SANParks.org Forums

Hi...

My first post, so sorry if I do make a mistake here
Me and my wife am planning a two day trip to Marakele in middle March. Will be staying at Tlopi tented camp. Just a few questions:

1. Have the buffalo been released back into the park, as I read somewhere they were kept in bomas, untill cleared from "corridor sickness", as the report stated they would be released December 2010?
2. I read the wild dogs were translocated from the SANparks side(to Tuli),due to fences being broken and not enough manpower to stop this. Were any new wild dogs released again in the park, or are the only wild dogs left on the "PTY" side, and thus not accesible to SANpark visitors? I read the PTY and SANpark would lift the fences, but I presume this has not yet happened?
3. Reading about the park it became evident that lions and leopards are hard to spot. Seems the park has about 14 lions. We plan to take a game drive with our sedan once a day, and also one with the SANpark rangers @ R160 per person every day. Will they be able to get us to the lions, and which area are they most likely to be found?
4. I read about a "predator park" that opened in the area....with the purpose of showing people lions and other predators they might miss in the park. Is this located near to the park and in conjunction with SANparks?

On closing note, I would like to thank SANparks for giving the "middle" south african the chance of still seeing the big 5 at affordable prices. I was shocked to see the prices of Madikwe, Pilansberg, and most private game reserves in the country.

Hi

I was in Marakele in early Feb, so can give you recent feedback. I also hope to put up a trip report sometime later during the day and you can hopefully get a better idea.

1) No the buffaloes are not in the park as yet.
2) I read the same thing about the wild dogs, and no we did not see any or any signs either. We did however see a brown hyena . The fences with Pty are still up.
3) I would strongly suggest a vehicle with a high ground clearance rather than a sedan. There are not that many roads in the park and you wouldn't want to miss out or give your sedan a really tough time. The ranger is a fantastic guy called Sidney - very knowledgeable and friendly. Definitely do the game drive because some tracks are out of bounds for individuals but allowed for the rangers. We did not see the lions but saw pug marks along the fence. Again the road that you can traverse on is limited, so the best chance to see the lions will be to do the evening drive with the ranger. The lions reportedly patrol the perimeter of the park and Sidney told us that he had seen cheetah regularly, so you might get lucky. Lekganyane drive from Tlopi is where the cats are, but like I said it is a limited drive for private vehicles.
4) We drove past the predator park - I think it is called Marakele predator park, but never went in and have no idea whether there is a sanparks involvement.
Hope the above helps and have a great time

Cheers
Sandeep

Good morning Black Wildebeest!
We arrived yesterday in J´burg after a 3 nights stay in Marakele Tlopi Camp. The camp is awesome with a stunning view! There were not much birds around but on the second day a Fish Eagle couple came to join us!
I had the same problem like you to find helpful informations about Marakele. We had to decide between Pilanesberg and Marakele and I wanted to go to Marakele.

Its definitely a place to relax but not a place to spot much animals. The bush is very, very thick and its difficult to see the animals. But we were lucky to find lots of elephants and giraffs. The Big 5 part of the park is not a park for normal cars - you need a 4x4 only the tar road up to the mountains is fine. I spoke to a guide and yes, the buffalos and wilddogs are not in the park any more. They put the buffs to KwaZulu Natal and the dogs out of the park. We didn´t see leopards and lions, also because there are not much roads in that part of the park. But the area is beautiful!!!!!!

If you know that its difficult to spot the animals its okay! We also saw lots of sad things, like lots of littering and some other things which definitely not belong to a nature park!!!!

Hope that all will help you for now. When we will be back I will write a TR and some more informations about Marakele.

For us, we really enjoyed the stay at Marakele its really a place of freedom!!!

MG

Buffalo have recently (end of last year) been re-released on Welgevonden, which shares a small border with Marakele. This should mean that the area is now disease free. The new buffalo on Welgevonden were supplied by Sanparks from what I understand

Hi Guys....

Thanks a lot for your replies, highly appreciated.
I just don't understand why SANparks would release buffalo in Welgevonden and not into their reserve also? Could someone shed some light on this matter?

Sorry if what I say now, makes someone angry, but this is what I have read.
My biggest worry at the moment is going to Marakele and finding no game drives/ walks. Why I'm saying this, is because I read a lot of post last night, and on three occasions noted people complaining that no game drives/walks was available when they were there.
Me being a honest State worker, and on a modest salary, cannot afford a bakkie, and will have to do with a sedan. Thus I will have to use the game drives, to see more of the park, and increase my chances of seeing other animals, maybe even the shy big 5.

I did contact Marakele Bush Lodge AKA Griffon Camp, which as I understand also falls within the borders of the reserve.
The owner emailed me, and had the following to say:
Leopard is regularly spotted around lodge, seems to stay in area.
Two male lions was seen yesterday moving right past the lodge.
Lions are seen on regular basis when game driving.
I do not think this is a sales pitch, as I was just asking the same questions to owner, as my original comment placed yesterday.


