Waterberg Biosphere Reserve
Overview
South Africa Parks
Philip lives in South Africa and has authored many guidebooks to African destinations, including ‘The Rough Guide to Game Parks of South Africa’.
The Waterberg, a massif in the little-visited Limpopo province, is home to the ambitious UNESCO conservation project: the Waterberg Biosphere Reserve. This is a partnership between different reserves and settlements in the area to create an ecosystem reconciling conservation with sustainability and human development. In short, a less pristine wilderness area that allows some sort of human presence. For tourists, the Biosphere encompasses the highly regarded Lapalapa wilderness area, Marakele National Park, the upmarket Welgevonden private game reserve, and many smaller reserves and safari lodges.
Pros & Cons
Wildlife
The Waterberg Reserve is home to different parks and reserves offering very different wildlife experiences. Marakele and Welgevonden are the largest reserves and offer Big Five safaris. Marakele is mostly a self-drive destination, and Welgevonden is a classical Big Five private game reserve. There is talk of removing the fences between these two reserves, which would be a step forward in conservation and preserving the ecosystem. Several other small game farms offer a less authentic wildlife experience. Some of them are home to the Big Five, but most of them have plains grazers only and offer outdoor activities such as horseback riding and mountain biking aside from game drives. All of the private reserves have been stocked with animals and, if not all of the Big Five, most have included white rhino. All of the small reserves have leopard on their checklist, but these are leopard that live in the greater wilderness area and aren't kept in or out with fences. They are seldom seen.
Scenery
The Waterberg is a scenic mountain range with an average height of 600m and several peaks rising to 1400m. The extensive rock formation was shaped by hundreds of millions of years of riverine erosion. The area contains three broad habitat types: sour bushveld, wetlands and mountain slopes. It is known as the Waterberg Moist Mountain Bushveld Savanna.
Places to Stay
Marakele National Park can be visited on a day trip, but all of the other reserves are visited on overnight packages. Some are fully inclusive, and some are self-catering.
Weather & Climate
The weather and climate of the Waterberg Biosphere is comparable to that of South Africa in general. More info:
Best Time To Visit
The best wildlife viewing in the Waterberg is in the drier winter months from May to September. The vegetation thins out as it gets drier in winter and animals tend to congregate around water sources. To simply enjoy the bush atmosphere – including bush breakfasts, sundowner drinks and nighttime barbeques – the warmer summer months from October to April may be better.
Getting There
The Waterberg is located about 250km/124mi north of Johannesburg. You can drive here with a rented car, but 4WD would be recommended for a self-drive safari in Marakele National Park. Most of the other parks will provide game drives, and you can drive up in a 2WD car. It is possible to organize a charter flight to Welgevonden Game Reserve.
Health & Safety
The Waterberg is a malaria-free area. Please read our vaccinations and malaria page for South Africa and our general wildlife viewing safety precautions page for more info:
