Inside Marakele: A search for the Big Five in Limpopo’s Waterberg

I have been privileged to see the endangered rhino close up, but on a recent visit to the Marakele National Park in the Waterberg area of Limpopo, I was hoping to tick off the other members of the Big five: lion, leopard, elephant and buffalo. The 100 000-hectare park is a Big Five reserve and has the added advantage of being just over four hours from Joburg and in a malaria-free area. But seeing all the big five in just two days, which is how long we stayed in the park, can be a matter of luck and our luck wasn’t that great as the weather closed in and the rain came down.

Animals tend to stay put in the bush in such conditions. On a game drive with SA National Parks experts we tried to find the lion and leopard, but they were elusive. But all was not lost because I got a sighting of a buffalo, not close by, but a tick on the list nevertheless.

But my day and entire visit was made as we came upon an elephant on the road… so close you could almost touch it. The massive beast was not stressed at all, relaxed as it turned its head looking at us as if it wanted to greet us. It slowly moved into the beautiful undergrowth and continued “dancing” in the rain.

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As we were observing the elephant, the friendly tour guide was busy sharing knowledge about its behaviour. That was special. We also saw several ostriches and their chicks moving towards us and eventually stopped and stared at us.

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