Walk on the wild side

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September 13th 2014

Published: September 30th 2014

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roamingfox

Mapungubwe

Another beautiful baobab

Mapungubwe has been on my bucket list for a while. Why? For a combination of reasons: it’s a World Heritage site where the Golden rhino was found so the significance of its history plays a part, heard the scenery is really beautiful and if you are camping you may hear some animals at night. So off we went on a short safari, camping for 8 days at Mazhou camp. We didn’t plan to go to a Heritage site when it is Heritage month in SA, that was quite coincidental but appropriate.

Mapungubwe is a strange conglomerate of conservation area, farmland & mining. We camped on the wild side, only 10 stands with limited ablution facilities that were kept clean and always had hot water, except for one night when we had NO water, but I’ll get to that later. Mazhou gives you a feeling of camping in the wild bush but with some comforts and for some a false sense of security from the wild animals. Upon inspecting the fence around the camp, which consisted of two thin electrified wires to keep animals at bay and about a meter of the ground, so some animals could practise their

Mapungubwe

Aren't they cute!

leopard crawl and get through without a problem, I decided that it was definitely not that secure, besides the strand of electric fence supposedly acting as a gate was never closed anyway. Not that it bothered us at all, we have had our fair share of camping in the wild. Still, one has to be cautious and observant.

There is such a diverse landscape from wetland to dry arid habitat. Sandstone weathered into interesting shapes. It is a very sensitive area considering the motley infrastructure. It is teeming with small wildlife and much to watch. Bush babies who think they are diurnal because it is unusual to see them in the day. They look like they are loaded with turbo driven springs bouncing over more than 2 meters from branch to branch. On the ground they are like little elasticised fluffy balls hopping around and back into the tree. Birds, active little squirrels, monkeys and mongooses (or is it mongeese) kept us entertained as well. Anyone wanting to sleep late in the morning were prohibited by a cacophony of sounds as the animals became active at first light.

Great to watch elephant eat the

Mapungubwe

Natural rock art

seeds of the Nyala tree. Tiny seeds the size of acorns for these huge giants, yet they still manage to pick them up with exquisite precision using their trunks. Must be what peanuts are to humans. Bathing themselves in the mud then rolling in the sand and showering themselves with dust. We could sit and watch them for hours.

I will remember Mapungubwe for its Nyala trees. Beautiful big trees with large ant heaps at the base of the tree. We spotted the remains of a carcass from a leopard kill stuck up in the tree. I nearly made Paul stop at every Nyala tree to look for this elusive leopard dozing on a branch but it never showed itself. Two other trees stand out for me at Mapungubwe – the baobab, another giant and there were some beautiful specimens. The other tree is the Mopani tree, thousands upon thousands of Mopani trees. I can just imagine what it must be like when the Mopani worm’s pupa hatch and the Emperor moth emerges.

The first night we were aware of every little rustle in the long grass next to our campsite while we were sitting around the fire.

Mapungubwe

Kudu with a beautiful backdrop

By the end of the week we had become so accustomed to all the sounds that were still thrilling to hear. At night we slept peacefully, waking to the odd sound of lion roaring in the distance and closer to us, sounds of trees cracking under the weight of the elephants as they break the branches or push over the trees with the odd trumpeting making their presence known. On the fourth night we woke at about 2am to the crunching of twigs and rustling of grass getting closer and closer, both Paul and I bolted upright in our bed, which is on top of our trailer, trying to peer into the darkness through our net windows as an elephant approached the tree right next to us and broke the branch with great voracity. After some munching he wandered off into the bush. Quite an adrenaline rush and very exciting! The next morning we also spotted some hyena spoor a couple of meters away from our site, so it seems like it had been a busy night in the camp

One of our highlights from a bird spotting point of view was when Philip & Vicky, a lovely couple

Mapungubwe

I smell humans!

who were camping near us, showed us a pearl spotted owl. There were plenty of other birds to feast your eyes on. Another interesting couple we met was Michel and Roos who were from Belgium and have been travelling for the last 7 years through parts of Europe, Middle east and Africa in Domobiel (Tsjolbak). They have their own private website and blog, having been to some interesting places and I want to read it but with the help of my computer translating it into English!

