching, huge walk-in aviaries, safe hiking trails, safari drives at night and flights over the park in a hot-air balloon.