Thanks again.
Waiting for your reports and pics of recent visit in excitment.

The report and the pics are up. You can have a look if it helps you decide.

I have no idea about the Bush Lodge, but can tell you that while I was at Marakele there were no vehicles with guests on a game drive.

A possible suggestion that you may like to consider is staying at the Bontle Camping Site. This is easily accessible by a sedan and is next to the main reception where the bookings are done. This way you will ensure you are on the game drive/ walk that you have booked.

regards

Hi Sandeep.

Where you from if I may ask? I'm travelling from the Free State, guess my nick says it all. Sad things is that nowhere in the province you can see the big 5 or big game in huge numbers, maybe a bit in Willem Pretorius and Golden Gate, but that is it.

Well Bontle is nice, but my wife is coming along, and knowing her, she is not keen on sharing kitchen and ablusion block facilities.
We are leaving the kids behind, with grandmom, so there is an element of romance involved And being in a small tent just doesn't seem to help the mood.

I saw your pics and reports. Awesome, loved the pics on the ellies, shame about the "strandwolf"

Best wishes.

I am a bit further away than Free State - was living in London till last week and now back home which is India.

Let me assure you that you are a lucky man and may I dare say spoilt for choice, even if you live in the Free State. Driving out is so easy and none of the crazy traffic jams that one experiences elsewhere. So whether it is Kruger or Umfolozei or Pilanesberg or even little Marakele, it really isn't that far .

Aha so there is a romantic element involved here - well you could do worse in life than stay in Tlopi. It is a very romantic place and you will have your provate patio to sit in and sip your wine watching the sun go down - I have no hesitation in saying that the accomodation compares favourably with others that Sanparks has.

By the 'strandwold', I guess you mean the brown hyena??? I believe there are 4 - 5 of them, solitary of course and all stay around the same area. It is close to the western perimeter of the park and no official road, so guess that is why people do not see them. And the positive is that these guys must hang around close to where the predators are - I definitely saw the lion pug marks and the ranger had seen the cheetah quite a few times and leopard as well. So you never know when you may get lucky.

Hope you have a great time

Cheers

Sandeep

Hi Sandeep.

Yes you win with distance
I actually looked up the state of Indian preservations/parks, and it is quite worrying. Tiger numbers have dropped drasticly, from 4000 their numbers are down to 1200. Seems India is not willing to stop the poaching taking place and the natural habitat loss and illegal tiger parts trading taking place between India, Tibet/ Nepal and of Course the reason for almost all near extinctions in the last decade....China.
Bali and Java tigers are extinct, and Sumatra has less than 400 left. South Chinese tigers haven't been seen in the wild for last 15 years.
I respect a guy like jim vatey, who is trying to save tigers this side, he bought 68 000ha of land in the southern free state, and made it a bengal tiger reserve. Seems within the next ten years, tigers will be lost in the wild and the ones found only on preserves mostly in the western countries and zoos.
Once China has destroyed all species of tiger and leopards like the amur, which only 35 are left in the wild, will it then turn it's head to Africa? Black rhino numbers are again falling, and the Northern white rhino are only 8 left in the world.
Things are not right.

I will let you know on where and what camp I decide. Best of luck to you Sandeep.

P.S. I'm a passionate fly fisherman also, and wanted to go to your country, to fish the magical golden masheer, but after seeing the traffic and the dynamite they use to kill these fish, I decided against it.

Best wishes.

Hi Black Wildebeest (now something tells me that cannot possibly be your real name )

Yes the tigers are a worrying issue, and the official figure is 1411. It is not common to see this magnificent animal in the wild, but then the difference as compared to lions are that these are much like leopards in that they are solitary. The problem is the population pressure - the more the humans, the more we demand - and that includes land and water - 2 natural resources which we take for granted but will become serious issues in the not so far future. The positives are that both the general population and the govt are finally waking up to the fact that we need to protect the tiger, and I just hope against hope that we have seen the worst and the tiger is making a recovery in more than a few of the national parks in India.

I must share that I do not believe the S China tiger exists in the wild. The Sumatran tiger I fear the worst. So outside the Bengal tiger, the only other species is the Amur or Siberian. Given the conditions in Far East Russia, it can't be easy for tigers.

I do not know if you are aware but the last cheetah was hunted in India in the 1920s, so we have wiped out at least this cat from the sub continent. There are many such species like the snow leopard and the clouded leopard (often clubbed together). We get these in the Himalayan region in India, but they are so rare and so few... so yes, the world has to get its act together and decide that there is a need and space for all living creatures, not just man, otherwise as you rightly put it, given the demand from China, there is little hope.
I guess you mean John Varty. I agree and good for him to try and preserve the gene pool, just in case all else fails.
I hope to be visiting Kazirangha this winter. This is a national park in India which is home to the Indian one horn rhino - not too many of these left either...
Do share where you decide to go and how your trip was.
Take care and all the best