Take a game drive in Marakele NP

THABAZIMBI – The Marakele National Park, one of the youngest national parks in South Africa, features an abundant of wildlife, including elephant, kudu, impala, waterbuck, blue wildebeest and warthogs to name but a few as well 360 identified species of birds.

There are also 148 plant species, having a lot of diversity for a relatively small area.

Local visitors are charged a fee of R30 per day per adult and R15 per child a day. SADC visitors are charged R60 a day and children R30 a day. For international visitors the rates are R60 for a child and R120 for an adult.

The park has an initiative where the public can buy a “wild card” to gain unlimited access to any National Park in the country at any time for a period of one year. The initiative was launched in the hope of getting South Africans to go on holiday in the country more often. For more information regarding the wild card, visit the website www.wildcard.co.za.

Accommodation at the Thlopi tented camp is R990 a night for two people. Additional adults are charged at R190pp a day.

Motswere guest-house, the newest edition to the tourist facilities, is situated in the order of more than 30 minutes away from the main entrance and boasts with four fully furnished bedrooms and two bathrooms, which offers guests the magnificent view of the Waterberg mountains and the ambiance of the area without feeling they have actually left their home. It is beautifully furnished and offers TV with selected DSTV channels. With a fully-fledged kitchen which has a fridge, microwave, kettle, cutlery and crockery, the only items that guests need to bring are their clothes and food to last their stay. The fee is R1595 for four people per night.

The Thlopi tented camp is located on the banks of one of the dams in the park. The ten luxury tents are set up to all face the dam. All the tents are named after the birds that are found in the area. You can sit back, relax and wait for the wildlife to come to you.

The caravan park that was introduced into the park added a new perspective that did not exist before. The Bush Camp was also revamped and has three clusters to provide accommodation to eight people each.

Maintenance work on the tower road has been completed. The road has been widened to allow vehicles to pass one another with ease and also upgraded to a tar road to make it more accessible to the visitors. At the top of tower road there is not a lot of wildlife, but the landscape more than makes up for it. It is a landscape photographer’s dream with a 360 degree view of the district. This landscape resembles the fynbos vegetation found in the Western Cape with Proteas, Yellowwood and Cypress trees.

The park has at this stage relocated, white and black rhino, gemsbok, blue wildebeest, giraffe, ground hornbill and eland.

Visit the Marakele NP stall at the Thabazimbi Wildsfees this weekend to find out all they have to offer or to book a game drive within this beautiful local treasure.

A two to three hour game drive through Marakele NP costs around R170 per person. For bookings, call 014 777 6928/29/30/31.