Marakele National Park – South Africa

The Marakele National Park was established in 1994 in the Limpopo Province as an eco-friendly site where humans and animals can interact on a daily basis in one close environment..

Historically, prior to the establishment of the park, the area was known to be home to several tribes during the iron-age settlement era. Archaeological excavations have been taken place in some sections of the park to learn more about the history of these early settlers, making some sections of the part inaccessible as research activities take place.

Originally the park was named as Kransberg National Park, before the change of name to Marakele National Park a year later in 1995. Its current land size of 670 square kilometres is almost four times the original size it had begun with in 1994 when the park size stood at 150 square kilometre.

Ostriches (Struthio camelus) in early morning light, Marakele National Park, South Africa

Protea Caffra, the Common Suger Bush, a small tree growing on the mountains in the Marakele National Park, Limpopo, South Africa

In terms of animal population, Marakele National Park is not one of the most populated parks in South Africa and boasts of relatively smaller animal population when compared to other national parks and reserves like the Kruger National Park and     National Park.

A handful of buffalos and about sixteen species of antelopes are found in the park, together with some 250 species of birds with the most popular of them being the Cape griffon vultures.

Tourists who usually visit the park do so for camping purposes with animal watching usually being a secondary purpose. There are dozens of tents built in a special section of the park reserved for camping purposes, and as expected thousands of people throng to these camps to enjoy some quiet natural scenic environment away from the everyday city life.

While Marakele may not be the exotic national park filled with some incredible animal population, it offers families, friends, couples and colleagues an opportunity to camping in a serene natural environment.