While we were there we heard regular shots from a rifle, apparently to scare elephant away. While on one of our game drives we spotted the rangers had closed off a gap in the fence next to the river, that allowed the elephant to drink water at the river. The river serves as the border between Botswana and South Africa. We saw rangers and presumably electricians working on the electric fence. The next thing we heard a few shots going off, luckily into the air and one of the rangers approached us and apologised for the shots. The explanation was ‘they didn’t like the elephants from Botswana’. This all puzzled us because a

Mapungubwe

What are you making?

couple of kilometres further down the river the elephant could get through quite easily. In fact we witnessed a herd walking through which was quite interesting, stepping over a barbed wire fence that had been flattened and as the straggler was approaching another elephant waited with its foot on the fence as if warning the last member of the herd about the fence. It still amazes me how they communicate with each other, in ways that we cannot fathom. Mysterious happenings regarding the fixing of the fence and we are still of the opinion the warning shots were fired because the rangers just didn’t want the elephants close while they were working there! It was a touch disappointing to have this happen while we were wanting to enjoy the peace and quiet of nature while watching the animals.

There is a t-shirt that Paul often wears and it seems jinxed because every time he wears that shirt he takes on the role of mechanic, plumber or electrician, fixing things while we are camping or travelling. One afternoon we came back from a game drive to discover there was no water at camp. No staff stay at the

Mapungubwe

Beautiful waxbills

camp, but our trusty Dan, who comes and cleans our ablutions and looks after Mazhou camp, stays at the Limpopo forest camp a couple of kilometres away and walks to our camp in the morning. As night sets in with a camp full of people needing at the very least working toilets, Paul drove to the other camp to tell Dan about the problem. A short while later they are both back, inspecting the pump and water tower in the dark, fiddling and faffing with the mechanics of the pump, night sounds around them and not sure of what could be lurking in the background. Alas, the problem couldn’t be solved and the enchanted t-shirt didn’t want to cast a magical spell on us to fix our problem, so we were without water for the night. Luckily we had some spare for drinking but that was about all. The next morning Paul and Dan were back at the pump and with much trial and deductions decided everything was in working order so there had to be a blockage somewhere. After deliberation and process of elimination they found what the blockage was – a somewhat dead furry creature in the pipe.

Mapungubwe

Colourful like a rainbow

Some flushing out of the pipes and we had running water again. After that though Paul and I joked and said we were drinking ‘rat’s ass’ water and it seemed prudent to stick to alternative sterilised beverages!

We did the cultural stuff as well and went on the Heritage walk with Cedric, our guide who sounded like Trevor Noah, a comedian from South Africa, with interesting information about the history and excavations where the golden rhino was found together with the remains of what they believed was a king living on the hill, but he lacked Trevor’s humour – that would have made it far more interesting. I think there are still many unanswered questions regarding this entire area. We went to the museum as well, which was in a highly acclaimed architectural wonder – the Interpretive centre. Glad we saw it but the little information they had was stretched out as much as possible to make something of it. Typical African style, odd things were missing and the videos weren't running so we had to ask them to turn it on. We were the only two in the museum but even so everything should

Mapungubwe

Would that keep animals out - I don't think so!

have been up and running for us to see. Then other screens weren't working and the video from an architectural point view on how the Interpretive Centre was built wasn't on either so we eventually gave up on that. There didn’t seem much enthusiasm to show us this cultural heritage site.

The tree top walk was another highlight for us, having visited it three times. It is on the east side of the park, so every time we drove over we just had to stop there. It was a good place to have lunch or something cool and refreshing to drink. We had the place to ourselves all the times we were there. We saw two fish eagle and heard plenty of bird sounds. Strange to see cattle crossing the river with cow bells tinkling. Nibbling away on our cheese and biscuits, it sounded like we were in Switzerland, but so vastly different especially at 38 degrees C heat. Another time we had two elephant walking right underneath the walkway as well and we could watch them for ages, totally unperturbed that we were there. Unfortunately the Maloutswa hide near our camp has not been repaired yet

Mapungubwe

Bush baby

after it was damaged in the floods, which is such a pity because I think there could have been some good sightings of animals and birds.

