There is something satisfying about a break into the wild that doesn’t require a week of leave or a lengthy flight. In the Waterberg, the scenery starts to transform before you even reach the gates of Marakele National Park. The roads stretch out ahead of you, the city softly falls away, and the mountains begin to surround you.
Marakele NP, Limpopo, south africa / Bernard DUPONT / Wikimedia Commons
Roughly 250km north of Johannesburg, close to Thabazimbi in Limpopo, Marakele sits in the Waterberg Mountains. Making this a refreshingly easy two-night escape from Gauteng. SANParks puts the driving time around four hours from Gauteng. This gives you just enough space for a long weekend without leaving you feeling like you have simply driven to the closest game reserve.
The park’s name is translated as ‘a place of sanctuary’, and let’s just say, it definitely lives up to its name. Marakele sits in a transition zone between the country’s drier western regions and wetter eastern regions, this undoubtedly creates a surprisingly varied landscape of mountains, plains and bushveld. This combination allows you the feeling of stepping into a spectacular world of wonder, from the moment you arrive.
Friday: your entry into slower paces
For a two-night stay, the urge to arrive and immediately start ticking activities off your list is normal but don’t give into and resist the desire to move through. Instead, simply allow yourself to be.
The first afternoon should be spent settling into camp, unpacking and acclimatizing to the rhythm of the bush. Marakele has an abundance of accommodation options, but for a self-catering stay, Tlopi Tented Camp is especially well suited to a brief escape.
The camp sits beside the Apiesrivierpoort Dam, with furnished tented units, private bathrooms, fully equipped kitchens and verandas overlooking the water. It is around 17km from the park’s reception area, so once you’ve checked in, there is really no reason to rush anywhere.
Enjoy cooking your own dinner at camp, have something cold alongside it and sit outside as the light slowly disappears. The lighting between the units is sparsely situated, and SANParks strongly advises visitors to carry a torch or headlamp after dark. Tlopi is also unfenced, so this is not the place for an evening stroll beyond your tent and deck.
Saturday: allow the Waterberg to leave you in awe
Begin at dawn. The bush is at its best when the day is cool, and an early morning game drive gives you the best chance of seeing animals while they are active. Marakele is home to 91 recorded mammal species, including elephant, black and white rhino, buffalo, lion, leopard, cheetah, wild dog and brown hyena. You may also encounter more familiar antelope such as kudu, impala, waterbuck, eland, sable and tsessebe.
If you would rather let someone else operate the heavy machinery, guided game drives are available in safari vehicles with experienced guides. But try not to spend the entire day behind your binoculars.
One of Marakele’s greatest attractions is the landscape itself. Drive towards Lenong Viewpoint, high in the Waterberg Mountains, where the views open across the surrounding bush.
Then there are the birds. If you’re an avid bird watcher then you’ll know that Marakele is an important birding destination, with around 800 breeding pairs of Cape vultures associated to the park. The cliffs of the Waterberg create the thermals that raptors use to soar above the landscape, so even a casual birdwatcher is encouraged to keep their binoculars within reach.
After a morning in the park, return to camp for a slow lunch and an even slower afternoon. Read that book that you just couldn’t find time for on the veranda. Swim if your accommodation allows it. Watch the dam water settle. Or simply just listen to the birds. The point is not to fill every hour.
Come late afternoon, head out again for a sunset game drive. If you’re feeling slightly more adventurous, Marakele also offers guided bush braais, combining a sunset wildlife drive with a traditional braai served in the bush.
Sunday: one last look before home
There is time for one final morning in the park before you start packing up.
For something more riveting than a drive, Marakele offers guided interpretive bush walks with qualified field guides. Early morning and sunset walks are available, allowing visitors to experience the smaller details of the landscape that are easy to miss from the comforts of your vehicle.
If you look closely at the vegetation, you will find another reason the Waterberg is so spectacular. Marakele supports around 765 plant species, including the rare Waterberg cycad, which is endemic to the region and can grow to around five metres tall.
Eventually, though, it is time to leave.
The drive home is part of the reason why this works so well as a short break. You can have breakfast, check out and make your way back towards Gauteng without sacrificing an entire day to driving on the road. Just remember that driving inside the park is restricted after 18:00, and visitors should stick to designated roads and viewpoints.
Allow yourself to be
Two nights is not enough to see everything Marakele has to offer, and that’s probably why it works so swell.
This is not a destination that needs to be conquered on a weekend. It is somewhere to slow down, enjoy the spectacle that nature has to offer you and spend a peaceful evening listening to the sounds outside your tent.
Marakele offers you something increasingly valuable: the feeling that you have properly gone away, even when you’ve only been gone for two nights.
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