Enchanted Limpopo Tours, Welgelegen, Polokwane (2025)

08/05/2023

Peal spotted owlet (Glaucidium perlatum) in the ana tree above our camp. They take a variety of prey including rodents reptiles, birds, and hated by birds for their nests raiding habits. This one was constantly being harassed! Their call is one of the most iconic African sounds...

05/05/2023

Another recent visit to Boelamien Camp Site on the Limpopo River dividing South Africa and Botswana. Africa epitomized!

26/08/2021

Another visit to the magical, mysterious Makgabeng Plateau, 130km NW of Polokwane. This time we climbed the towering 'Thabantlana' pinnacle, ( 1st photo) to the top, and explored some new 'Kung' (Bushmen) art sites, and the Makgabeng Gorge. This place offers an incredible variety of different landscapes, strange rock formations, with fascinating overhangs, where the art is found. As very special place; we are all hoping that the proposed mining there, is halted in it's tracks!

05/04/2021

Magoebaskloof, and wonderland of indigenous temperate rain forest, and pine plantations, situated about 65 km from Polokwane, Limpopo, has been given a new lease in life with the excellent rain this last season. Seen here, one of the muddy roads on my drive through there today. The forests look stunning, buzzing with life of all sorts.. like this amazing , lichen mimicking bark spider!

15/02/2021

‘Limpokwena’ game reserve, about 50km west of Alldays, in the SA-Botswana border is one of those best kept secrets! We stayed over on the Island camp on the Limpopo which was partially in flood, the waters rising quite rapidly whilst we were there. In fact we had to leave earlier on Sunday to avoid being stranded! What a fantastic place... the Limpopo weaves it’s way between kopjes on either side of the banks, and just at that point, splits into 2 steams, creating this utopian island setting with large boerboon trees filled with amazing birds. We heard mainly the sound of the river, but in winter with lower water levels , elephant move regularly through the camp at night; lion, hyena and a host of owl species can be heard calling..
Camp is fully equipped: Eskom power, electric fridge, dining room/ kitchen, permanent tents with bedding and fans. There are 2 communal bathrooms, electric geyser. You only need food, clothing and toiletries. Best of all ABSOLUTE exclusivity, with now crowds or any mechanical sounds.. it doesn’t get better than this for R350 pp p night!

03/11/2020

A buffalo breeding herd, Northern Kruger National Park 30 Oct 2020. Buffalo utilize the principle of safety in numbers, protecting their calves in the main group consisting mainly of cows, and young males. Following these are the old bulls, often with huge 'bosses' or horn bases, covering their heads. These are the 'cavalry' which predators, mainly lion, have to face up to. But lions hone their hunting skills, deceptively 'spooking' the heard which results in some individuals getting isolated and thus getting caught. Not an easy prey item at all, but a massive food reward that supports a host of scavengers too.

08/10/2020

Dividing South Africa from Botswana and Zimbabwe runs “The Great Grey-Green Greasy Limpopo River", penned by the famous 19th century writer Rudyard Kipling, and it was here where I had another lucky encounter: A juvenile Pel's Fishing owl! They are rare endangered birds, adapted to hunting fish which makes up 90% of their diet. This riverine environment is the perfect habitat for them.

07/10/2020

Blouberg Nature Reserve, 120km north of Polokwane, is in many respects a best kept secret for the nature loving purist. This botanical / dendrological paradise offers opportunities on par with any reserve in Southern Africa, with added advantage of relative exclusivity. How lucky was I to have seen one of the most elusive predators on the African continent.. the brown hyena! Video quality is compromised by the fact that it was almost totally dark. Take note how flea ridden this animal is; they live in dens which are a breeding haven for these pests.

19/07/2020

Ebenezer dam today.. an art shot of the yacht club cove, showing the critically low dam level, now at about 15%. Tough times for Limpopo Province, but also not consistently so.... one of the characteristics of 'climate change' is patchy rainfall; other parts have had far better summer rain! Add in dam maintenance mismanagement and this is the result: a serious water crisis looming for Polokwane city and Tzaneen town.

16/07/2020

This is 'Boelamien' Campsite, on the banks of the Limpopo river bordering Botswana, about 50 Km west of the village of Alldays, Limpopo Province, early July 2020. This has to be one of my bliss camping experiences ever.. we had elephants outside our tent at night, lions and hyenas calling , hippos and crocodile in the river close to the camp, stunning birds including a Pel's fishing owl, and giant eagle owls. Huge 'boerboon' and ana trees offering a canopy of shade. Ablutions are great and modern, and there is power available in camp too. Best of all.. (unlike Kruger Park) you have total exclusivity.. You can hike along the riverine forest experiencing the amazing trees, accompanied by stunning bird life, hippos bellowing and the sounds of feeding elephants. Oh.. and fishing is permitted! Bream (kurper) and barbel (catfish) abound in the river..
It doesn't get better!

21/05/2020

Only 8 km SW of the centre of Polokwane (Limpopo) is a granite outcrop or 'Kopje' in Afrikaans adjacent to the property of Anton a good friend of mine. Strewn on top and in the surrounds below are artifacts of bygone eras... why I say eras, is that these represent relatively recent history of Sotho, possibly Ndebele tribes and hunter-gathers. The former groups inhabited the area in the last 600 years (untill quite recently when some were forcefully removed to make way for the new dispensation in the mid 20th century) These include potsherds, iron arrows and circular hollow weight stones. There is however debate as to the true purpose of these mysterious stones, some scholars suggesting that they are much older. Here is a mind boggling article on these stones https://trinfinity8.com/awakening-the-sacred-stones/ Requires an open mind when reading..
Then there are much older, late stone age implements: quartz arrow heads and possibly scrapers hand axes, most likely used by the Kung or Bushmen that were the first true human inhabitants of the area. They occupied this land for probably more than 100000 years before being driven out by the iron age African migrants and the white settlers..That's a pretty long span of time! Prior to them were pre-humans roaming this land in their different forms, going back to more than 3 million years. (These included the Australopithecan family, considered my some scholars not to be direct ancestors of modern humans... an ongoing debate)
No archeological research has been done on the kopje, who knows what other treasures are lying hidden! So besides the high floral diversity, this 'kopje' is a wonderful natural museum of man's past, right on my doorstep. Am hoping it remains this way.

