The Waterberg Mountains of South Africa are located in the south and west of the Limpopo Province against the Botswana border on the Tropic of Capricorn - between one to two hours drive from Pretoria.

This is an area of great natural beauty where the environment is protected by massive buttresses and deep forested valleys. Much of the region is either given over to conservation or is too rugged to support agriculture. It is this remoteness that attracts visitors from all over the world to experience the drama and beauty of the African bushveld. The Waterberg, with its great variety of wildlife, birds and scenic splendour is one of South Africa's prime eco-tourism destinations. Game and nature reserves and an extensive biosphere combine to conserve an area of over 14 500km2 of mountain terrain. To the south and east are the established farming communities of Thabazimbi, Bela Bela, Modimolle, Mookgophong and Mokopane. From here the Springbok flats extend eastwards over the Nylsvley Floodplain and Nature Reserve, which is one of South Africa's most important wetland bird sanctuaries.

The Waterberg is a sparsely populated region, much of the area unsuited to agriculture or even human habitation and yet it was here that scientists uncovered the remains of Australopithecus africanus who lived and hunted in the mountains over 2,5million years ago.

Stone age people followed, but these were thought to be itinerant migrants. Later still came the early iron age migrants who arrived in the area, no doubt attracted by the rich ore deposits (Thabazimbi).

The San hunter - gatherers were known to have roamed the entire mountain area at this time, leaving a record of their passage in the exquisite rock art which is such an important attraction to the mountains today. The later iron age settlers traded freely throughout the area and would have had frequent contact with the settlement at Mapungubwe and from there to the Sofala coast where eastern traders loaded the produce of the entire sub-continent.

The more recent inhabitants of the Waterberg, principally the Pedi, arrived from the north and settled in small communities. When Chief Sekwati took over the leadership, groups were consolidated to strengthen defences against marauding bands of Zulu and others.

The first people of European origin arrived in 1808, to be followed shortly thereafter by missionaries, hunters and traders. Then came the Voortrekker settlers, who generally kept to the safer routes on the lower reaches of the mountains.

| Page 4 |

In 1854 war erupted between the Boer commando of General Piet Potgieter and the forces of Chief Mugombhane (Mokopane) whose army, after a series of skirmishes, was driven into the mountains where they took refuge in the Makapan Caves. Piet Potgieter was killed in the engagement. When the caves were finally stormed by the Boers some 1500 people were found to have perished from starvation.

The Anglo-Boer War of 1899 to 1902 was fought around the Waterberg. A large British force occupied Bela Bela, but the action was limited mainly to skirmishes in and around Bela Bela and Modimolle.

The Geology of the Waterberg Millions of years after the intrusion of the Bushveld complex, sediments began to accumulate across the Waterberg system giving rise to distinctive red shales and quartzite masses that make the region so distinctive. It is these cliffs, valleys and buttresses that have protected the fragile vleis and vegetation from over exploitation.

Today, the mining of chrome, lead, iron ore, tin, nickel and platinum, mostly on the periphery of the mountains, provide much needed revenue to the economy of the region.

Coal mining in the west towards the Limpopo Valley will fuel new power generation plants, now under construction.

The Fauna and Flora The Waterberg falls between two distinct biospheres, namely the middleveld grasslands and sourveld to the east and the Kalahari thornveld to the west.

This meeting of biomes creates a converging crossover environment for animals, plants and birds which has, in turn, presented unique opportunities to conservationalists in the restocking of game sanctuaries. Birdlife, which is obviously free moving, has remained essentially undisturbed through the protection provided within this mountainous environment. Over 400 species of birds have been recorded across the greater Waterberg region making this one of South Africa's prime birding destinations.

All the principal game species, including elephant, rhino, leopard, buffalo and lion are present in the larger reserves along with hundreds of lesser species which offer great viewing and photo opportunities.

The plant life of the Waterberg includes some rare species, many endemic to the mountains including the rare cycad

Eugene Marais.

     

| Page 5 |