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Published: June 17th 2017
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01 Waterhole
The waterhole by the campsite with warthog and impala. Geo: -24.4071, 27.6031
At around midday we arrived at Marakele National Park. We decided to come here after hearing our friends Tony and Nicola speak highly of this national park. It was also on route back to Madikwe Game Reserve. It is situated in the south western section of the Waterberg Mountains. The national park is divided by a fence into two sections, one area for general game which included white rhino and the other area was the Big 5 area. We were camping at Bontle Campsite, site number 10 on Rhino Loop (which is one of three loop roads) – the only campsite in the park. It was about a five minute drive from the entrance gate to the campsite and is in the general game area.
The campsite is unfenced and has a great view of a permanent waterhole- Bontle Dam. When we arrived there were warthogs and impalas drinking water and ostriches wandering around. As I stood watching, a dazzle of zebras came out of the bush and also started to drink. I was very excited – there may not be any need to go on game drives if the relaxed animals continue to come to us.
In-between
02 Digging
Warthogs digging for roots using their tusks. taking photos and watching the animals, we set-up our tent and had lunch. We choose a campsite right on the edge of the camping area, so we would have a great view of the waterhole. As we ate our lunch, we spotted a white rhino in the distance. I was a bit surprised that we were able to camp in an unfenced area where there is a possibility of white rhino walking through. The rhino didn't come close to us, it just continued grazing it the distance.
We were keen to get out there and see some more great sightings. At 1:30pm we set off for a game drive. We drove along Ndlopfu Drive and went through the gate into the big 5 area. Our eyes were peeled, we wanted to spot some big 5 animals.
The scenery was nice. Surrounding us were large mountains. Paul did some birding. We did not see any sign of the big five animals, the only animals we saw were giraffe and impala. At this stage I was a bit disappointed. There was a very steep drive up to the Lenong Viewing Point. It was a little bit scary driving up there, luckily we had
03 Resting
The warthogs having a rest from digging. the road to ourselves. As expected the view from the top was great.
Using our binoculars we looked for animals, still we could not see any. Surely we should have been able to see some elephants at least, I thought.
We drove in the direction of our campsite. Still no sightings of the big 5. The best sighting we had in the big five area was the view from the top of the mountain and a single roan antelope.
Back in the general game area of the park, we stopped at the Bollonto Bird Hide, which overlooked a small dam. This place was a bit disappointing too- as at the moment there were no birds. We should have had a bit more patience, but we didn't and continued driving. It was after 5pm and we had to be back at the campsite before dark.
On the way back to camp we saw some female kudu and giraffe. I wondered what animals would be waiting for us back at our campsite. It was all happening at the waterhole – a pair of ostriches pecking at the ground as they wandered into the camping area, impalas eating grass, wildebeest in the distance and
04 Peak Hour
It seemed like it was peak hour with zebra, ostrich and impala all visiting the waterhole. the most special sighting – three rhinos drinking at the waterhole.
As we had dinner I did wonder which animals we might bump into as we walked around the campsite.
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