Polokwane (previously Pietersburg) is the capital city of the Limpopo Province and one of the fastest growing cities in South Africa. It’s ideally situated to serve as a gateway to SA’s neighbouring countries of Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique and Swaziland and boasts a rich cultural, political and archeologically important past.
Bakone Malapa gives visitors an insight into what life was like for northern Sotho tribes 250 years ago. The village – a living museum – consists of two lapas (homesteads) where tribesmen and women go about daily life, which includes making drums and fires, grinding maize, carving wood and brewing beer, as well as basket weaving, pottery and beading. Guided tours are available. Guides are renowned for their story telling and ability to make the past come to life.
Nearby attractions include a bird sanctuary, game reserve, hiking trails and rocking paintings.
Makapansgat Valley is of particular interest to budding archaeologists and palaeontologists as it contains a series of caves which are at least 3.3 million years old. A number of fossilised hominid remains (Australopithecus africanus) have been found, but the area used to be tropical paradise and is suitably rich in animal life, particularly primates such as baboons, vervet monkeys and bush babies.
Noted among the series of caves are the Cave of Hearths, which houses well preserved relics from the early Stone Age through to the Iron Age, and Buffalo Cave, which contained fossils of the extinct buffalo species, Bos makapania. Antelope, horse, pig and monkey fossils have also been found.
The valley is a National Heritage Site and it’s hoped that it will soon gain status as a World Heritage Site.
Modjadji Cycad Reserveis situated within in the lands of the Modjadji tribe, one of the few matriarchal tribes in South Africa. The tribe is famous for its Rain Queens, which are tasked with preserving and protecting the surrounding fauna and flora, including a rare forest of cycads.
The reserve covers approximately 530 hectares. There are roughly 12 km of walkways which take visitors through the cycad forest down to the grassveld below where they can see blue wildebeest, a variety of buck and over 170 species of birds.
Polokwane Game Reserve is overshadowed by the nearby Kruger National Park but has more than enough attractions to hold its own against its more famous rival. It’s smaller than the Kruger Park, which makes it a perfect day or half-day trip. The reserve can be viewed in a number of different ways. A comprehensive road network allows for self-guided game drives; guided day and night drives are also available.
However, the reserve is better known for its walking trails. There is a 21km White Rhino hiking trail which can be completed in one day or two, depending on how quickly you would like to do it. There are also a number of shorter walks, such as the Acacia Trail which is only about 5km. Camping facilities and a caravan park are available for overnight stays, while a host of lodges provide a few more creature comforts.
Polokwane Game Reserve is home to a number of rare game species, including white rhino, sable antelope and tsessebe (a type of savannah antelope), as well as rare bird species, such as the short clawed lark, the Kalahari scrub-robin and the ashy tit. Plant lovers will appreciate the fact that the reserve is one of the few places that conserves the Pietersburg Plateau false grassland. There is also an aloe forest with a number of walks, over 200 hundred flowering plants and over 60 species of trees.
Jade Scully is a copywriter excited about writing copy and stories, blogging about the world and editing. She currently and regularly publishes her stories on a number of blogs. Jade loves animals and hopes to begin writing copy for the animal rescue charity TEARS as her contribution to the cause.
