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  1. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Skaaphaas View Post
    Yes, on a somewhat expensive guided tour.
    Hell, we had to climb up the side with a rope.... but then again, at that stage it was still someone's farm, I was in high school, and ElfinSafety had not been invented yet.

  2. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by Skaaphaas View Post
    Going there again in September. The campsite, Mazhou, at the other entrance is great. Very rustic, and very wild. We had trouble sleeping with a leopard rasping so close to us, every single night.

    Like the north of Kruger, game is not plentiful. Birding is superb.

    I really enjoyed it. We did some of the 4x4 trails and had some spectacular landscape scenes.
    Hi Skaaphaas is that campsite fenced, or do the animals wander through Kalahari style?

  3. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by Wild coast View Post
    Hi Skaaphaas is that campsite fenced, or do the animals wander through Kalahari style?
    It has a single cable at 1m high to keep the ellies out.
    Sent electronically, thus not signed.

  4. #14
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    Default Re: Mapungubwe national park, anyone been there?

    I haven't been there recently but was there with SADF in the 80s. A little known fact is that the base (maybe dismantled by now) was the SADF drug rehab centre in the 70s -named Greeswald! Historically Jan Smuts used to frequent the point where he camped when he needed to think. Pres PW Botha also has/had a cottage there.
    Was in the area recently going across to Moshatu in Bots at PontDrift in the cable car. Fun!

  5. #15
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    Quote Originally Posted by Peter Wells View Post
    I haven't been there recently but was there with SADF in the 80s. A little known fact is that the base (maybe dismantled by now) was the SADF drug rehab centre in the 70s -named Greeswald! Historically Jan Smuts used to frequent the point where he camped when he needed to think. Pres PW Botha also has/had a cottage there.
    Was in the area recently going across to Moshatu in Bots at PontDrift in the cable car. Fun!
    Fascinating, thank you!

  6. #16
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    Default Re: Mapungubwe national park, anyone been there?

    Yep, spent a couple of weeks in the army camp in the early 70s. The admin staff in the camp could walk around the reserve freely on the weekends. I found it to be a great place to wander around and view the game that was plentiful at the time.

  7. #17
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    Default Re: Mapungubwe national park, anyone been there?

    The famous golden rhino that was discovered at Mapungubwe in 1934 is today on display at the British museum!

  8. #18
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    Default Re: Mapungubwe national park, anyone been there?

    It's on loan in the UK as part of an African art exhibition, it's the first time it has left the country. It and the other artefacts from the site have been stored at Tuks since they were excavated.

  9. #19
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    Default Re: Mapungubwe national park, anyone been there?

    The camp in the 70s was called Greefswald or "the vault" set up for so called rehab of drug addicts and gays, The belief by some "Shrinks" from 1 Mill hospital was that if you fucked these guys up they would return to "normal". The official unit name at the time was ECoy 4 SAI.

  10. #20
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    Default Re: Mapungubwe national park, anyone been there?

    Quote Originally Posted by Wild coast View Post
    Thanx for the reply. I am more interested in the scenery than game viewing. I understand it is quite dry with lots of koppies and hills, also some baobabs?
    I have a farm up there near Alldays (inherited from my dad recently) so love that area and its special habitat. We go to the park on Sundays whenever we take a breather from hunting. If it is scenery you want to see this is one of the best places in SA. There are 2 parks, divided by a section of private land. You access at the main gate. I can recommend a braai/picnic at one of the sites allowed - so plan your day. The viewing points at the confluence of the Limpopo and Shashe is almost worth a full day. It would be ideal to view a sunset there in winter - with a northerly sun. But gate times would not allow. The tree top walk is another must do, excellent must spend an hour at least! We had the fortunate experience of arriving there with a herd of elephants right below us. MAGIC!

    The 2nd part of the park has some of the most spectacular Fever tree and African Leadwood (Hardekool - Combretum Imberbe) forests you will see in SA. Some of the trees are massive and certainly in the class of 400+ years. You drive through the forest in awe.

    Just to put some context to the animal population. Alldays and the surrounding bushveld is not high capacity farming area - low around 15 /ha live stock unit (groot vee eenheid). So game density is much lower than KNP's south. Yes there is the Riverine forest, but it is a very small band of habitat. Trust me when the drought was full blown and day time temps are in excess of 40C very few animals survive. But to drive through those very typical koppies down to the river and you see the abundant klipspringer - you forget about herds of Wildebeest and Impala ;) Sometime lucky to see a leopard or just pick up his night time tracks.

    I have not been to the Visitor centre yet. One thing I do like about the Park it is not crowded.

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