South Africa. A land of intense passion, vibrancy and pure awe inspiring scenery. A land that has a thousand faces, a country known as “The Rainbow Nation”, a melting pot of ethnic communities, cultures and styles. Where crisp blue skies meet with such a multitude of vistas that it paints an indelible map of memories and impressions on all who see and experience it. A land not to be forgotten. My land of birth and my passion.
With so much to offer in one country, I thought I would write a few articles on what I believe to be the most incredible facets of this interesting and diverse nation.
With the environment, and the preservation of it, such a hot topic in today’s world, what better place to start than with the world renowned Kruger National Park?
Founded in 1898 by the President of the Transvaal Republic, Paul Kruger, to protect the wildlife of the South African Lowveld, this Park that now covers nearly 20,000 square kilometres and has fenceless parkland integration with South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe (when in 2002 it became part of the Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park), is a true testament to what self belief, determination, hard work and the will to conserve our history for future generations can achieve. Its diversity appeals to everyone because not only is it a nature lover’s paradise, but it also has significant historical and archaeological interest too: It has an unrivalled diversity of natural life including 336 different types of tree species, 49 different fish families, 34 different amphibian categories, 114 different reptile classes, 507 different types of birds and 147 different mammal genus, not least including the Big Five – Lion, the king of the animal world, Leopard, Buffalo, Elephant and Rhino.
This all fuses beautifully with both the archaeological world, including impressive sights at Masorini & Thulamela, and the historical world where there is definitive evidence that prehistoric man (Homo erectus) roamed the area between 500 000 and 100 000 years ago and where many artefacts relating to the Stone Age man have been found covering the period from100 000 to 30 000 years ago, combine this with 100’s of bushman (San) rock art paintings found in nearby caves and you have a historical paradise too!
Along with its advanced environmental management techniques which have over years preserved many endangered species of animals including the African Wild Dog, this Park is certainly one to be respected and emulated!
The Kruger National Park wants people to see, appreciate and understand the natural beauty of nature and its inhabitants and wants people to understand how best we can preserve this for future generations. To achieve this, they have set up award winning environmental programmes to teach visitors how to do this including: anti poaching training, game ranger training courses, environmental management courses and of course wildlife photography courses. All of these courses are designed to stimulate tourist’s interests in natural preservation and are all accompanied by skilled and trained game wardens and rangers. Having recently done the game ranger training course – all I can say is WOW! You must do it! It is a once in a lifetime experience and it is totally self satisfying to believe that your contribution might make some small difference in the world. Not to mention how puny you seem pitted against the great forces of nature. It truly is an emotional self learning journey that I believe has made me a stronger person within myself.
If however, you just want to relax and take in the spectacular sights on offer, the Kruger National Park and the surrounding private game reserves have accommodation ranging from basic chalets right up to super luxurious suites that will blow you away.
So, next time you want to go on holiday – and with the Rand being weaker against most other currency including the Pound, Euro and Dollar (which makes it a cheaper destination for foreign travellers) – why not think South Africa!
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