Orlando Chauke
LIMPOPO – AS you lay inside a tented unit listening to the sound of the African bush and its deafening silence, your senses are awakened by the sounds of reverberating roar of a lion, the loud grunting of hippos and the majestic trumpeting of elephants as they bath their young at the nearby dam.
This is at the Tlope safari tented camp at Marakele National Park in Thabazimbi, the only national park in Limpopo where visitors are able to experience nature at its best at a safari tent camp in an unfenced area. The camping spot is an ideal for local adventure seekers who want to camp with the rhinos while watching the antelopes and a variety of birds drinking by the dam a few meters away from the camp.
“What you will experience around here does not come cheap in private game reserves,” commented one of the guests in the park, Didi Baloyi.
“Elephants and lions can be seen right here from your tent as they come to drink in the river…there’s no need to drive around in search for them.”
According to Reynold “Rey” Thakhuli, the general manager for media, public relations and stakeholder relations at SANParks, the park was initiated in 1986 as Kransberg National Park and declared as Marakele National Park in 1994.
“Just like its Setswana name which means “place of sanctuary,” the park provides peace and tranquillity to all who visit it,” he said.
The 70 000 hectare park is home to 14 elephants, which were bought from Tuli Reserve in Botswana by African Game Services after it was established that they were being abused. Now rehabilited into the wild, guests can view these elephants on their visit to the park.
Guided game drives also offer unforgettable safari experience; guests can jump into an open safari vehicle for either morning or a sunset drives or go for bush walks to discover the park and its biodiversity on foot under the protection of the armed guides.
Some of the points of interest found in the park include rare plants such as yellow wood and striking cedar trees, Cape vultures that soar through the royal blue skies in search of dead meat during the day. For those who have no fear of heights, they can drive on a breath-taking narrow road up to the top of a nearby mountain to see these vultures.