Another great place for a picnic with a breathtaking view is at the Confluence view point, also on the east side, where three countries meet – Botswana, South Africa and Zimbabwe and two rivers join to flow together, the Limpopo and the Shashe river. Both rivers were rather dry, especially the Shashe river but after some heavy rain in the north and the west it must be quite spectacular to see these rivers flow together. It must have been quite scary to see in the January 2013 floods which resulted in the park being temporarily closed.

On our last day we decided to drive the Eco route with interesting twists turns near an old dam then the fuel light came on in the car. We should still have about 10 litres of fuel and we weren’t that far from camp but consumption is a lot poorer because of the road conditions with many routes that could force you into driving round in circles, with not a vehicle in

Mapungubwe

First night in the bush

sight and animals roaming around. I wasn't going to offer to walk to the nearest lodge or farm to ask for fuel but fortunately we made it back to camp where we had spare fuel.

Mapungubwe is typically African with its contrasting beauty, some elements in good condition and others in disrepair. Whilst it would be even more stunning when green in the wet season there would be some areas impassable because of marshy spots where you would easily get stuck in the mud. The baobab trees dotted around the landscape are magnificent and are very noticeable in the dry season. Would I go back? Most definitely!

TIPS FOR MAPUNGUBWE

1. The park consists of a west side and an east side. If you are camping at Mazhou or the Limpopo tented camp which is on the west side, you need to book in at the main gate first, which is on the east side. There is a gravel road that could supposedly be used as a short cut but there is a bridge that was washed away and still hasn’t been repaired. You can do some bush

Mapungubwe

There's a carcass!

driving in the dry season, through the river bed (whether one is allowed to or not I don't know, because you get conflicting reports). I would advise you take the long way round which is tar and would take the same amount of time, but either way allow at least half an hour to get there.

2. There is no fuel available in the park, only at the nearest towns which is Alldays or Mussina (both a good 70-90 km away). Driving between the west and east side of the park can clock up kilometres quickly and slurp your fuel even quicker, considering you are often driving off road.

3. The monkeys are definitely a nuisance and ANYTHING left out will be tampered with, even if it is not edible - they shredded one of our scouring pads, tipped over our kettle probably to drink the water, opened an ammo box that had non edible items in. We were aware of the monkey problems and kept our food well secured in the trailer or in the car and made sure our fridges were locked or well bound with straps - ridiculous I know, but

Mapungubwe

Leopard's belly was full

we saw them eat someone's onions, scatter some children's toys in the bush and inspect plastic bags which ended up in trees - not conducive to the environment.

4. There are many roads that you can drive on, some the average gravel road and some 4x4 roads but not really that challenging. Some small sections are soft sand as well. They are not always clear and can be very confusing and you could end up driving in circles through Mopani forests. It helps to drive with a GPS with maps from Tracks4Africa but if you use your head and you have a good sense of direction, you should manage as well. At first we were unsure if we could drive on some of the roads, but they do fall under parks board and if you have a permit, as far as we are concerned you can drive on them. There are some areas that are marked no entry, which we respected.

5. There is very limited cell reception in the camp, so rather utilise the time to enjoy the bush. Some networks are better than others in the park as well, so you are

Mapungubwe

Elephant

not totally cut off from the outside world.

6. Go with an open mind - it is not your typical Kruger SanParks reserve, but it has some stunning scenery and plenty to see. Definitely the poor relative of some SanParks with some bits and pieces neglected! Having said that there are some good spots to sit and enjoy a picnic or a refreshing drink with a spectacular view. Just remember to bring your own, there are no shops and only a small kiosk at the confluence view point, so don't bargain on being able to get something.

7. It is a pity that some areas are not maintained very well, considering it is a world heritage site. If this is not looked after and managed properly with sufficient planning and development it could become a white elephant.

8. Bring along insect repellent. Although a malaria area, we didn't encounter any mosquitoes but there were tiny little sticky flies that bite like crazy. Found out that a week after the bites they make themselves known by appearing and itching like crazy. During the wet season I think it would be a complete different kettle

Mapungubwe

Dust bath

of fish and the mosquitoes would probably be rife. Thorns are everywhere, all shapes and sizes so bring with hard soled shoes if you don’t want thorns in your feet.

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