Wildlife
Theatre
The Madikwe Game Reserve, situated against the Botswana
border, 90 km north of Zeerust, just three hours' drive
from both Johannesburg and Pretoria, is now one of South
Africa's prime safari destinations. Madikwe is a Big Five
game reserve covering some 75,000 hectare. It is one of
the largest game reserves in South Africa. The rich diversity
of vegetation ensures a wide range of game and the topography
offers ideal game viewing opportunities.
Home
to the Big Five
Madikwe is home to 66 mammal species including the Big Five
and approximately 300 resident and migrant bird species.
It is one of South Africa's largest game reserves.
Madikwe has the distinction
of being one of the few game reserves in the world to be
proclaimed purely on the grounds of being the most appropriate
and sustainable land use for an area.
Madikwe represents an extension
to this philosophy in that it is run as a joint venture
between the State, the private sector and local communities.
The success of this approach has made Madikwe the role model
for similar ventures being started up elsewhere in South
Africa.
Vast
Plains
The reserve consists of vast plains of open woodlands and
grasslands, dissected by the rugged Rant van Tweedepoort,
and bordered in the south by the Dwarsberg Mountains. The
area is dotted with huge rocky hills or inselbergs.
The entire reserve has been
enclosed in a 150km perimeter fence which has been electrified
to prevent the escape of elephants and the larger predators.
Conducted
Game Drives
Guests are taken on conducted day and night game drives
or bush walks. Excellent accommodation is available at various
private lodges in the reserve. There are no day visitor
facilities; only residents at a lodge may enter the reserve.
History
The reserve was announced to the public in August 1991 and
officially became part of the Board's estate on 31 October
the same year. The reserve was proclaimed after a detailed
feasibility study of the area was conducted by independent
consultants. The study showed that wildlife-based tourism
was the most beneficial option for this remote and economically
depressed area.
One of South Africa's largest
game reserves, Madikwe has the distinction of being one
of the few game reserves in the world to be proclaimed purely
on the grounds of being the most appropriate and sustainable
land use for an area.
The
reserve consists of vast plains of open woodlands and grasslands,
dissected by the rugged Rant van Tweedepoort, and bordered
in the south by the Dwarsberg Mountains. The area is dotted
with huge rocky hills, known as inselbergs. The entire reserve
has been enclosed in a 150 km perimeter fence which has
been electrified to prevent the escape of elephants and
the larger predators.
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A
Joint Venture
Madikwe represents an extension to this philosophy in that
it is run as a joint venture between the State, the private
sector and local communities. The success of this approach
has made Madikwe the role model for similar ventures being
started up elsewhere in South Africa.
The reserve is divided into
two main areas. The area north of the Molatedi Dam is fenced
and stocked with all the historically indigenous wild animals
including elephant, rhinoceros, lion, leopard and
buffalo. As part of future developments for the park, the
dam area will be fenced separately and stocked with smaller,
non-dangerous animals - thus allowing free movement of tourists
and maximum utilisation of the dam.
Even before Madikwe had been
officially proclaimed, work had begun to clear the many
derelict farm buildings and structures, the hundreds of
kilometres of old fencing and the many alien plants. Some
of the buildings were spared and now serve as Park offices
and workshops, while various outposts have been built to
house game scouts and other reserve staff. Approximately
60 000 hectares of the reserve were enclosed in a perimeter
fence, measuring 150 kilometres. This was later electrified
to prevent the escape of elephants and the larger predators.
Where possible, local business and labour have been used
to demolish and clear unwanted structures, erect fences,
construct roads and build dams and lodges. Several game
lodges have already been built. Other lodges will be developed
in the near future.
Reintroduction
of Game
The reintroduction of game began early in 1991, shortly
before the perimeter fence had been completed. Operation
Phoenix, as the reintroduction programme is called, is the
largest game translocation exercise in the world. More than
8,000 animals of 28 species have so far been released into
the reserve, including elephant, rhino, buffalo, lion, cheetah,
Cape hunting dog, spotted hyaena, giraffe, zebra and many
species of antelope and herbivores. Leopard already occurred
in the reserve. Operation Phoenix was completed in 1997.
Management
Madikwe functions through a system designed to benefit the
three main stakeholders involved in the reserve. These are
the North West Parks Board, the private sector and the local
communities. All three work together in a mutually beneficial
"partnership in conservation." The Parks Board
is responsible for setting up the necessary infrastructure
and the management to run Madikwe as a major protected conservation
area in the North West Province. It also identifies suitable
sites within the reserve which are leased to the private
sector for tourism-based developments and activities.
The
private sector provides the necessary capital to build game
lodges and to market and manage the lodges and the tourism
and trophy hunting activities in the reserve. In this way,
private sector money, rather than state funds, is used to
develop the tourism potential of the reserve.
