Marakele National Park: everything you need to know – Roxanne Reid

Marakele National Park lies 270km north-west of Johannesburg gives you a chance to look for the Big 5 (lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, buffalo) and many other large mammals like giraffe, zebra and antelope. It also has a diversity of vegetation from thornveld and woodland to forest and grasslands. Sculptural cedar trees, floppy-headed tree ferns and the threatened Waterberg cycad, which grows up to 4m tall, are among the 765 plant species you might find here.

Perhaps the most popular birding attraction is one of the world’s largest colonies of endangered Cape vultures, which you can see on a drive to the top of the Waterberg massif, enjoying spectacular views along the way. Other raptors also use the uplift created by the cliff faces to ride the thermals, including Verreaux’s and Wahlberg’s eagle, black-chested and brown snake eagle.

​The park is divided into two sections, separated by a public road under which you can pass through a short subway tunnel to which access is controlled by an electric gate. The animals, of course, can’t move from one section to the other. The two sections are very different and both worth visiting.

The western part is where you’ll find the main entry gate, reception and the Bontle Tented Camp and Bontle camp site. The bush-covered plains here are a good place to find zebras, antelope, giraffe and birds, as well as to enjoy trees like velvet raisin tree, weeping boerbean, wild pear (full of creamy blossoms in August), red bush-willow and silver cluster-leaf. 

The eastern section has soaring mountains, high cliffs and some roads that climb steeply. This is where to look for elephants, lions and even hippo in the dam next to Tlopi Tented Camp.

Best things to do at Marakele National Park

1. Go on a self-drive game drive and look out for some of the mammals that make their home here, including the Big 5. The Setswana word Marakele means ‘place of sanctuary, and it’s exactly that for animals like elephant, buffalo, rhino, Burchell’s zebra, wildebeest, giraffe, kudu, reedbuck, red hartebeest, eland, klipspringer, gemsbok, sable antelope, and tsessebe. Lion, leopard and spotted hyena also occur here though you’ll need luck to see them, early morning and late afternoon being the best times to try. The western Kwaggasvlakte section is good for antelope, giraffe and zebra, whereas the eastern section is where you might find elephants and lions.

2. Join a morning or sunset drive with an experienced guide who can tell you more about the park’s mammals, birds and trees, as well as read the tracks in the sand. Guided drives are always a highlight and a chance to learn something new. In addition, early morning or sunset drives are among your best chances to spot lions. Book your drive at reception beforehand and meet your guide there at the designated time.

​3. See one of the world’s largest breeding colonies of the endangered Cape vulture by taking a drive to Lenong viewpoint. It’s a narrow tar road that climbs steeply to 1200m and has some sheer drop-aways so it isn’t for those with a fear of heights. If you’re on the edge when you have to pass a car coming in the opposite direction, anxiety levels will peak. You might see the vultures riding the thermals anywhere in the park, but this is the road closest to their colony of about 800 breeding pairs. When we visited, we looked down from the mountain onto them gliding through the air below us.

While you’re at Lenong viewpoint, you might also get a visit from some smaller birds, like Cape rock thrush and mocking cliff-chat. Look out, too, for the Kransberg widow (Dingana jerinae) if you visit in November. This is the only place in the world that this brown butterfly with yellow and orange markings occurs. It’s classified as vulnerable. 

​5. Take a picnic to the Kwaggasvlakte section (western section) of Marakele. There’s a pretty picnic site on the Tsessebe Loop where you can get out to stretch your legs, crane into the trees for some bird watching, and sit at comfy benches and tables to enjoy a quiet picnic or braai. Remember to bring your own wood. There are loos and bins here too.

6. See how many birds you can chalk up in your few days at Marakele, which is excellent for bushveld birds given that it lies in a transition zone between the dry western regions and the moister eastern regions of South Africa. Apart from the large breeding colony of Cape vultures (see point 3), Marakele is home to some 300 species, including Verreaux’s and Wahlberg’s eagle, lanner and peregrine falcons, purple roller, wailing cisticola, black crake, African finfoot, crimson-breasted shrike, pin-tailed and shaft-tailed whydahs, orange-breasted bush-shrike, redbilled firefinch and blue waxbill.

7. Visit the bird hide at Bollonoto dam in the western section for a chance to see some waders, water birds and warblers among the green reeds. On our most recent visit, we also saw finches, emerald-spotted dove, blue waxbill and white bellied sunbird. Large mammals like kudu, nyala and others come here to drink too.

8. Drive the Marakele 4×4 Eco Trail at the top of the Waterberg mountains in the far east of the eastern section of the park. The trail takes three days and two nights. You’ll sleep over at two unfenced bush camps with enviro-loos. You’ll need a 4×4 with low range and high clearance. No trailers are allowed and only five vehicles (plus the guide’s) are allowed at a time. Your guide will enrich your experience with his interpretation of the eco-zones, wildlife, tracks, and geology of the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve.

Departures are on Tuesdays and Fridays in the dry season (April to October) only. You can expect a difficulty level of 3 (low-range and some off-road experience needed) to 5 (extremely technical, for experienced drivers only). Get more info about the trail and how to book here.

9. See if you can find some of the endemic Waterberg cycads (Encephalartos eugene-maraisii) that grow up to 4m tall. They’re named after author and poet Eugene Marais, who lived in the Waterberg for 16 years. The cycad is listed as endangered on the IUCN Red Data list, which means it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild. It grows on the mountains at altitudes of 1400-1500m so your best chance of spotting them up close is on the 4×4 eco trail (see point 8 above).

10. Watch the sunset with a glass of something cold. Sunsets can be startlingly crimson here and are particularly attractive when reflected in Tlopi Tented Camp’s dam. See the sinking sun paint the rock faces various shades of ochre and pink.

Marakele accommodation

Western section
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Bontle Campsite

Bontle is a Setswana word that means beautiful. The unfenced Bontle Campsite less than 2km from the entrance gate in the western section of the park has everything a camper could want: shade trees for summer (though these are bare in winter), sites that aren’t too close together, braais, power points, and clean ablutions. More than 30 sites are laid out in three loops, each with its own ablutions. As a bonus you may catch sight of animals like antelope and zebras that come to drink at the waterhole nearby.

Bontle Tented Camp

Behind the campsite (see above) – and thus also less than 2km from the entrance gate – are 10 tents, 6 of them 2-bed units and the other 4 sleeping four in family units with a double bed and 2 singles. Space for the tents is carved out of the natural bush and many trees in the surrounding area are identified with tags, like velvet raisin tree, common guarri, weeping boerbean, wild pear, sweet thorn, and wild syringa.

The tents are small but clean and neat. Each has a bathroom with loo and shower, place to hang your clothes, and an air conditioner that’s very welcome in the heat of summer. A separate enclosed kitchen is fully equipped with two-plate cooker, microwave, fridge/freezer, and all the cutlery, crockery and pans you need to self-cater. There’s a braai and a stoep with a small table and chairs where you can sit with a cup of coffee or a glass of wine to enjoy the environment.

Our first choice of tent here is number 10, which is on the end so you don’t get people driving past you, although it does make for a longer walk to see if anything has come to drink at the waterhole beyond the camp site. Our second choice at the end of the lower row would be number 1.

Watch out for the shrewd – and very fast – vervet monkeys at the camp. We…