01/05/2020

Mysterious etchings Limpopo, South Africa.

Early 2004 a friend guided me on a hike to this place, deep in the 'Mahlapitse River' Valley located about 80km SE of Polokwane city. Stacked up on a ledge (3rd & 4th photo) on a smooth horizontal slab are these amazing etchings, some in uniformal patterns, others haphazardly spread over much of the slab. (Photo 1) This is 2,7 billion year old sandstone quartzite, which in geological terms, refers to sandstone that has been subjected to immense pressure and heat, and has partially melted a crystallized into quartz again, in places. It is thus hard by sedimentary standards, so whatever tool was used here, had to have been pretty hard a durable. Besides that, as can be seen, precision technique is obvious especially in the star shapes. Part of the slab had broken off at some stage, as some of the etchings on the edge are incomplete (1st photo). I did look for the missing piece but couldn't find it. But even the jagged edge was smoothed out suggesting it was very old.
I have approached several organizations and institutions in SA, including Johannesburg University, and several indigenous art foundations, none of which have an explanation. Then one day a friend referred me to a book "Africa in the Mists of Time by Brenda Sullivan, a journalist, and wife to a mine manager in SA. He constantly had new contracts and moving from one mine to the next, and in her exploratory nature noticed that these etching appeared wherever there were diamond deposits... interesting, As the crow flies, about 8km from this site is a diamond rich kimberlite pipe, that the de Beers corporation earmarked for mining, but it was halted by the adjacent Haenerstburg community, luckily!
What is the purpose of these etchings? Besides maybe a diamond connection, it a big mystery, but I then spotted this photo (no 5) of a rectangular rock, found in the world renowned archeological site of 'Blombos' Cave in the western Cape Province, South Africa, which was carbon dated to be over 70000 years old! Definite similarities, but the exact purpose still remains a mystery. It is my sense that it played some kind of spiritual role of sorts, hopefully I will be able to connect more dots in the near future.

27/02/2020

Little sparrow hawk breeding in my garden, Polokwane, South Africa. This female was enjoying a small hunted bird, Sometimes she would catch one for her older fledged chick, hanging around in the big monkey thorn tree. Of the 950+ species of birds found in Southern Africa 83 species are raptors that regularly occur. (Besides rare species including some migrants). South Africa is a haven for any bird lover, due to it's great variety of habitats.

Update: Yesterday (27 Feb) I was fortunate to grab my camera in time to capture the mother hawk catching up on a refreshing bath in my birdbath. First for me!

12/02/2020

The king of toughness and ferocity!.. Resident, tame honey badger in Shingwedzi Camp, Kruger Park, 9 Feb 2020, came cruising up to us while braaing (barbecuing). They are omnivores feeding on a wide variety of foods including eggs, fruit, honey, reptiles, insects, larvae and grubs. They have a unique mutual relationship with the greater honeyguide, a bird that leads them to beehives for a return of the spoils. But not to mess with this little 12Kg pack of muscle... they are known to successfully defend themselves against a pride of lions! Some other interesting scenes we came across, see photo captions

31/12/2019

In the heart of Limpopo Province lies the Waterberg Mountain, it's largest mountain mass. In the last 40 years or so, farmers joined up forces with businessmen to create conservancies which were re-stocked with game, including the big 5. One of these is Entabeni, a 22000Ha paradise situated about 2 1/2 hours from Johannesburg. Bushveld, water laden mountain, and superb accommodation options make for a wonderful malaria free experience

08/11/2019

I did a quick hike at Hanglip forest reserve, outside Louis Trichardt (Makhado) Town Limpopo, 3 November. An entrance fee of R15 gets you in. I drove to a rustic little accommodation and pub spot, Camp Africa, belonging to the legendary Dave van Graan, an extreme hiker - African tour guide. Camp Africa offers you basic chalets with a communal bathroom and camp sites and a bush pub. Reasonably priced too. See http://www.campafrica.co.za
On arrival the owner spotted a rhombic night adder heading for the bathrooms and asked me to assist in removing it. One of the pub customers came and grabbed it by the tail and then worked his fingers to the head, brave man! The snake was however not aggressive, huffed and puffed a bit, but just wanted to get away, contrary to the perception that snakes are out there to get you! We watch too many fear based movies...
After this little ordeal, I left my car there and started walking up to the Hanglip picnic site; further than I thought @ about 3km of mostly steep ascent. Its a great walk, since you pass temperate rain forest, and some plantations, eventually getting to open ground with a stunning forest below a cliff (photo), Whilst run down, the picnic site is in an old forest with a wonderful atmosphere. Worthwhile visit if you in the area. A normal car, will make it to the picnic site, if it hasn't rained.

31/10/2019

Taken on Sun 27th Oct'19 on a group outing to Hoogeneog Valley. It's a timeless place and with growing, evolving rock there is always a new display on hand!

Enchanted Limpopo Tours

08/05/2023

05/05/2023

26/08/2021

05/04/2021

15/02/2021

03/11/2020

08/10/2020

07/10/2020

19/07/2020

16/07/2020

21/05/2020

01/05/2020

27/02/2020

12/02/2020

31/12/2019

08/11/2019

31/10/2019

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